which general chem topics/chapters in destroyer are weak?
for those who used the destroyer and scored low in chem , please help us
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Destroyer has chapters?
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The chems are by far the Destroyers strongest sections. I don't really think there are any deficiencies in those sections.
If you understand the chems in Destroyer, I really have a hard time in seeing how you will score below a 20 on any given day. Again, this assumes you know all the material inside and out. Just because the book is composed of questions and not wordy or in a review format like kaplan, doesn't mean that it's not a lot of information.
The only way I could see someone doing poorly in the chems after using destroyer would most likely be due to the following:
1) not enough repetitions (this is pretty important)
2) failing to use their textbooks in understanding the material. Seeing some of the questions being posed on this forum, it seems like some people avoid using their textbooks like the plague.
3) not commiting things to memory...once they understand something, they don't revisit it and when it comes time to use it...they forget it.
4) not realizing that a particular question can have many variations. if you don't prepare for multiple variations for a given topic, this can throw you off.
This can be said for any comprehensive study guide for a given subject. What I have mentioned are merely check points you have to give yourself along the way to make sure you really understand the material. Just realize that all the science subjects can be very comprehensive in nature...thus no one guide is perfect. Thus, the best compliment to any study guide is a TEXTBOOK.
If you understand the chems in Destroyer, I really have a hard time in seeing how you will score below a 20 on any given day. Again, this assumes you know all the material inside and out. Just because the book is composed of questions and not wordy or in a review format like kaplan, doesn't mean that it's not a lot of information.
The only way I could see someone doing poorly in the chems after using destroyer would most likely be due to the following:
1) not enough repetitions (this is pretty important)
2) failing to use their textbooks in understanding the material. Seeing some of the questions being posed on this forum, it seems like some people avoid using their textbooks like the plague.
3) not commiting things to memory...once they understand something, they don't revisit it and when it comes time to use it...they forget it.
4) not realizing that a particular question can have many variations. if you don't prepare for multiple variations for a given topic, this can throw you off.
This can be said for any comprehensive study guide for a given subject. What I have mentioned are merely check points you have to give yourself along the way to make sure you really understand the material. Just realize that all the science subjects can be very comprehensive in nature...thus no one guide is perfect. Thus, the best compliment to any study guide is a TEXTBOOK.
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I am actually working on G-chem in Destroyer right now. I think it is pretty good for the most part. From what I have heard if you can do most of the g-chem in destroyer you should fair well. I also have used Kaplan subject test for conceptual g-chem problems. Some of the calculations on those subject test are pretty in depth...so I have steered away from them.
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i wouldnt steer clear of anything. You should do them because they reinforce concepts and a variation of the problem could show up on test day. I did all questions in destroyer and kaplan subject tests, and did well on Gchem section.
You also get to practice math with scientific notation/decimals because that is important for QR and you could get thne Gchem section that has problems not worked out for you.
Just my opinion
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I knew there would be a response to that.......sure if you have the time then do them for the practice to make sure you have a good grasp on everything. But for the most part you arent going to find any questions on the DAT that go into some of the detail that those subject test do. And I'm not talkin about 10 problems a test it's a select few that are kinda ridiculous (I should have specified in my previous post). Instead of sitting there and trying to plow through some of those problems I think time would be better spent making sure you know the concepts that are more likely to show up. In the overall grand scheme of things I do agree with you though....if you have the time you shouldn't steer clear of anything. For me at this point its all about time managment.
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Very well said, Poc. Couldn't agree more with every point. Repetition is key. You have to be able to keep this stuff in your mind. It sucks revisiting things when you have so much to cover, but you have to force yourself to see it again and again. Things will continue to click and make more sense the more times you see it.
Also, use your textbooks for any thing that is even vaguely unfamiliar in Destroyer. While I liked it, it didn't have amazing explanations, IMO.
For example, I can only think of one question that asks you to compare nucleophiles. The explanation is very quick. This would be a good topic to supplement with your text as there is much more than what destroyer presents.
