What do you guys mean by study the "concepts"?

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The advice typically given to students in regards to preparing for the MCAT, med school etc., is read the textbook, don't just memorize / don't memorize at all, and don't do things just for the sake of a grade. UNDERSTAND the concept. So what exactly is meant by that?

When the teacher says, "this and this is the relevant material for this course, omit such and such", does that mean going by, "study the concepts" one would have to or should study the material the teacher says to omit? Does study the concept means reading even the little extra stuff as-well?

Examples:
[1] My Chem teacher said not to worry about converting temperature to Fahrenheit and to only focus on Celsius and Kelvin. Would learning the concepts mean to learn Fahrenheit anyway?

[2] Take the density formula for another instance. Many people have it memorized that d=m/v m=v*d and v=m/d. Applying studying the concept here, would it mean that one should do the algebra to understand WHY the formula is that way?


Hope you understand the question

 

[Entadus]

[1] My Chem teacher said not to worry about converting temperature to Fahrenheit and to only focus on Celsius and Kelvin. Would learning the concepts mean to learn Fahrenheit anyway?

[2] Take the density formula for another instance. Many people have it memorized that d=m/v m=v*d and v=m/d. Applying studying the concept here, would it mean that one should do the algebra to understand WHY the formula is that way?

Any educated person should be able to convert between Celsius and Fahrenheit. You shouldn't worry about it because you should know how to do it.

Same idea with density. It's not a hard concept... I think you're over thinking. You don't just memorize the density formula... you have to understand what "mass" and "volume" are.

 

[235788]

Skim minor details, know the big picture. Example:

The medullary thick ascending limb remains impermeable to water. Sodium, potassium (K+) and chloride (Cl-) ions are reabsorbed by active transport. K+ is passively transported along its concentration gradient through a K+ leak channel in the apical aspect of the cells, back into the lumen of the ascending limb. This K+ "leak" generates a positive electrochemical potential difference in the lumen. The electrical gradient drives more reabsorption of Na+, as well as other cations such as magnesium (Mg2+) and importantly calcium Ca2+.


Can be shortened to Ascending limb absorbs ions not water for the MCAT, however details for tests.

 

[deleted307836]

For me "studying the concepts" means studying/understanding the subject in a way that will let me intuitively figure out problems for which I haven't memorized the answer. Obviously you still need to memorize some minutiae as well however. Personally I try to get the general concepts down first, so that when I go back and memorize facts they make more sense, and fit together better.

When people say this phrase I think the general sentiment they're trying to express is to not just try to memorize everything you can for the sake of knowing it all and performing well on a test. Learn the information in a way that will let you apply it, and in a way that will give you an intuitive understanding of the subject.

 

[bucks2010]

I think you are overthinking things here. Understanding concepts doesn't necessarily mean studying stuff your prof says he's not going to cover.

A good way to test yourself on whether you understand something or not is to lecture yourself. Grab some paper, a whiteboard, chalkboard, etc, find a problem, and walk through how to solve it step by step. If you can do that, you probably have a good understanding of the underlying concepts.

 

[NickNaylor]

For me "studying the concepts" means studying/understanding the subject in a way that will let me intuitively figure out problems for which I haven't memorized the answer. Obviously you still need to memorize some minutiae as well however. Personally I try to get the general concepts down first, so that when I go back and memorize facts they make more sense, and fit together better.

When people say this phrase I think the general sentiment they're trying to express is to not just try to memorize everything you can for the sake of knowing it all and performing well on a test. Learn the information in a way that will let you apply it, and in a way that will give you an intuitive understanding of the subject.

This is a great way of putting it.

 

[methylethyl88]

If you can teach it without notes to somebody else, then you understand the concept

 

[Iso4ane]

learning the concepts is like knowing that acceleration is the derivative of velocity with is the derivative if position and instead of memorizing every equation you need to remember is a=constant and work you way from there.

 

[circulus vitios]

The advice typically given to students in regards to preparing for the MCAT, med school etc., is read the textbook, don't just memorize / don't memorize at all, and don't do things just for the sake of a grade. UNDERSTAND the concept. So what exactly is meant by that?

