bummed out

[River Rat]

just marching through my Examkrackers...I'm on my 6th week. When I realized I'm not retaining any of the Chemistry knowledge whatsoever. I was never really good at chemistry.

anyone have any tips? this is bumming and stressing me out.

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[firebird69guy]

Flash cards.. its impossible to retain all this information without some repetitive learning.


If anyone can do it, my hat is off to ya!

 

[virilep]

retainment comes after loads of practice. don't be bummed. if u spend ur time bumming, then ur essentially wasting time.

 

[medicomel]

gen chem is my weakest, but i'll admit that after looking at the flashcards and doing the same problems over and over again (even if you have to make copies of prior examples) i am beginning to retain it.

it will happen for you, just keep looking at it over and over.

 

[crys20]

I did horrible in gen chem and school and realized in my prep that I knew nothing about it. Review books didn't cut it for me, so I resorted to my gen chem text. It was very helpful in giving me the knowledge base I lacked and needed. I'm not sure if you have enough time to read tons of text, but you could at least read the corresponding chapters for the stuff you are the weakest in.

Don't feel bad. The physical section was my worst, I hated it. I did well enough in the other two to have a competitve score and not bad enough (just barely!) in physical to not have to retake. You'll get through it.

 

[Turkeyman]

When I went through EK AudioOsmosis the first time(which I'm assuming are the same as your EK MCAT Manuals) I made myself take notes. I never actually read back over the notes until recently....and its weird, the part that I read over kinda just stuck in my head.

I happen to be taking kaplan right now, and they give you a whooooole bunch of flash cards, but I'm possibly thinking of just sitting down this weekend and making flash cards of ALL my notes (~120pages) from the EK stuff. Then, just prepare using those, the 1001s, and practice material.

Flash cards are cool ;0

 

[gujuDoc]

Try to think about relationships between things. To retain genchem try to link chapters you learned earlier to those you learn later.

For instance look at the links between gas laws to Le Chatlier's principle or the links between thermodynamics to phase changes, etc.

If you can draw the links and relationships, you will be able to retain it better.

Also try to think about what happens if you have a relationship like

PV = nRT. What happens to V as you increase P and vice versa. Try to think of those kind of inverse proportionality vs. proporitionality type or relationships.

Or what about if P increases what happens to n?

My point is look at things from a conceptual view and try to draw relationships amonst different chapters, because you'll retain it if you try to think about it conceptually and try to draw the links. However, if you try to just memorize it, then you'll forget it.

Also, if you try to find a way to apply it, then you'll do better as well.

 

[River Rat]

thanks guys, pointers helped a lot.

took practice mcat IV, the PS didn't seem so bad .
for some reason the i wasn't processing the verbal section. oh well