Chemistry Help. Need some advice/tips/pointers.

[JohnKimx83]

The Chemistry section is giving me a LOT of grief . A lot. I reviewed everything in the Kaplan big book, but the only concepts i'm okay with are:

- Redox
- Balancing
- Bronsted/Arrhenius/Lewis acids & bases
- PVT laws
- pH/pOH

I'm not good at (but can get better at):

- orgo nomenclature
- basic properties of functional groups

I'm TERRIBLE at:

- reaction trends
- reaction and bond orders
- orgo reactions
- questions involving knowledge of the periodic table (for example: "If Po undergoes beta decay, what element is formed?" I know what how to answer the question, but without a periodic table, I don't know how i'd answer it. Periodic tables aren't given, right?)

Please, any help would be GREATLY appreciated. It's pretty late, just a week left, but I will try and cram as much as I can. I'm set with bio, math, verbal, and reading, but chem is going to KICK MY ASSociation.
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[najeroni]

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[CaliRx]

The Chemistry section is giving me a LOT of grief . A lot. I reviewed everything in the Kaplan big book, but the only concepts i'm okay with are:

- Redox
- Balancing
- Bronsted/Arrhenius/Lewis acids & bases
- PVT laws
- pH/pOH

I'm not good at (but can get better at):

- orgo nomenclature
- basic properties of functional groups

I'm TERRIBLE at:

- reaction trends
- reaction and bond orders
- orgo reactions
- questions involving knowledge of the periodic table (for example: "If Po undergoes beta decay, what element is formed?" I know what how to answer the question, but without a periodic table, I don't know how i'd answer it. Periodic tables aren't given, right?)

Please, any help would be GREATLY appreciated. It's pretty late, just a week left, but I will try and cram as much as I can. I'm set with bio, math, verbal, and reading, but chem is going to KICK MY ASSociation.
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I am in the same situation as you. I've been so scared about my performance on the Chemistry section and Verbal. For the last couple of days, my focus has been Chemistry. I'm going through my old Chemistry Textbook and just reading parts that I'm shaky on. First, I did couple practice sections in the Cliffs and noticed the questions I was missing. Then, I went back and reviewed the questions I was missing using my textbook. I would recommend that you do the same. Take as many practice questions as you can. Good luck!

 

[Saladfingers]

The Chemistry section is giving me a LOT of grief . A lot. I reviewed everything in the Kaplan big book, but the only concepts i'm okay with are:

- Redox
- Balancing
- Bronsted/Arrhenius/Lewis acids & bases
- PVT laws
- pH/pOH

I'm not good at (but can get better at):

- orgo nomenclature
- basic properties of functional groups

I'm TERRIBLE at:

- reaction trends
- reaction and bond orders
- orgo reactions
- questions involving knowledge of the periodic table (for example: "If Po undergoes beta decay, what element is formed?" I know what how to answer the question, but without a periodic table, I don't know how i'd answer it. Periodic tables aren't given, right?)

Please, any help would be GREATLY appreciated. It's pretty late, just a week left, but I will try and cram as much as I can. I'm set with bio, math, verbal, and reading, but chem is going to KICK MY ASSociation.
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Review the Orgo nomenclature for sure theres a few questions of that definately.

The Orgo reactions are hardly on there at all.

Don't rememeber any questions regarding bond order.

Reactions trends you should know how to read an energy diagram and such.

I don't really remember but there either wasn't any questions that you needed specific knowledge of the periodic table besides maybe trends.

Or if there was such a question the small portion of the table was provided, I don't remember which, it was a year ago.

If you have those other things down though you should do very well.

Good Luck!

 

[najeroni]

Review the Orgo nomenclature for sure theres a few questions of that definately.

The Orgo reactions are hardly on there at all.

Don't rememeber any questions regarding bond order.

Reactions trends you should know how to read an energy diagram and such.

