Do I need to do very single textbook question on the syllabus?

[Jenaye Brelland 2I]

I find the textbook questions relatively hard, not because I don't know the process or concept of the question, but rather because the questions bring in many factors that TA or teachers did not explain, and also the questions include a lot of distracting information. I was wondering should I do every single question? Should I do only the ones that don't make me confused, or will I be okay just sticking to the worksheets I get at workshops, the sapling hw and Lavelle's lectures?

[Bronson Mathos 1H]

You do not have to do every single question, you may only do the ones that you think you should do as they are not being collected, but remember that Lavelle does pull some questions from the textbook homework and places them on exams.

[HilaGelfer_2H]

Hey!

I spoke to other students who took Dr. Lavelle's class and they said that doing all the homework problems helps you prepare for his exams questions so I would definitely recommend you do as many as possible and post the ones you don't understand in the forum so that we can all help each other out. However, he does not collect the textbook homework problems from the syllabus so if you choose not to complete them your grade for homework won't be lowered.

I hope this helps :)

[AmyHo2K]

I would say to do a couple and see how well you do on them. If you feel like you're struggling, you could do more textbook and worksheet problems.

[Arieanne De Guzman 2J]

I believe it is recommended to do these textbook problems for practice, but you do not have the do every question. I typically just pick questions that seem to correlate more with what we're learning in the lectures and on our homework questions on Sapling so I can master the concepts. If I come across tricky questions that do correlate with what we're learning, I bring them up to my TA or classmates. I hope this helps and gives you some ease!

[Sahaj Patel Lec3DisK]

If you do not want to do all of them, you of course don't have too. However, chemistry is a challenging subject at times with challenging problems, therefore it would be beneficial to work through a good amount of them so you can be as prepared as possible. Especially with how the midterms are free response, which forces you to actively know the concepts and apply them, doing as many textbook problems as possible will help you build that solid foundation.

[Hazelle Gunawan 3G]

Does anyone know how often problems from the textbook appear on the exams?

[Jasmine Vera 3L]

Hello! You do not need to do every textbook problem, but it is stated in the syllabus that it is highly recommended due to the fact that the exams will contain problems straight from the textbook. Also, I’m not sure if all TA’s are doing this, but my TA would go over some of the problems in the textbook! But it is in your best interest to do so :)

[Lillian]

I mean, the textbook problems can only help, right?

[Amanda Bueno-Kling]

As far as I understand, you don't have to do any of them, they're just recommended for your benefit. My roommate, who took 14A last academic year, said that she found them really helpful in reviewing concepts from high school and preparing for exams. If you have the time to work through some or all of them, I'd recommend it!

[alexandralopez 3F]

HI!
I dont think you have to do actually do any of them but my friend who took chem 14a a couple quarters ago said they were really good problems to do especially to look over/practice before the midterms! plus i think they're just good practice to kind of navigate how confident you feel about the topics we're learning in class :)

[Irene Nguyen 2J]

You don't have to do all of them, but doing as much as you can is very beneficial! As you said, there are multiple resources in 14a for learning, but a lot of the questions will be similar to ones that will be in upcoming exams. From my friends who have taken 14a before, they've found the textbook questions to be very helpful. If certain problems are confusing or difficult, it wouldn't hurt to bring those up during OH if you have time to spare.

[Mariah Disc 2C]

While doing every question is definitely not required, it would only benefit you by preparing you for the test. However, if time is an issue I would focus on doing problems on the topics that you struggle on the most.

[Jasraj Parmar 3H]

The textbook problems aren’t graded. They are highly recommended though because they will be very similar to what you will see on the exams.

[LarisaAssadourian2K]

You don't have to do every single textbook question because we don't have to turn them in. However, I think doing most of the problems (or at least picking out the hardest ones) would be really beneficial and help you get a good grade. :)

[Jenaye Brelland 2I]

Okay! Based on all of your replies, I will try to do as many textbook questions as I can. Thank you!

[ALee_1J]

Sapling HW is counted towards points in the class while textbook questions do not. However, textbook questions are what Dr. Lavelle will be basing exam questions off of. So in short, they are extra practice for the exams.

[Jason Knight - 1F]

I believe doing every textbook problem he assigns is a great way to stay on top of the class. Dr. Lavelle made it clear that he is likely to pull out practice problems and assign them within the exams. I think the textbook does a good job of critical thinking through word problems.

[Andrew Yoon 3L]

I would because it just gives you a lot of practice. Doing all the problems, is however, really hard to do.

[Ava_Basileo_2J]

They are not required grade wise, but doing all the questions has really helped me iron out the kinks and memorize each chemistry concept.
At least read over all the questions and make sure you know how you would approach it if you were to complete it.

[Megan ODonnell 3F]

It's not going to hurt your grade if you don't do every single question, but I would do a few questions from each segment in order to self study for the exam and make sure you know all of the topics that are being covered.

[ShinwooKim_3E]

If you look at the syllabus, there are multiple practice problems Professor Lavelle recommended, so I think doing all of those will prepare you more than enough for the midterm!

[Kathy_Li_1H]

Hey! I think you should definitely do a few textbook questions in each section just to make sure that you understand the content and can apply it. However, this isn't required but rather recommended!

[Yolanda_Xing_3A]

Yes. I think textbook questions are really helpful. If u find them hard to solve, that’s right. It means it will help you a lot on the test.

If you think it’s too much work. Just do the questions post on Outline. It’s better than nothing.

[Will Skinner]

It is a good idea to do all the textbook problems. The exams are based off problems from the textbook exercises.

[Simi Kapila_3E]

Hey I kind of have a similar question, but couldn't figure out how to make a new post. Does anyone know if there are answers to the questions in the textbook to check if we are doing them correctly?

[Kaiya_PT_1H]

Hey I kind of have a similar question, but couldn't figure out how to make a new post. Does anyone know if there are answers to the questions in the textbook to check if we are doing them correctly?

Yes, the end of the book has an "odd-numbered exercises" section where it lists all the answers for the odd-numbered questions!

[Jacquelyn Challis 2B]

I've been finding that the textbook questions are harder than the Sapling questions/ other practice problems Lavelle show us. Is anyone else feeling this?

[Erika Sosa-Cruz 1J]

So would it be useful to only do the odd number on so that we can check our answer instead of doing all of them and not knowing whether or not we are solving them correctly.

[Liam Bertrand 3]

Yea, I'm feeling the same. But I'm doing a couple every night to prepare for the midterm.

[Sarah Huang 3A]

Hello!

Although you do not have to do every single question, it is highly recommended that you try to do every single one that has been assigned because Dr.Lavelle did assign them for us to have a better understanding of the concepts. Not only that, but some questions on the big exams can also be similar to textbook question, so if you have issues solving them, if you are able to figure them out from the textbook, then you will be more prepared for the exams :)

Best of Luck!

[Teti Omilana 1G]

How are you guys checking your answers for even # problems?

[Day Preciado 1H]

^^^ I have the same question. I do even problems but I have no way of knowing if I'm doing them correctly.

[Annette Fishman]

Like everybody has mentioned above, it's your call. They aren't collected, but they help you prepare for exams and the coming up midterm. If you look at the syllabus, there are multiple practice problems Professor Lavelle recommended. Whatever feels best for you!

[Chloe Kauffman 1D]

^^^ I have the same question. I do even problems but I have no way of knowing if I'm doing them correctly.

I don't think the solution manual has the answers for even problems. I would try and do the odd problems first to refer back to the answers and do the even ones for extra practice.