Studying for Midterm #1

[RyanKopeikin_2I]

As someone who had Dr. Scerri for chem 14A, I'm not really sure what to expect from Dr. Lavelle's midterms. Are there any tips for studying you guys would recommend? How to best prepare? Thanks so much :)

[Juliet Cushing_2H]

I always do the extra book problems he assigns! The midterms are noticeably harder than Sapling and I think that the book problems are more representative of exams. Also make sure to understand the concepts behind problems rather than just memorizing step 1,2,3 etc. Hope this helps :)

[Adalia 3E]

I usually study using the textbook problems he assigns, as well as the video modules found on his website!

[Joyce Pang 2H]

Use textbook problems to study and go to UA sessions to review overall concepts :)

[Mahnoor_Wani_1I]

I agree with the posts above, doing textbook problems are KEY! The midterm qs are similar to the textbook problems. I also recommend going to UAs session for any clarifying question you may have or do some extra practice problems.

[Minh-Thy Vo 3D]

I think the textbook questions and UA worksheets are really helpful.

[Melis Kasaba 2B]

Lavelle takes problems from the textbook, so it's very helpful to make sure you understand how to do every single question he assigns. I don't find the Sapling as helpful, but that's probably subjective. It's also important to go to UA sessions since they provide extra problems/practice and can help solidify your knowledge. Additionally, some of them have review sessions. Also, make sure to look at the learning objectives at the bottom of each outline.

[Melody Wu 2L]

I also recommend doing as many problems as possible--textbook problems, UA workshops, etc. Keep track of the ones you got wrong and really take the time to understand why you got them wrong, whether it's a careless mistake, solving for the wrong thing, knowledge gap, etc. I find it really easy to make careless mistakes with all the calculations so if you understand where you tend to make mistakes, it'll help you to be more wary of it on test day!

I think the most important thing is reading questions CAREFULLY on the test. On the final last quarter, there were a few problems that left out some labels on a diagram, etc. and if you didn't notice them, you'd get the question wrong. Beyond that I think it's doable to do well in the class if you work hard!

[Sahaj Patel Lec3DisK]

The textbook problems are a great way to study! Those, in addition to attending as many UA sessions, will help you a lot and take you a long way. Lastly, I would review your notes and lectures as often as possible, since he usually asks some conceptual questions on the midterms that pull content from his notes/lectures. Hope this helps!

[Kathy_Li_1H]

Hi! I would highly recommend doing the textbook problems and also reviewing sapling problems. If you have extra time or still feel a little unsure, I would go to some of the UA sessions!

[Chloe Shamtob 2H]

I had Lavelle last quarter for 14A and something that really helped me study for the exams was definitely the textbook. You should go over the textbook problems several times until you know how to do them completely without any hesitation or looking back at your notes. You should also mark any problems you have trouble with. The UA and discussion sections also are a great resource to utilize and ask questions. I usually try to complete most of the UA worksheets given before an exam.

[Summer_Corona 3L]

As the others have said, the best way to study is going over the textbook problems a few times and attending as many UA sessions you can (I try not to overdo it though as it causes me to burnout). I also look at the homework problems that I may have had trouble solving on my first try and attempt them again and look over the solutions that sapling provides for better explanations.

[Sheryl Ocampo 1D]

The textbook and sapling problems are a lot of help!

[Kelly Singh]

I like to fill out the outlines and write info for all of the learning objectives.

[Akriti Ratti 1H]

Doing the textbook problems from the outline can be really helpful.

[Ritika Prasad 1A]

Also having never taken a class with Dr. Lavelle before, I was wondering how much of the textbook we should be reading thoroughly in order to help us on the exams? Should I just use the textbook to guide me when I have difficulty mastering some concepts, or should I be going through the textbook in detail?

[Jessie Hsu 1C]

Also having never taken a class with Dr. Lavelle before, I was wondering how much of the textbook we should be reading thoroughly in order to help us on the exams? Should I just use the textbook to guide me when I have difficulty mastering some concepts, or should I be going through the textbook in detail?

For me, to review for the exams I read all of the assigned textbook pages to figure out which concepts I didn't understand or needed more practice on! But if there's a section I'm already pretty comfortable with I would just skim through so reading the textbook doesn't take a long time.

[Kaley Qin 1F]

Like everyone else said, the extra book problems are very useful because sapling problems tend to be on the simpler and easier side. UA worksheets are also helpful and remember to print out the equation sheet!

[Alex Mele 2A]

Like others have said, studying the outlines and textbook problems is really helpful! I did this for both midterms and the final in chem 14a. I also reviewed sapling problems and some of my lecture notes.

[Sophia Wendin 3L]

The textbook problems were super helpful for me last quarter. I would recommend doing all of them (or as many as you can/feel like) and then spend extra time on the topics you get wrong.

