Preparing for the final

[Ghadir Seder 1G]

Hi all!
I hope you had a great thanksgiving with your families! I had a question regarding how to prepare for the final. So to prepare for the midterm, I went back and redid all the homework that Lavelle assigned, starting from week 1. However, when I took the midterm, I did not do well at all. I thought the best way to prepare for it would be to go through and do practice problems, but that didn't seem to help me during the midterm, especially for the problems regarding the photoelectric effect with the gold metal. What do you guys find helps you the most when preparing for the final?

Thank you!

[AveryAgosto]

I felt the same as you did. I did all the homework problems and still felt unprepared for the midterm. I think going to TA and peer learning workshops where extra problems are provided is another good way. Review sessions and khan academy videos can be helpful too.

[HannahBui 2K]

Hi! I am kind of in the same boat, so something that I've started to do is watch Youtube videos on topics that we cover in class to get a better understanding of the material before getting started on the practice problems. I've also started to go through each of the learning objectives on the outlines and try to make sure I understand all of them before doing the homework. Additionally, I recommend going to office hours and step-up sessions to ask questions on anything you may be confused on. Best of luck studying!

[Adrianh72]

I'll use videos too, but I have a very short attention span so I have to be actively doing something too. So what I'll do is have my lecture notes open while watching Khan Academy videos and add anything I need to or just annotate my notes for clarity.

[KayleyW_3L]

I really like watching educational chemistry videos like on khan academy and youtube, while working through practice problems. My attention span is pretty bad though too, and I can only do this for short periods at a time. But it's definitely good to start earlier!

[Rohan Kubba Dis 4B]

Yeah I had a similar story too. I didn’t feel like I did well even after going through a bunch of problems and going to a couple sessions. I think the best thing is to ask your TA question-specific questions. Also, just watching OrganicChemistryTutor on YouTube really started to help me. So in addition to the math, I would watch more videos specific to topics that you don’t understand.

[KaleenaJezycki_1I]

Definitely attend as many step-up and workshop sessions as possible. Also join group chats that you can ask questions in, watch videos online, review notes, and fill in the learning objective outlines because then you conceptually know and can explain everything as well.

[claribel charway 1I]

The same thing happened to me as well. I think the best thing to do is to do textbook problems but also attend as many review sessions as possible. From what I heard, the final might be more conceptually focused so understanding certain principles is imperative.

[MTanikella_1K]

As everyone has mentioned, youtube has some really useful videos for understanding the concepts we cover during lecture. Exposing yourself to as many problems as you can will be very beneficial because it will solidify your understanding of the topics. In addition, I think that reworking problems can be more effective when you try to reason your way to the answer conceptually!

[anjali41]

I think the best way to review would to do a mix of everything suggested. I think going to review sessions, study groups, youtube videos, and a lot of practice problems are all great review for the final. I think the more comfortable you are with the concept, the better off you will be for the final.

[faithkim1L]

I think practice problems are a really good idea, on top of maybe some reinforcement through the step-up sessions and online videos.

[NRodgers_1C]

I went to a workshop for the first time right before Test 2 and I found it so helpful! Personally, I think these small groups work much better for me than large group review sessions. However, I'm in the same boat where I feel like there's a lot of content to learn and not enough time for me to figure it all out to the point where I will be confident going into the final. Wondering if there's a way besides just doing practice problems and trying to solidify conceptual knowledge to study.

[Ghadir Seder 1G]

Where can I find the learning objectives so I can make sure that I know each concept?

[jisulee1C]

The learning objectives are on the class website under learning outcomes.

[JinwooLee_1F]

I think in addition to doing the homework, solving out the practice tests really helped me. For example, there was the dino nugget practice test for the first midterm, and it helped me a lot because those were challenging problems that required me to master the concepts. If you think that homework problems are too easy, you should definitely try out the practice tests.

[Haley Chun 4H]

I found the step-up sessions extremely helpful. The UA's go through worksheets that they have adapted specifically from Lavelle's old midterms/finals, so they better prepare you for his tests.

[SarahCoufal_1k]

I think the TA review sessions help a lot, try to go to as may as you can even on the same subject for reinforcement etc.

[Megan Ngai- 3B]

The TA review sessions and reading the textbook helped a lot for me!

[Jasmine 2C]

Similar to preparing for the midterm, I would go through lecture notes first, then through the actual textbook material and add on comments to my notes, then do all the homework problems, and then do extra practice problems provided by TAs/UAs/etc.

[Leila_4G]

I'm still confused on how we find out about step up sessions. Is it on chem community?

[Leila_4G]

Also, I wish the review sessions weren't late on a Friday night, those times are difficult for a commuter student but I have no other choice because I need to get a good grade..

[KayleyW_3L]

I'm still confused on how we find out about step up sessions. Is it on chem community?

It's on his class website (not the chem community forums). https://lavelle.chem.ucla.edu/wp-content/supporting-files/Chem14A/Chem14UA_PL_ALL.pdf
These are the most updated complete list of sessions which include step up sessions as well as review sessions: https://lavelle.chem.ucla.edu/wp-content/supporting-files/Chem14A/Final_Review_Sessions_14A.pdf

[Anvi Brahmbhatt 4A]

Definitely go to the review sessions! They really break down and explain concepts, and go over practice problems. Reading the textbook is also super helpful.

[705198479]

review sessions and even having your own study groups helps a lot

[Alan Cornejo 1a]

I really feel like going to the review sessions helps alot as it helped me greatly and they are very useful

[Presley Gao 2C]

Try to go to as many TA review sessions as possible, and practice as many problems as you possibly can.