I’m a rising senior in an American high school. I plan to take SAT chemistry in the coming October, so I decided to look at SAT II Chemistry Sparknotes and read the information, but a LOT of the stuff there is very esoteric and hard to understand. I am stuck on the first chapter on the site. I have ordered 2 books via amazon, Barrons and PrincetonReview, but they are yet to arrive; I have to wait a week more for the books (I’m now in a country out of US).
Although I have taken introductory chemistry class when I was in sophomore, I have forgotten nearly all the stuff that I learned in school (save for balancing chemical equations and other super-basic/easy stuff), so I pretty much have to self-study without any school class to guide me. I do have a Chem II/Physics II class next semester, but I do not think that it will be a lot of help because it is a class that COMBINES Chemistry and Physics, and because I have test in October, which is pretty early in the semester. I say this not as a complaint but as a plain fact :). Is there any good way to self-study SAT Chemistry over the summer break? Is it just I who find the Sparknotes SAT Chemistry so difficult?
I also went to Khanacademy (general Chemistry) and general Chemistry Sparknotes (not the one specifically designed for SAT Chem-prep students). I found out that these two sites teach things that is vastly different from sites designed for SAT Chemistry-prep students. For example, the first chapter in SAT Chemistry Sparknotes goes in depth about structure of matter, including Resonance structures and molecular shape, etc., whereas Sparknotes Chemistry, as far as I know, doesn’t really go in depth about such topics. Should I solely study materials specifically designed for SAT Chemistry, or is it better to incorporate regular Chemistry materials when studying for the test?
If you have any other suggestions/comments for me, I will be more than glad to accept them. Someone help me, I am having a LOT of difficulty studying for this test.
Its necessary that you first have thorough knowledge of the fundamentals. Sparknotes expects you to know your basics and provides good REVIEW. However books such as Barron’s, Kaplan, Princeton have clearer explanations. You have lots of time, read your books thoroughly.
The best way to learn something you dont know is through Youtube. Just look up the topic and you should find several videos. Some of my favourite channels are:
IsaacsTEACH
Doc Schuster
thatchemguy
Bozeman Science
Khan Academy
All the best1
Thanks for your advice, @guy6127! I already have ordered Barrons and PrincetonReview. Should I get Kaplan as well, or are Barrons and Princeton good enough? Please take into consideration that I need to learn everything without much help.
Why do you need to take the Chem test? Could you take a test in another subject that you are better prepared?
The review books are just that: review. They assume you already know the material.
I find the chem sat as one of the hardest to self study without have taken a solid honors level chem class during the same year. A lot of concepts, plus quick math calculations, plus trivia (colors of flames, physical properties etc) plus lab knowledge.
Google OMalley chemistry. He has a lot of sat like tests organized by concept. You might find them helpful while you study.
Do you have a high school level text book? It could be very helpful as a textbook will be better written than prep books.
Having Kaplan would certainly help you know the basics, once you’r done with that and PR use Baroon’s for review+ practice tests. Those are most realistic.
And yeah, just like am979 said, your text book would be the best place to start
thank you all, @am9799 and @guy6127. I planned to look into chemistry text book as well, except that I was going to start looking at the textbook about a month and a half from now on. As I’ve mentioned I currently am outside US, and would have to wait about 2 weeks for any ordered english book to come to me. Besides, my chemistry teacher in US is generous enough/trust me enough to let me borrow a good chemistry textbook without any due date or fee. So I am planning to ask my chemistry teacher for a chem book as soon as I get back to US, in early August. That would give me about 2 weeks to go over the chem book, which I believe would be enough time for me.
The reason I would take SAT Chemistry is that (1) it is related a lot to SAT Physics, a test which I am pretty confident that I will score high, and (2) I plan to major in math or science (not natural science though) in college, so I need a way to show my math and science proficiency. As you may know, many of the stuff in SAT Chemistry and Physics are interelated, such as types of atom decay(alpha, beta,etc.), some of thermodynamics, many concepts, and so on. Also, if I were to take other science subjects such as Biology, I would have to really like start over, since the last time I took a biology class was in freshmen year. Even if I wanted to take anotherbiology class, I cannot because my school is so small and the courses are so rigid that all seniors HAVE TO take Chemistry/Physics class regardless of my preference (thankfully I do want to takethat class). No other honors science class is offered for seniors; every other science class is regular, not honors, class. Also, our school has a science teacher who is verygoodat teaching chemistry, so I can ask her many chem questions until the day of the SAT Chemistry test, which is in October.