[Brandon Pham 1H]

Textbook problems and sapling are usually optimal for preparing for the midterms/final!

[Courtney Situ 2B]

Hi there!

Skimming what others have said, I definitely agree that practice is the best way to go. Before you start the review, make sure to really and I mean REALLY read each bullet point on the outlines. It kind of feels like the worst when you miss a problem because you forgot to review that one concept. Also, if I could organize all the study practices based on priority (highest to least):

1. Sapling (Similar to what we need to know for midterms + if you get something wrong, you can read the explanation)
2. Book problems (just below Sapling b/c there's no explanation and sometimes the answer is wrong)
3. LA worksheets
4. Chem community (answering questions is really good b/c if you know how to explain a concept, you know the concept + if you explain something wrong, someone will hopefully correct you)
5. Notes/book (After I review the outlines, I normally figure out what I don't understand, quickly review notes, and then jump into practice)
6. Lectures (they're the best to explain concepts and problems together especially if you forgot everything about a concept, but for quick refreshers, I would use another study material)

Last thing: I make sure to grade my practice no matter what b/c sometimes I feel confident and I got half of them wrong, sometimes I feel like most of my answers aren't right and they end up being alright. Also, I heard that the LA sessions are super helpful! I haven't been able to go to one yet but definitely recommend it.

[Sami Siddiqui 1J]

I agree with many of the points other students have said. In my personal experiences from Chem 14A, I found it most useful to do the textbook problems twice over. I normally complete the textbook questions as Dr. Lavelle discusses the topics in lecture and once more starting a week before an upcoming midterm to make sure I'm not overloading a bunch of work all at once. In future, you should also try to see if pre-noting the text before Dr. Lavelle discusses a given topic is helpful for you. Even if you don't understand everything as you're pre-reading, the lecture will serve as a way of clearing up any misunderstandings instead of learning all the content at once. That's just my two cents on it though.

[Colin Juett 2F]

Definitely do the homework problems he assigns from the book! The outlines are indicative of what will be covered.

[Ryan_Page_1J]

He usually mentions before exams that some questions were pulled from the textbook as an incentive to go through the textbook questions. I would highly recommend doing them.

[Allan Nguyen 2G]

Textbook problems and UA sessions are your go to for studying in this class. Exposing yourself to different problems just helps you in the long run with exams.

[Katie Lam 2J]

I find that doing the textbook problems and making sure you know everything that is listed on his outlines is the best way to prepare for the midterm!

[Victoria Dao 3G]

Book problems all the way! Most of the questions on his exams are very much modeled after the textbook so safe bet is to practice those questions.

[Ryan Laureano 3I]

Take advantage of the resources Dr. Lavelle provides. Also study groups helps me a lot so I would look to form those :)

[Chelsea_Guzman_3C]

For the first midterm in Chem 14A, a lot of the problems were similar to the textbook problems. Hopefully the first midterm for Chem 14B is similar to that one, but all the resources provided should be useful. None of the questions will contain content we haven't already seen.

[Talia Dini - 3I]

Hi! I would recommend doing the textbook problems that have been assigned, reviewing the sapling homework, doing the UA worksheets, and making sure you know all of the concepts listed on the outlines!

[Siwa Hwang 3G]

solve as many practice problems as you can ~

[Anna Yang 1A]

Every single textbook problem he assigns lol. Also UA sessions. I find Matthew's on Wednesdays very helpful for review of concepts before midterms!

[SophiaJenny3I]

Hi! I typically read the textbook go through all the extra problems from the outlines. They are super helpful and are great at pointing out concepts that I'm shaky on. The workshop sessions held by the UAs are super helpful as well! I like to go over those problems and redo them before the midterm. Hope this helps!

[Adam Bustamante 1I]

I would recommend studying the assigned problems from the book for each section, as some of them make their way onto the midterms. Going over the lecture notes is a good way to review concepts. I also recommend the organic chemistry tutor on youtube, he's great at explaining things!

[Julianna_flores3E]

I would recommend working through the outlines and doing the book problems that they suggest. Then if you don't understand something go to office hours or UA sessions.

[Becca Nelson 3F]

The best thing to do is the textbook problems. I also really like using the audio visual post test as a way to study and see what I got right and wrong as those questions are separated by topic and designed by Lavelle!

[Lung Sheng Liang 3J]

In the past I would just do the textbook problems twice and read the textbook a couple times. I find that doing practice problems help me more than studying notes.

[Rob Tsai 2F]

Repetition of textbook problems is key. Just keep doing them until you can easily recognize the purpose of the question and the procedures you need to follow to solve it. That's what I'll be doing to study! You can also utilize the modules on Dr. Lavelle's website for more problems. They're organized by topic. Hope this helps!

