Chemistry exam tips

[Elie]

Hi guys,  

 

So the first chem exam is next week and i started preparing like 5 weeks ago, however i am really not doing well. I'm frustrated because i've literally studied everything over and over and have done practice questions yet i just can't grasp the chem theory. I score particularly badly in paper 1s for SL chem and i am at a loss as to what to do. I know that i know the general information but am stunted by questions that should be quite simple. Can anyone share a tip for practicing or understanding that could help me? I really need the help right now even though it's too late. My struggle is paper 1, i really need your help. 

Thanks a lot

P.S. Please don't chastise me, i'm not a lazy student nor have i left anything last minute. I just seem to be severely lacking in my understanding and application of the theories. 

[kw0573]

Any examples of questions in particular you need help with? Paper 1 is heavily conceptual based so the most likely case is that there are a few subtleties that IB is looking for that you haven't fully grasped.Usually the worst case should be to eliminate some answers that are obviously wrong and take your best shot. 

[Elie]

I think it's mostly the calculations that seem to have way too many twists and turns. Taking as an example, find the number of atoms in whatever moles of a substance, i understand how to convert moles to atoms and such but there always seems to be that twist where your supposed to link it to the number of atoms in the actual molecule such as NH3 = 4 molecules, so i have to consider. I don't know if that makes sense but i don't think i have that much of a higher level of understanding of chemistry to be able to figure out that i have to relate it to the actual molecule itself. Also i find it really difficult to finish a paper 1 on time as well, i work out almost every answer and in the end i'm able to only do about half the questions. If you can suggest something it'd be nice but at the moment i guess i can't do anything to change this, i'd be lucky if i get a 4 in chem at the moment. 

 

Thanks for the reply 

Edited May 3, 2017 by Elie

[kw0573]

You still have more than a week left. just do a practice paper taking as long as you need, ensuring accuracy. then when you check the answers, see if you can find which question took you longest. It's definitely ok if you got most of them right, because then you know it's just a speed issue which can be improved over course of a week.

[Elie]

57 minutes ago, kw0573 said:

You still have more than a week left. just do a practice paper taking as long as you need, ensuring accuracy. then when you check the answers, see if you can find which question took you longest. It's definitely ok if you got most of them right, because then you know it's just a speed issue which can be improved over course of a week.

Thanks, i'll try my best 

[erika__]

On 5/2/2017 at 11:18 PM, Elie said:

I think it's mostly the calculations that seem to have way too many twists and turns. Taking as an example, find the number of atoms in whatever moles of a substance, i understand how to convert moles to atoms and such but there always seems to be that twist where your supposed to link it to the number of atoms in the actual molecule such as NH3 = 4 molecules, so i have to consider. I don't know if that makes sense but i don't think i have that much of a higher level of understanding of chemistry to be able to figure out that i have to relate it to the actual molecule itself. Also i find it really difficult to finish a paper 1 on time as well, i work out almost every answer and in the end i'm able to only do about half the questions. If you can suggest something it'd be nice but at the moment i guess i can't do anything to change this, i'd be lucky if i get a 4 in chem at the moment. 

 

Thanks for the reply 

Are you talking about molar ratios? Like an equation with coefficients in front of the different molecules? 

Also, some advice - skip questions while taking the exam. I forget how much time we have for Paper 1 (I'm taking the exam this year too), but we've been doing Paper 1s in class with about 50 minutes for all 30 or so questions. So figure out how much time that is per question, and if you feel like a question is taking you too long, skip over to the next one. It sounds like perhaps you're getting stuck on a single question and insisting on being confident in your answer before you go to the next one, which may be causing you to not be able to answer all of the questions you know the answers to. 

[Msj Chem]

Maybe this will help:

 

[Elie]

2 hours ago, erika__ said:

Are you talking about molar ratios? Like an equation with coefficients in front of the different molecules? 

Also, some advice - skip questions while taking the exam. I forget how much time we have for Paper 1 (I'm taking the exam this year too), but we've been doing Paper 1s in class with about 50 minutes for all 30 or so questions. So figure out how much time that is per question, and if you feel like a question is taking you too long, skip over to the next one. It sounds like perhaps you're getting stuck on a single question and insisting on being confident in your answer before you go to the next one, which may be causing you to not be able to answer all of the questions you know the answers to. 

 

31 minutes ago, Msj Chem said:

Maybe this will help:

 

 

I think that is probably my problem, that i have to think to deeply on one questions, i think i will take your advice and skip questions that are tripping me. I was even thinking i could start the paper from the back to the front, because the stoichiometry is usually the first few questions. 

Thanks for the video, i will definitely be watching it!