study tips!!!!!

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caligirl03

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Hello everyone,
Right now i am taking physics o chem 1 and zoology and I also work part-time. Im doing good in my zoology class and ok in physics and struggling in o chem. I feel like i am studying my a** off everytime I have a test and I am not getting the grades that I want I feel like i should get an A or B but i'm ending up with c's and d's on my exams. Any study tips you have for physics and o chem to kind of help me out so i can get back on the right track anything will help i just can't seem to find one thing that works and its stressing me out especially when test time comes around. Thanks everyone!!!!
 
caligirl03 said:
Hello everyone,
Right now i am taking physics o chem 1 and zoology and I also work part-time. Im doing good in my zoology class and ok in physics and struggling in o chem. I feel like i am studying my a** off everytime I have a test and I am not getting the grades that I want I feel like i should get an A or B but i'm ending up with c's and d's on my exams. Any study tips you have for physics and o chem to kind of help me out so i can get back on the right track anything will help i just can't seem to find one thing that works and its stressing me out especially when test time comes around. Thanks everyone!!!!
Click to expand...

From what I remember about physics (and its been a while) there are a lot of formulas. Knowing the formulas, as in all of the variables, how they apply, what the units of measurement are, really helps. A lot of the problems will, for example, give you 3 out of 5 variables, with the 3 you can get #4 and then solve for #5. Its usually about solving for the missing part...a lot of algebra application.
Ochem was memorization of patterns. (and as in physics, its been a while, like 5 yrs a while) I remember that the molecules change in predictable ways based on their basic structure and then the subgroups they have.
Sorry, I can't think of any more to say without specific examples. I hope this helps. Good luck.
 
twelvetigers said:
For either subject, two words: practice problems. Over and over.
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^ i totally agree with TT. the only reason why i did well in physics and ochem was because i did all the practice problems in the book, and i mean ALL of them. also, it helps to review notes the day or the day after the lecture. for me, i always write a new set of notes that is more organized and color coded to get my thoughts together. sometimes i go in the book and write in extra comments for topics i didn't understand or captions for pictures/diagrams.

i mark in my notes the questions i had and then either ask the professor/TA through email or office hours. office hours are very helpful because they're one on one and they can explain whatever you need them to in more depth or in a way that you understand.

i ended up with A's in both ochem and physics (physics I, i haven't taken physics II yet). i found these strategies to be very helpful and some of my friends who have taken after this have found their grades to improve as well.

good luck! :luck:
 
definitey do problems over and over again like other said.

I personally like to use a dy erase board to study. There is something very different about standing up at a dry erase board and working out a problem compared to writing it down on paper. Sometimes I would even talk aloud to myself as I did it so that I was really explaining why I was doing the things that I was doing.

This also helps because there is nothing else on the wipeboard for you to glance at and kinda help yourself out.

I would do all the assigned problems this way over and over, and then some of the unassigned problems. Additionally I would write out the different reactions and when they were used this way...again, it's much different than writing it out on paper. Plus the use of different colors is really helpful.

It worked so well for me that I now have a large wipe board in my apt that I use for studying anything that gives me trouble.
 
GellaBella said:
I personally like to use a dy erase board to study. There is something very different about standing up at a dry erase board and working out a problem compared to writing it down on paper. Sometimes I would even talk aloud to myself as I did it so that I was really explaining why I was doing the things that I was doing.

.
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👍👍
I second the dry erase board
And can't say enough good things about talking. I taught my dog all about reproductive physiology and organic chemistry and nutritional biochemistry, and she loved me anyway
 
I did tons and tons of problems for organic, and I looked over the notes right after class. Most of the time I did my studying and homework for organic right at school, so if I had a question I could go to the professor (he seemed like he never left school!) and he could explain what I was doing wrong. I ended up loving that class! As for physics I took it as a summer class and color coded my entire notebook and did a lot of the practice problems. It was just take a formula and manipulate it to work for you. Oh and I second the dry erase board for physics. My friend and I during the summer after our class would go to an empty classroom to work on problems, it was awesome and we both ended up doing very well!Good Luck with your classes!
 
I agree with working problems over and over. Models that you can build with are helpful for some people as well. Also, if you feel like you are behind, talk to your professor. It's easy to fall a little behind, but before you know it, the material has snowballed into a mountain.
How is the rest of your class doing? I know that I made bad grades (I'm talking F's here), but so did the rest of the class. In the end, I came out with a C.
 
Whenever I come across a reaction, I write it down on a sticky note and just keep adding more reactions to that sticky note. I carry that sticky note with me EVERYWHERE. Whenever I have a few seconds, I take a glance at it. Works for me- I got a 29/25 on my first orgo II quiz and 98/100 on my first orgo II exam.
 
If you really think you should have gotten an A or a B and instead got a C or D, I think you might have issues with mis-comprehension rather than just not knowing the material, which in some cases can be harder to overcome.

It might be really good for you to seek out a department tutor and at least go over some concepts/practice questions after you study enough that you think you "understand" the material. Just talk it out with the tutor and give your thought process. If there was any kind of misunderstanding, they should be able to correct you so you don't make that mistake on the exam.
 
cowgirla said:
And can't say enough good things about talking. I taught my dog all about reproductive physiology and organic chemistry and nutritional biochemistry, and she loved me anyway
Click to expand...

I talk to my dog when I study too!