[Nina Fukui 2J]

I always complete all of the assigned textbook questions and go over the solutions manual to figure out what i got wrong or take notes on the correct way to solve the question!

[Michelle Nguyen 3F]

I usually do the practice problems in the textbook! And I usually do the ones I get wrong twice or do another problem not assigned, but has a similar way of solving so that I can understand the concept and methods of reasoning and solving the problem, better.

[905409193]

Sapling is good to learn the steps of a problem because it breaks down each question for you but the midterm questions are similar to the textbook problems. So the best advice I can give is practice the textbook practices, I believe some questions even come directly from the hw.

[Navdha Sharma 3J]

Some things that helped me while doing Chem 14A with Dr. Lavelle last quarter:
1. Attending UA sessions
2. Reading the textbook
3. Doing the textbook problems
4. Revisiting the sapling HW problems

Hope this helps!

[BKoh_2E]

Make sure you understand the conceptual topics. He usually includes a mixture of concept and calculating problems on the midterms. Personally, I re-do all of the homework problems before the exam.

[LeanneBagood_2F]

As everyone has already said, going over the textbook problems help but also make sure that you understand the concepts behind equations/principle's as not all the questions on midterms involve actual calculating.

[805377003]

There is usually plenty of time to complete the problems. Our midterms had between 10-13 problems last quarter. Make sure your respondus is working before you attempt to take the midterm because that can be stressful.

[Kayla Booker 1F]

I would suggest doing the book problems, attending UA sessions (if possible), and retaking the audio visual post quizzes as a way to test yourself.

[705512695]

Attend as many step up sessions and do as many book questions as possible. I also find watching videos online on subjects Im struggling in is very helpful.

[Kelly Ha 1K]

Doing textbook problems and attending UA sessions and doing the worksheets they provide are really helpful! As many people have said before, make sure you fully understand concepts rather than just memorize the steps to do a problem.

[Kaili Valenzuela 2B]

Doing the textbook problems are defiantly a must and definitely make sure you understand all the bulleted concepts on the outlines! If looking for youtube videos to watch for help the organic chemistry tutor is a great help!

[Shannon Moore 2L]

Do the problems listed on the syllabus!!!! They are much more like midterm questions than the Sapling homework. Literally just do them all in a row its great practice if you don't know how to do some things and great review for the stuff you already know how to do!!

[Justin Lin 1B]

I recommend doing the UA worksheets and assigned textbook problems. They provide good questions that could look like something similar to the midterm. I would also rewatch some lectures to review any information he covers because some questions can come straight from the lectures.

[Lakshmi Davuluri 1E]

Doing the textbook problems listed in the outlines are extremely helpful. Also, going through the bullet points of learning objectives on each outline is a good way to check your understanding of that unit.

[Ryan Agcaoili 2E]

The way that I study for the midterm is to attend UA sessions and to get in as much practice as possible, whether it be through worksheets, textbook problems, and sapling problems.

[Katie Nye 2F]

He generally has review sessions with UA's and TA's and make sure to utilize office hours for any questions! If you can't attend those, the textbook questions are super helpful as he bases his midterm questions on those!

[Brenda Silva 1B]

Doing some extra textbook problems would be very helpful when studying because Dr.Lavelle tends to make the midterm questions more like the textbook problems than Saplings. Also, try doing the UA worksheets to continue to gain more practice.

[keely_bales_1f]

Definitely put in the hours to study. I would read the sections of the textbook he assigned in the outlines, as well as the textbook problems. In addition UA session are super helpful!

[JaesalSoma1E]

The tests are based off of homework questions from the outlines, so I'd recommend doing all the problems from outline 1, 2, and the parts of 3 that we have covered.

[Samantha Low 3D]

I recommend doing the textbook problems and reviewing notes/outlines as the main basis in studying. If you have time, reading the textbook and going to UA sessions might help!

[Krish_Ajmani_3J]

Doing every single practice problem you can get your hands on is key. UA workshops are extremely helpful as they provide conceptual and more practical problems. And, of course, doing extra textbook problems is great practice. The more, the merrier!

[Mari Williams 1K]

Last quarter, the sapling and textbook problems helped me the most! The sapling solutions are great references.

[Liam Bertrand 3]

HW and textbook problems are the way to go.

[Winzel Payumo 1B]

The textbook problems are my top priority when it comes to study. I find that the midterm questions are more similar to the textbook problems than Sapling problems. Make sure to do EVERY single one from his list and you can also attempt to do some of the even ones, but I found that they're more difficult to solve, which for me is the way to know if I truly understand the concept!

[Kat Stahl 2K]

TEXTBOOK PROBLEMS are so important! A lot of the problems will be similar to the questions in the book. UA sessions were also super helpful for an overall review. Also I like to go through the outlines that will be on the midterm a few days before the midterm and I like to talk the topics out with friends.
Good luck!