Thread: study tips

  1. #1
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    study tips

    Ugh. Alrighty. I'm doing ap chem and we are in the middle of memorizing just about every ion and its charge. (also a lot of ionic compounds) I've been studying allot from the worksheet, but I keep failing these things. I swear I can't find a ogod way to study them because most ions have more than one charge (IE gold, lead, mercury) and its a little hard for flash cards. So if anyone here actually learned them what was your thing for learning. It's really hard, as I have little motivation of learning these other than making a good grade.
    "When I die I want to pass peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather did, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car."

  2. #2
    Pursuing knowledge confuted's Avatar
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    I know most of them. Well, the important ones at least. But our AP Chem class is moving a lot faster than yours, it seems. That was... a day. Literally. We've covered solubility rules (more memorization), titrations, and we're well into redox reactions. You'll also get to memorize the list of strong acids and strong bases at some point. Anyway, it helps to just do problems with the stuff, and keep your sheet with the ions in a binder so it takes work to look stuff up. Then you'll memorize it just to make it easier.
    Away.

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    Yeah we went over binary acids and ionic acids (Such as bromic acid and the such). Its a lot of memorization and I have the worst time with it. We did a worksheet over basic swap an' drop compounds that we were supposted to know about a month ago and I got maybe 11/200. It was really sad. I just have problems with the stuff with variable charges and also things like perchlorate and all. I want to drop out of AP for a lower class, but I need this AP credit. It sucks.
    "When I die I want to pass peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather did, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car."

  4. #4
    Registered User axon's Avatar
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    A few years back, in my chem AP class I did a similar thing to what confuted did. I just kept a sheet with all the ions heandy. There is no easier way to memorize them, then by doing problems like confuted said.

    Sadly, or not, I don't remember much from my chem class these days. I'm sure if I had a quick refresher it would come back.

    some entropy with that sink? entropysink.com

    there are two cardinal sins from which all others spring: Impatience and Laziness. - franz kafka

  5. #5
    Just go get a TI calculator and the Periodic Table app for it, then use that to cheat.

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    Best answer yet. Great idea.
    "When I die I want to pass peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather did, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car."

  7. #7
    Registered User axon's Avatar
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    Only great if the teacher doesn't check your calc before test. All my teachers in high school did, and all because one kid got caught at the beginning of the semester.

    I'm glad that at my university calculators really don't matter. There is too much material to put everything in the calculator.

    some entropy with that sink? entropysink.com

    there are two cardinal sins from which all others spring: Impatience and Laziness. - franz kafka

  8. #8
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    Our teachers aren't the brightest. Half of them can't figure out how to get their computer working. A pretty funny story is that a new teacher came in and got on his computer for the first time, he was messing around on it for a while and when I got up he called me to the front to help him with his monitor problem as he could not see anything.

    Problem: No monitor
    Solution: Plugging in the cord to the computer.

    Funniest thing I ever saw happen.
    "When I die I want to pass peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather did, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car."

  9. #9
    Pursuing knowledge confuted's Avatar
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    I used some flash cards when memorizing functional groups. Of course... I only knew them for about five minutes, and then forgot them. I still remember alcohol, because that was easy. As for the rest... whoops. I'll learn it late-April.
    Away.

  10. #10
    The Earth is not flat. Clyde's Avatar
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    I hate memorisation, but it is often possible to substitute some of it for principles:

    Off the top my head you could probably deduce most anions (negatively charged ions) thrown at you using:

    The octet rule: All atoms want full outer shells.

    Remembering that

    Halides form -1 ions and that
    Oxygen almost always forms a -2 oxidation state

    and
    Looking for sensible values (values that aren't too big, i doubt any ions you see will have more than a +/-3 charge on them)

    E.g. SO4

    Both S and O are in group 6, therefore to get full outer shells they both either need to gain 2 electrons or lose 6, oxygen almost always gains 2.

    If S also gains 2 we have an overall charge of 10-

    If it loses 6, we have an overall charge 2-

    we choose 2- because 10- is not reasonable.

    E.g. NO3

    Oxygen will again have a -2 charge, nitrogen can either have a -3 or a +5, and an overall charge of -1 is more reasonable than -9, so you conclude its charge is -1.

    Now there are exceptions, but memorising the exceptions is still less memorising than learning them all by rote.

    For cations the octet rule will work for non transition metals.
    Last edited by Clyde; 10-21-2003 at 04:19 PM.

  11. #11
    Quietly Lurking
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    See this is why you should have taken AP Physics instead of chem, physics is better and no memorizing.

    I still shudder at the thought of taking AP Chem, sadly might have to take a chem class next semester
    Proud to be a gun carrying, freedom loving, libertarian
    Don't listen to Right-Wing propaganda, legalize it NOW!

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    I'm pretty sure chemestry is a required. At least I think. My mom decided to go with AP. It sucks because I spend all my time trying to learn the stuff and I can't do the important stuff like get my Linux working again and all that stuff. Its annoying. I think I'm just going to shoot for a low B or high C and try to bring my GPA up with Zero period (sorta like summer school but optional).
    "When I die I want to pass peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather did, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car."

  13. #13
    Registered User axon's Avatar
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    Hey, its better to take chem in high school and get a good grade on the AP exam, than taking chem in a university. Unfortunately, chem is one of the drop/fail courses, where students are simply "weeded" out. Man, if I was in hs again, I would take as many AP courses as possible, instead of wasting my time on them at a university.

    By wasting time I don't mean that they are unimportant, but quite tough; much tougher than hs.

    some entropy with that sink? entropysink.com

    there are two cardinal sins from which all others spring: Impatience and Laziness. - franz kafka

  14. #14
    Pursuing knowledge confuted's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Dalren
    See this is why you should have taken AP Physics instead of chem, physics is better and no memorizing.

    I still shudder at the thought of taking AP Chem, sadly might have to take a chem class next semester
    I learned the AP Physics B curriculum on my own in April (yes, just April and a week of May) last year, thankyouverymuch. No, my Honors Physics class was NO preparation, and I'm serious about that. I scored a 5.

    Now it's time for AP Chem...no doubt with some AP Physics C studying on the side.
    Away.

  15. #15
    Registered User axon's Avatar
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    Hey confuted, I never took Phys AP in high school...is it calculus based, or algebra? Because I'm hearing both answers from different people. Some had calc some had alg...my school in the college of engineering only accepts calc based phys AP exam, but some schools accept either or

    some entropy with that sink? entropysink.com

    there are two cardinal sins from which all others spring: Impatience and Laziness. - franz kafka

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