When I was taking organic, I would go home every day and try to keep up with the reading. I always take notes on what I'm reading because that helps me understand it better. Then I do the problems the teacher suggested (this teacher had us do sooo many problems). The problems in my book were really good because one question would have parts a-m that were all similar types of problems. So, as TT said, repetition in doing problems!
 
cowgirla said:
👍👍
I second the dry erase board
And can't say enough good things about talking. I taught my dog all about reproductive physiology and organic chemistry and nutritional biochemistry, and she loved me anyway
Click to expand...
At the rate I'm going, Molly (my doggy) should be graduating with a zoology degree in a year and a half LOL! She knows everything I know...maybe more :laugh:
 
The book "Organic Chemistry as a Second Language" SAVED MY LIFE when I retook the course.
 
scarcelyheard said:
The book "Organic Chemistry as a Second Language" SAVED MY LIFE when I retook the course.
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👍👍
definitely helped me too, especially with ochem I. that book was a godsend, literally. a bit pricey, but totally worth it - i highlighted it and took notes from it like crazy AND they give you MORE practice problems!:laugh:
 
i never liked studying in groups much, but one thing that really helped me with physics was doing the practice problems with other people. and i don't mean doing them together...i mean doing them separately but just be in the same room together. just sitting there writing, (mostly) not talking. that way when you have an issue you can ask them AND when they are confused they can ask you. explaining to other people always helps me understand it for myself so much better!
 
thanks for eeryone's input yeah i feel like i did better for my second o chem test then my first so hopefully all those sleepless nights paid off lol im defiently going to try some of these things thanks again
 
Practice problems. Do the same problem 3 times. Do this for as many problems as you can. The next day, see if you can solve the problem without having to look up any information. If so, great. If not, repeat the problem 3 times again. Repetition is key.
 
KaibabVet said:
I just bought the book on amazon. I'm willing to try ANYTHING to get an A.
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Best book EVER. I'd sit down and actually get enjoyment out of reading it. Saved my life when it came to E1, E2, SN1 and SN2 reactions.
 
catscatscats said:
i never liked studying in groups much, but one thing that really helped me with physics was doing the practice problems with other people. and i don't mean doing them together...i mean doing them separately but just be in the same room together. just sitting there writing, (mostly) not talking. that way when you have an issue you can ask them AND when they are confused they can ask you. explaining to other people always helps me understand it for myself so much better!
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Similarly, I never studied in groups before, but I found it really helped me with O-Chem. In this case I found working out the problems together really helped, or just giving each other "mini-lectures" on the subject. Explaining things out loud to others can help you work out the details or issues you have with the topic as well as help you remember it better. 🙂
 
For organic chemistry, you NEED to do the practice problems a minimum of three times each WITHOUT looking back at the first try. Organic Chemistry as a Second Language saved me, too, because it made me do the problems!

Also, keep in mind class averages. I ended up with a 60% in my orgo II class and got a B because I stayed just above the averages of the class. A lot of people geek when they see their test score but its all relative.
 
bonaparte said:
Similarly, I never studied in groups before, but I found it really helped me with O-Chem. In this case I found working out the problems together really helped, or just giving each other "mini-lectures" on the subject. Explaining things out loud to others can help you work out the details or issues you have with the topic as well as help you remember it better. 🙂
Click to expand...

Organic was/is (taking II right now) the only class I like study groups for. Everyone has a different way of seeing a reaction, and sometimes talking it over with others makes it stick much better because you find a new way to see it happening.

Also, I have a copy of Organic Chemistry I as a Second Language that I'd be willing to part with if someone wants it.
 
Hmm, maybe I'm just unique, but I ordered the "Organic Chemistry as a Second Language" book from interlibrary loan, and found it really wasn't that helpful. They explained it in a different enough way from my textbook, and I think was overly simplified. Reading my textbook chapters over and over again helped much more. Also, for complicated reaction mechanisms I'd draw them over and over again.
And memorizing pKa's of the 10 most common organic molecules.
 
canis13 said:
And memorizing pKa's of the 10 most common organic molecules.
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You can't really get away with not memorizing them (or at least having an idea of where they rank with respect to one another).

This reminds me of how terrible it was having to memorize the structures and pKa's of all twenty amino acids for biochem... Well, glad that's over! *hugs diploma*
 
I also loved Ochem as a 2nd Language. I found it especially helpful when I knew I was missing just one little key piece of the puzzle. It was laid out in more of a high-yield format, so really important keys weren't buried like they often are in textbooks. This saved me a lot of time and frustration.
 
caligirl03 said:
Hello everyone,
Right now i am taking physics o chem 1 and zoology and I also work part-time. Im doing good in my zoology class and ok in physics and struggling in o chem. I feel like i am studying my a** off everytime I have a test and I am not getting the grades that I want I feel like i should get an A or B but i'm ending up with c's and d's on my exams. Any study tips you have for physics and o chem to kind of help me out so i can get back on the right track anything will help i just can't seem to find one thing that works and its stressing me out especially when test time comes around. Thanks everyone!!!!
Click to expand...

For o-chem: I've gone through something like 25 different "How to Do well in Orgo" essays by professors and of those 25, 88% mentioned the importance of doing problems, a lot of them in BLOCK CAPITALS.
The other popular answers were "study actively" (rework your notes, write out the reactions, and make summaries) (68%) and "don't get behind" (56%). That last one is a bit vague. But I'm just reporting what they said.
I'm going to blog about this on Monday.

Edit: forgot to mention - for super-specific study tactics, Ian Gould's site at ASU is great: http://chm233.asu.edu/study.asp
 
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