Any good advice on how not to make stupid mistakes on exams?

[TheBiologist]

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So usually this is not a problem for me, but I can't believe how many points I'm losing on these chem tests for stupid mistakes and calculation errors

it's been 3 of the 4 midterms and on every single one of them I've told myself I wasn't going to make any stupid mistakes. I come out of every test thinking I got 100 (because I knew how to do the problems) and get it back to be frustrated with several answers I put

I know there's probably not much to say but does anyone have any advice? I really want an A

 

[RunawayGrape]

.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

How are you doing for time on your tests? If you have time, check your work...make sure everything makes logical sense. That can stop most careless errors...if you don't have time to do that then you don't have a good mastery of the material and need to study more/better

 

[TehTeddy]

The key to not making mistakes is to put in correct answers. Focus on the areas where you normally make mistakes. Then, put in the correct answer instead of your usual mistaken one.

 

[kraskadva]

Always write out your units.
90% of the chem mistakes I see (as a tutor and grad TA) is due to people not knowing the material well enough, then not writing in units, and then losing track of where they are and what they should be doing with their calculations.

 

[kb1900]

You should do the test as fast as possible if you instantly know how to do each problem. Then go back and do each problem out again from scratch and see if u get the same answer.

I haven't seen a Gen Chem test yet that would press me for time if I've done enough practice problems. If you don't have this speed then you simply need to drill more problems.

 

[RogueBanana]

Once you reach your answer:

1- Check if it makes sense at face value.... If you started with 5 grams of A & 5 Grams of B and end with 50 kilograms of product, you probably messed up somewhere.

2- Check your math....... Go through the logical process once more, reading through your calculations and making sure you used the right operations

3- Study Concepts.......... Its harder to mess up your conversions when you understand the logical basis behind your calculations. Knowing why you are converting grams to moles, and the overall kinetics of a reaction will help your calculations make much more sense. If you know why you are doing each step, you are less likely to mess it up.