When the teacher says, "this and this is the relevant material for this course, omit such and such", does that mean going by, "study the concepts" one would have to or should study the material the teacher says to omit? Does study the concept means reading even the little extra stuff as-well?

Examples:
[1] My Chem teacher said not to worry about converting temperature to Fahrenheit and to only focus on Celsius and Kelvin. Would learning the concepts mean to learn Fahrenheit anyway?

[2] Take the density formula for another instance. Many people have it memorized that d=m/v m=v*d and v=m/d. Applying studying the concept here, would it mean that one should do the algebra to understand WHY the formula is that way?


Hope you understand the question

1. There's nothing really conceptual about converting between temperatures other than a delta in one scale might not equal the delta in the other scale.

2. I remember density by the units of density. kg/liter is a unit of mass per unit of volume so d=m/v and you can find m or v by simple algebra.

"Learning the concepts" in higher level classes isn't always this easy. A lot of the times I have to struggle and work through the ugly details before I can see the big picture.

 

[music2doc]

Be able to critically think through the subject.

E.g., Ochem... Honestly, if you asked me what most of the ochem rxns are at this pt, I'd probably stare back at you blankly. I don't have them memorized for the most part (except the main ones). However, give me two chemicals, a solvent, and any necessary conditions (e.g., catalysts, temp, etc.) and I can probably figure out quite effortlessly what is going to happen. I understand the concepts of ochem -- of which there are only a few, really (opposite charges attract, electronegative atoms withdraw electrons, atoms don't like to be near each other unless they [can] bond, bonding is good, octet rule and its derivatives, etc.) and once you understand them, ochem is probably one of the easiest courses most institutions offer. (What other course is really just repeatedly applying the same 10 rules over and over and over again for an entire year?)

 

[Entadus]

E.g., Ochem... Honestly, if you asked me what most of the ochem rxns are at this pt, I'd probably stare back at you blankly. I don't have them memorized for the most part (except the main ones). However, give me two chemicals, a solvent, and any necessary conditions (e.g., catalysts, temp, etc.) and I can probably figure out quite effortlessly what is going to happen. I understand the concepts of ochem -- of which there are only a few, really (opposite charges attract, electronegative atoms withdraw electrons, atoms don't like to be near each other unless they [can] bond, bonding is good, octet rule and its derivatives, etc.) and once you understand them, ochem is probably one of the easiest courses most institutions offer. (What other course is really just repeatedly applying the same 10 rules over and over and over again for an entire year?)

O-chem can be a lot harder than this. Sounds like an easy course

 

[MT Headed]

The MCAT requires you to know the concepts and be able to connect them in unexpected ways. You asked about knowing the concepts. Here's one.

Knowing the concepts, momentum vs. kinetic energy: In an inelastic collision, why is momentum conserved, but kinetic energy not conserved?

PS=4: Kinetic energy is conserved in all collisions. Conservation of energy.

PS=7: Kinetic energy is not conserved in inelastic collisions because that's what I memorized.

PS=10: Kinetic energy is not conserved because the heat stole some of the energy. Damned if I know why heat doesn't steal some momentum too, that always kinda bugged me.

PS=13+: Imagine a bullet striking and embedding into a wooden block on a frictionless surface. Momentum = mv = m(at) = (ma)t = Ft. During the collision, the bullet felt an average force F over a time t. The block felt the same force F (newtons third law) over the same time t. Therefore momentum is conserved. Kinetic Energy change = Fd. The bullet felt an average force F over a distance (measured over the ground) of d. The wooden block felt the same force F, BUT the distance (over ground) over which the block felt the force is smaller, because the block is so much heavier and it moved less during the collision. Therefore the block gained a smaller amount of kinetic energy (same F times smaller d).

 

[NKChemEng]

The MCAT requires you to know the concepts and be able to connect them in unexpected ways. You asked about knowing the concepts. Here's one.

Knowing the concepts, momentum vs. kinetic energy: In an inelastic collision, why is momentum conserved, but kinetic energy not conserved?

PS=4: Kinetic energy is conserved in all collisions. Conservation of energy.

PS=7: Kinetic energy is not conserved in inelastic collisions because that's what I memorized.

