Midterm 1 - Study Tips and Advice

[Evonne Chau 2I]

Hi everyone,

The midterm is just around the corner, and I just want to ask how everyone's doing. I feel like I'm so behind in this course, and I'm doing my best to understand the material by watching the lectures, modules, read Chemistry Community posts, etc. When Dr. Lavelle said The Quantum World was the hardest topic, he wasn't kidding :(.

Does anyone have any advice/tips for the Midterm on Friday? For example, what I should focus on, what I need to memorize, what I need to prioritize, etc. Thank you in advance!

As for studying, right now I'm rewatching the lectures and modules while taking detailed notes. I feel like this isn't enough to grasp the material :(

[Sean Basu 2B]

I think doing the Audio-Visual Focus Topics and suggested problems listed on page 3 of the syllabus (https://lavelle.chem.ucla.edu/wp-content/supporting-files/Chem14A/Chem14ASYLL_1.pdf) is super helpful. Also, once you finish taking notes on a lecture, try going back through your notes and explaining the concepts to yourself, like you're giving your own lecture. That way, you can see which concepts you don't fully understand and you can find out where to focus your attention.

[Megan McKenna Dis1A]

I feel you. I plan on doing a lot of practice problems and utilizing the audio-visual topics. I was wondering if the exam is more mathematical and application questions or testing our conceptual knowledge?

[Caitlin Beale 3E]

Most definitely do the problems from the ebook problems! Pervious students and TAs have said that some of the homework problems are the questions on the test as well!

[405509920]

Yeah I agree with what everyone has said so far. The textbook practice problems are a good refresher for earlier material and really help you point out any weak points in understanding. I spent most of my weekend going through all the fundamental/principles problems and I think it helped me get a sense of what I needed to work on in regards to that material.