I don't really remember but there either wasn't any questions that you needed specific knowledge of the periodic table besides maybe trends.

Or if there was such a question the small portion of the table was provided, I don't remember which, it was a year ago.

If you have those other things down though you should do very well.

Good Luck!

In the general chemistry section of the PCAT, are there really questions on thermochem? I am having a tough time learning that section (and did so when I took Gen chem), but I feel I am good on the other sections, just need to brush up on them.

 

[cycloketocaine]

Review the Orgo nomenclature for sure theres a few questions of that definately.

The Orgo reactions are hardly on there at all.

Don't rememeber any questions regarding bond order.

Reactions trends you should know how to read an energy diagram and such.

I don't really remember but there either wasn't any questions that you needed specific knowledge of the periodic table besides maybe trends.

Or if there was such a question the small portion of the table was provided, I don't remember which, it was a year ago.

If you have those other things down though you should do very well.

Good Luck!

Crap, I had probably 10 orgo rxn questions on mine.

 

[Saladfingers]

Crap, I had probably 10 orgo rxn questions on mine.

Guess I got lucky, only had orgo nomenclature.

Better brush up on the reaction too.

 

[PharmLMD]

Crap, I had probably 10 orgo rxn questions on mine.

Me 2! And I had just gotten out of organic 2 so I forgot a lot of the simpler reactions like E2 haha. I could do all of the damn Hell-Volhard, Grignard, and NAS though! Too bad that wasn't on there .

 

[JohnKimx83]

Thanks for the support. In all the practice tests I went through, every single one of them had questions involving organic reactions and orders. Hopefully i'll study all the right things.

A few problems like these have been giving me problems:

What is the most probable product to be formed from the fluorination of benzene?

a) fluorobenzene
b) p-difluorobenzene
c) m-difluorobenzene
d) o-difluorobenzene

Answer: The halogenation of benzene is an important reaction, because it demonstrates the unusual stability of aromatic compounds. Fluorination of a standard alkene would form a difluorocompound but benzene will not.

Does this involve general knowledge of benzene and its properties?

Is there anything else I should know about certain structures, or should I just know...well, EVERYTHING about each structure? Thanks in advance.

 

[Knickerbocker]

Thanks for the support. In all the practice tests I went through, every single one of them had questions involving organic reactions and orders. Hopefully i'll study all the right things.

A few problems like these have been giving me problems:

What is the most probable product to be formed from the fluorination of benzene?

a) fluorobenzene
b) p-difluorobenzene
c) m-difluorobenzene
d) o-difluorobenzene

Answer: The halogenation of benzene is an important reaction, because it demonstrates the unusual stability of aromatic compounds. Fluorination of a standard alkene would form a difluorocompound but benzene will not.

Does this involve general knowledge of benzene and its properties?

Is there anything else I should know about certain structures, or should I just know...well, EVERYTHING about each structure? Thanks in advance.

Read up on electrophilic aromatic halogenation. I believe that, in the presence of a catalyst, your products are fluorobenzene and hydrofluoric acid.

Now, if it were something like toluene or phenol, you would have to take the activating or deactivating quality into consideration. An activating group will give two major products (ortho and para substitution) and a deactivating will give one major product (meta).

 

[dcz]

chem wasnt bad. I would spend more time on the other sections. I didnt review chem at all and I pulled a 73? I think the other sections were more difficult imo

 

[omnione]

In the general chemistry section of the PCAT, are there really questions on thermochem? I am having a tough time learning that section (and did so when I took Gen chem), but I feel I am good on the other sections, just need to brush up on them.

I remembered some basic ones....know how to deal with heats of rxn/formation and such when given a reaction. You won't be given a hardcore heat engine problem.

 

[PharmLMD]

Yes, you yield fluorobenzene. Read up on EAS, electrophilic aromatic substitution. Always remember that halogens are the only ortho-para directing compounds that are "deactivating", meaning they slow the reaction rate to less than 1.