PS=10: Kinetic energy is not conserved because the heat stole some of the energy. Damned if I know why heat doesn't steal some momentum too, that always kinda bugged me.

PS=13+: Imagine a bullet striking and embedding into a wooden block on a frictionless surface. Momentum = mv = m(at) = (ma)t = Ft. During the collision, the bullet felt an average force F over a time t. The block felt the same force F (newtons third law) over the same time t. Therefore momentum is conserved. Kinetic Energy change = Fd. The bullet felt an average force F over a distance (measured over the ground) of d. The wooden block felt the same force F, BUT the distance (over ground) over which the block felt the force is smaller, because the block is so much heavier and it moved less during the collision. Therefore the block gained a smaller amount of kinetic energy (same F times smaller d).

+1 Great explanation. To me, concept over memorization seemed to be like "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink." Memorization can lead you all the way up to the right answer with a lot of effort, because you'll be memorizing everything and then trying to spit it back out. Knowing a concept is effortless, because you understand what different things mean.

For instance, in achem there are some equations which describe diffusion and mass transport in chromatography (using this as most recent example that I remember). For one lab quiz, I had difficulty because I just memorized the terms in the equation, and it was hard remembering what each of them was to answer the question. For the exam, I tried to understand WHY each term was there, and what happened when it increased or decreased, and the net effect on the value as a WHOLE. Then suddenly it became much easier, and I didn't have to MEMORIZE the equation. I could just write it down as it was a natural, mathematical way to express a simple physical concept.

You could get the same results with memorization, but with a LOT more effort.

 

[circulus vitios]

Be able to critically think through the subject.

E.g., Ochem... Honestly, if you asked me what most of the ochem rxns are at this pt, I'd probably stare back at you blankly. I don't have them memorized for the most part (except the main ones). However, give me two chemicals, a solvent, and any necessary conditions (e.g., catalysts, temp, etc.) and I can probably figure out quite effortlessly what is going to happen. I understand the concepts of ochem -- of which there are only a few, really (opposite charges attract, electronegative atoms withdraw electrons, atoms don't like to be near each other unless they [can] bond, bonding is good, octet rule and its derivatives, etc.) and once you understand them, ochem is probably one of the easiest courses most institutions offer. (What other course is really just repeatedly applying the same 10 rules over and over and over again for an entire year?)

That works until you get one of those ******ed reactions that professors love to teach where no mechanism is provided because nobody really knows how the reaction works.

 

[NickNaylor]

That works until you get one of those ******ed reactions that professors love to teach where no mechanism is provided because nobody really knows how the reaction works.

Then you just work it out and figure out the mechanism, duh!

 

[music2doc]

O-chem can be a lot harder than this. Sounds like an easy course

Definitely wasn't "easy" for most. I believe I got something like a 92% in Ochem 2 with a 98th percentile score on the Ochem ACS exam. I'd hardly say it was easier than most other schools' and I've talked with students at other schools. The reality is there are only a few critical concepts and those concepts are basically reused over and over with a few modifications. Yes, you have to memorize a few details here and there but if you're memorizing entire rxns or mechanisms, you're doing it wrong. And obviously for the rxns no one entirely understands, you do have to memorize to some degree but even for most of those, the general concepts still work. (It's just the details as to why it goes this way and not that way that are generally not entirely understood.)

 

[music2doc]

Then you just work it out and figure out the mechanism, duh!

Haha...despite the sarcasm, sometimes this does (sorta) work. Sure, you're not going to have the correct mechanism (most likely) but if you can "prove" to yourself that it works a certain way due to principles you know, it makes things a lot easier to remember. The fact that the mechanism you came up w/ is probably incorrect is irrelevant, since it give you a tool to remember the rxn by. Of course, this depends on the particular not-fully-understood rxn we are talking about. Not all can be nicely broken down (even dubiously), so sometimes memorization is necessary, but wouldn't you rather only have to memorize 5-10% of the material instead of 95% of it?

 

[wholeheartedly]

There have been some great answers given, but to reiterate. Knowing the concepts is knowing WHY something happens, not just WHAT happens.

The more you understand, the more you can figure out on your own, the less you have to memorize.