Trouble with Quantitative General Chemistry

[happyfellow]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi everyone, I've come to find that my weakest point in MCAT prep is general chemistry--more specifically, questions that have me calculate numerical values. I've been through BR twice and I feel like I know the theory very well but I'm missing the majority of calculation questions. I decided to take a break from BR because I feel like I'm wasting their great passages because I lack the fundamental skill of quantitative analysis.

Can anyone recommend a book that will help? Is the EK1001 series my best bet? I have a couple of months until my MCAT so I'm willing to devote the necessary time to get over this hump. Thanks in advance

-Happy

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Personally, I think understanding the concepts is a better idea than just being able to plug-and-chug. You say that you're comfortable with all the theory, so you should be able to do the calculations just fine, especially since they don't require a calculator or anything like that. I only used the BR chem book as my resource and found it helpful, but the 1001 book also seems pretty good. It doesn't have passages though (if I remember correctly), only free questions. If you're good with theory, I don't think you should waste time going over more gen chem; it might be better to work on improving your math skills. What part of the calculation are you doing wrong? Are you using the wrong formulas? Or are your mistakes mathematical errors?

If you're good with the theory, you shouldn't really have trouble with formulas because the formulas are just representations of the concepts. If your errors are mathematical, I recommed looking at the various "math" guides that Vihsadas, etc. have put up here on SDN. From there, it's just a matter of practicing simple calculations like the ones you see on the MCAT. Write out your solution if that helps and learn to internalize it or skip steps to do it faster. What I did for questions that required me to calculate an answer was that I'd write down the formula so that I have it in front of me so I wouldn't make mistakes; then, I'd just rearrange it and plug the numbers in my head. If the math was trickier, I'd write it out quickly to make sure I didn't do anything stupid.

Overall though, I'd say knowing the concepts cold the best way to prepare for the PS section. I had very few questions where I had to calculate a numerical answer. The majority dealt with understanding concepts (ie. Le Chatelier's and the effect of stressors), rearranging formulas, some dimensional analysis, etc.