<p>Anyone doing it this year? I read through an old thread for the 2012 olympiad, and it seems like there are quite a few CCers who've written it. </p>
<p>Anyways, I was going to study last year, but I was being a slacker, so yeah..
This year though, I'm going hard- I have Atkins' Quest for insight book ordered (should be arriving soon) and might get an Orgo chem book later.</p>
<p>I'm in Canada, so the exam I'll be taking will probably be different from the ones you guys will write, but it's the same subject :D.</p>
<p>So yeah- chem nerds unite! All advice from veterans/anyone will be highly appreciated as I struggle through this. :)</p>
<p>I’ve heard of the Chemistry Olympiad, I’ve never heard of it before. I think I might do it, but I don’t know how to get started :S It sounds fun, but really hard.</p>
<p>^Same, I don’t know how to start! How do you start?</p>
<p>I think it’s through the school, but my school never say a thing about Chemistry Olympiad</p>
<p>Chemistry Olympiad is basically a difficult test on chemistry 
. They ask you questions about labwork as well as chemistry concepts.
In the states, at least, I believe it’s an Open exam for your region through which a select number of students get chosen to write the national exam. The top 20 scorers on the national exam are invited to the national study camp, where kids get to study and prepare for the final exam, which decides who gets to go to the International Chemistry Olympiad.</p>
<p>I think it’s difficult because topics tend to be covered at greater depth than most AP Chem classes, but I’m sure if you enjoy chemistry and are willing to put time into it, you can do well.</p>
<p>@hjs Well my school nor the chemistry department has said anything about it. It sounds really legit and difficult. I’m not a “gifted” chemist, I just enjoy it enough to impress my parents lol.</p>
<p>@ecounter11 I bet it’s fun meeting the different people, it seems like a lot of work though.</p>
<p>What sort of prep are you guys doing/recommend. I’ve heard nice things about Zumdahl…anything else?</p>
<p>[Chemistry</a> Olympiad Exams](<a href=“American Chemical Society”>American Chemical Society)</p>
<p>For US Chemistry Olympiad this page is a good start. Start with old local exams. The goal is to score ~50-56 (depending on the region) to get to the National exam.
There are also official rules (how to register, etc.)</p>
<p>In US the exams are focused on AP Chem. Basically, Chem Olympiad test is a hard AP Chemistry exam. Those who strive to get to the training camp need good knowledge of other chemistry subjects: Organic, Inorganic, Analytical.</p>
<p>How are you guys preparing for the open exam?
Do you think AP chem + practicing old tests + reading Zumdahl= open exam and semi exam success?</p>
<p>I have no idea. This seems really interesting and I’m wondering the same. 
^</p>
<p>zumdahl is pretty much good enough unless you wanna go hardcore Atkins.</p>
<p>when is the test? (usually, i know it’s regional)</p>
<p>~ March</p>
<p>It probably takes at least 2 years of extremely hard work (+being good at problem solving) to have a decent chance at Top 20 Nationally.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m out lol, It seems fun though, but the work is outrageous. Good luck to the people who are serious about it :)</p>
<p>Do you guys think that taking AP Chemistry, doing practice tests, and studying Zumdahl would give me a decent chance on making it past the open? My region is moderate on the competitive scale. For the 2 per school cap I am the only person who knows about this exam at my school so I’m automatically in
Anyways, do you guys think that that is a good plan?</p>
<p>^ zumdahl + practice tests is practically a recipe for 50+/60 on first round which is almost always enough for qualifying for the national exam. In fact, could probably get into top 20 though not as likely with just zumdahl</p>
<p>I’m doing it. I have the Zumdahl | Zumdahl with the purple cover.</p>
<p>Is it the entire book I have to read through?</p>
<p>Is Chemistry: The Central Science a good book to use?</p>
<p>Well, Chem: The Central Science is a pretty standard AP book. It’d be equivalent to Zumdahl, imo.</p>
<p>For those of you who are doing the “AP Chem class + practice tests + Zumdahl” prep, how much knowledge of general chem do you have at the moment? I plan on doing that sort of preparation as well, but AP Chem will be my first chemistry class (althought I’ve learned some topics on my own recently). How well do you think I’ll fare?</p>