The good thing is that I am understanding stuff on PrincetonReview considerably well, and that many of the stuff that I learned in my sophomore year chemistry class are coming back to me. Looks like I don’t have to start from scratch, after all.
I would think Physics plus Math SAT would be enough and you should really prioritize those two before the chemistry. Most colleges only want to see two tests anyway. Did you take those already?
For me the hardest part with those tests when you self study is to find the right level. For somethings you need to be very fluent and really understand for others is enough to know a few simple examples.
oh, I have already studied for those two tests. I am pretty confident that I will get 750+ on both of them, and if I further solidify my knowledge through practice, I may even get 800 on both. The reason I want to take 3 is that I am applying to top colleges, such as UC Berkeley, Cornell, Brown, etc. Since their math/science departments are all competitive, I want to stand out from the pool of applicants, especially because my high school do not have any AP courses. I do not have any good math/science awards, so virtually the only way I can show the admission officers my intellectual aptitude is through test scores and GPA (the latter of which is really good right now)
@skieurope, of course, there are many others who submit 3 test dates, but I am hoping that getting 760+ on all three of the tests will make me stand out. I believe, and hope, that I have quitea chance of getting 800 on all 3 of the test if I practice and study enough. In practice tests I got 800s on math2 and physics (albeit inconsistently on physics). Such 3 scores, along with my fairly decent SAT score (I am hoping for 2300+ on June 2015 test, the score of which comes out about a week from now on), will make me at least above average on the applicant pool. As I have noted before, my school does not offer any AP classes.
@am9799 and @guy6127, I am planning to buy a regular high school Chemistry textbook via online, since I find it hard to understand some concepts in SAT prep books. Any suggestions? Any of the books on Amazon would be preferred, though it does not have to. The book does not have to be “international shipping available”; I have someone in US who can send me the books. Thanks!!!
Our school uses Addison-Wesley Chemistry (fifth edition) and it pretty much covers everything on the test. You can buy it used for only a couple dollars. I am not saying that this is the best book you can buy but it is on the test’s level.
After you study and understand all the concepts try to get really familiar with certain elements, compounds, reactions etc. For example you should know everything about NH3, CO2, CaCO3, water and a few more. Those are usually example on the books/prepbooks, Don’t go crazy on orbitals and hybridization and VSEPR and such as long as you can apply them to a bunch of common compounds. When you take the test, do not over think. When you need to use complicated theories to answer a question you are bypassing the obvious. When it comes to trivia, again, don’t go crazy. You need to know colors of salts, flame tests, ions etc. Learn the obvious not the whole spectrum. Solubility rules, again, they tend to be the same compounds tested again and again (usually compounds with Ag and Pb). For activity of metals again don’t memorize the whole list but be able to remember that an element is under of above H so if you learn the few metals that are below you are done.
@am9799, thank you for your input, I ordered the book. The book is not so hard to understand for beginners, right (although I am not really a complete beginner)? of course I plan to put in effort to understanding it, and I have a lot of time to study. reason I ask you this is that I am finding it hard to understand Princeton these days, EVEN THOUGH I tried for hours trying to understand the titration experiment section.
I have Princeton Review Chemistry, and find the topics not much going in dept. Is it really okay like that? coz others say for the Math II, Princeton Review is too easy. So, anybody know how it is for chemistry, and probably for Physics as well.
It is a high school level book and not hard to understand. The opposite. It also has nice pictures, examples, little stories etc. Chapters 1-5 are introductory so I would start with chapters 6 to 9 and learn those very well. Then move to 13-16. In all of those chapters try to learn examples so on test day you have familiarity. Then move as you like by doing relevant chapters together. In the end of a unit I would print the corresponding OMalley test and see how fluent I am. I would leave organic for the very end of my study. The book has a whole chapter on titration with multiple examples, pictures etc. I am going to repeat the need to be familiar with certain element, compounds etc. For example if you get a question asking the geometry of CO2 molecule you should not try to find out from theory on test day. I make cheat sheets like: geometry of some common compounds, list of most common reactions with precipitates, list of most common single replacement reactions, list of properties of halogens etc. Chances are you will get some of those on test day and you will know the answers without trying to figure it out. This way you will have more time to do the stoich or/and think for other questions. Review the cheat sheets often.
