Tips for Succeeding in CHEM 1115

I don’t know anyone who spends the money to take a college class and plans to fail! Even though taking a chemistry class is scary for many people, you CAN succeed! Here are some tried-and-true suggestions for succeeding in CHEM 1115.

1. Come to class! Be on-time! Be considerate of those around you by silencing your cell phone. If you get to class late, come in quietly.

2. Participate in class. Ask questions! Think about the information presented and answer questions posed in class! Don’t be afraid to volunteer to answer a question because you might be wrong! Sometimes a wrong answer is more useful than the correct one because it helps expose misconceptions about the material.

3. Be prepared for class. Read (or at least skim) the chapter before class.

4. After each lecture, you should do the following (before the next class period) in the order given below:

a. Review the notes from lecture.

b. Read the book for further clarification if needed.

c. Re-work the examples covered in class (without looking at the solution, if possible). This helps you reinforce the concepts and problem solving strategies covered in that day’s lecture.

d. Work the homework problems at the end of the chapter that are related to the material covered in lecture that day.

e. Work the Mastering Chemistry on-line quiz problems related to the lecture material.

· You have a maximum of 6 attempts on each MC problem (or part of a problem). If you get a problem (or part of a problem) incorrect several times, save at least one or two attempts to use after you’ve gotten help during office hours.

· You may want to print out the MC quiz so that you can bring your specific problem in during office hours for help!

f. Come to office hours for help on homework, quiz problems, or material from the lecture that you don’t understand.

g. Read (or at least skim) the part of the chapter that will be covered during the next class period.

h. Review the unit objectives.

5. As you prepare for your unit exam:

a. Don’t wait until the night before the exam to begin studying!!

b. Review the unit objectives and make sure you can do all of them.

c. Complete all homework problems assigned at the end of the chapter. You may want to work some problems a second (or third) time. You can also work additional problems from the text for extra practice.

d. Complete all MC quiz problems.

e. Review the notes from class, reworking examples from class as needed. Pay special attention to anything that was highlighted in red in the notes. These are definitions, equations, conversion factors, etc that you absolutely MUST know for the exam.

(cont. on back)

f. When you think you are prepared for the exam, download the unit practice problems from my website (at the very bottom of the CHEM 1115 page on my web site). Without using your notes or the book, work these problems.

· Check your answers with the solutions posted on the bulletin board outside my office. You may make a copy of the answers, but please return the answers to my bulletin board immediately.

· Focus additional study time on problems/concepts that you did not get correct initially.

g. Make sure you know how to use the calculator that you will be using on the exam! I’d be happy to help you learn to use it during office hours!

h. Come to office hours for help as needed!