<p>Anybody wanna trade USNCO tests of any level (semi-final, national, w/e)?
PM me? Sorry to hijack the thread 
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<p>And gratz to anybody who did well on it! I couldn’t take it this year, but I did pretty well on the subject test, and I think I can self study the organic chem and review the rest, maybe make nats or something. Who knows. :)</p>
<p>The tests are online for free at the ACS Chemistry Olympiad website.</p>
<p>…today marks an important day for my chemistry endeavors… Thank you Apoc314.</p>
<p>Have fun studying Chemistry!</p>
<p>Is this enough to make USNCO camp next year: a thourough reading of Zumdahl, mandatory labs in my AP Chem class, and reading the first six chapters of Atkin’s Organic Chem?</p>
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<p>Oh I will! The school didn’t allow some people to take the USNCO open exam this year because they weren’t taking AP Chem, and I’m not taking it next year… but I think our school is in for a rude awakening if they think they can stop people from taking the OPEN exam. :)</p>
<p>I think that it is best to have a very thorough knowledge of Atkins’ Chemical Principles in order to make the USNCO camp. It will depend on your AP Chemistry course as well, but many top 20 finalists studied Atkins’ Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight to help them make it to the study camp.</p>
<p>Sorry, I mean that will you make camp if you study all of Chemistry by Zumdahl and Organic Chemistry by Carey? Or do you need to put Atkin’s in between?</p>
<p>Also is there a difference between Atkin’s Physical Chemistry and Atkin’s Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight?</p>
<p>@ grayphantom you can edit your post by pressing Edit underneath the post’s box.</p>
<p>Atkin’s Physical Chemistry won’t be nearly as useful at Atkin’s chemical principles, quest for insight. The Physical Chemistry book is filled with lots of math and concepts that won’t be tested on the local or national exams. </p>
<p>Zumdahl’s book is excellent, but it just doesn’t contain as much information as Atkin’s chemical principles, so I don’t think just Zumdahl’s book would be enough to make it (or give a high chance of making it) to camp.</p>
<p>Yep. BigNub is right. GrayPhantom, it is better to start studying Atkins’ Chemical Principles and move on the Carey’s Organic Chemistry once you are certain you’re good enough to make camp or you have made camp to try to become one of the international team members, as that level of organic chemistry knowledge is typically not required on the USNCO National Exam.</p>
<p>My son uses Zumdahl’s book in his AP class and it is the only book he has. He has also studied some basic organic chemistry chapters from the internet. He made the study camp this year.</p>
<p>Congrats to dragonspawn and the rest who got recognition or are moving on.</p>
<p>I like Zumdahl’s book. Atkins’s General Chemistry is also a good book and is more rigorous than Zumdahl, but Atkins and Jones Chemical Principles: the Quest for Insight, even though it is the most rigorous textbook you’re likely to find these days, is better as a reference book than as a textbook for learning the material. Science is learned from the empirical to the theoretical, but Atkins and Jones teach it the other way around. If you already understand thermo and quantum Atkins and Jones will give you a deeper understaninding of chemistry, but it you’re not solid in those areas, the book will make previously simple concepts incomprehensible. IMO, the best book to study from is the one that makes the most sense to you.</p>
<p>@spdf, is zumdahl one of those books</p>
<p>@grayphantom I think that’s what he was implying. </p>
<p>What are your feelings on editions? With bio, you could go an edition or two earlier and still have the important material. Is chem the same thing or should I buy the most recent edition?</p>
<p>Question: Will taking General Chemistry at a university, like UC Irvine for example, prepare me for the USNCO? It’s lecture +lab</p>
<p>@dragonboy: That’s amazing. Based on what everyone is saying on here, Atkin’s Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight seems to be an inherent part of making the USNCO camp. The majority of people have also specifically stated that Zumdahl is definitely not enough to make camp. I know that your son also studied some organic chemistry, but are you sure that he did not some other resources for the general chemistry on the USNCO?</p>
<p>Has anyone considered or had experience using the curriculum of the A levels in the UK? I’ve read a lot of information on [chemguide:</a> helping you to understand Chemistry - Main Menu](<a href=“http://www.chemguide.co.uk%5Dchemguide:”>http://www.chemguide.co.uk), and the material on the website is great! I just don’t know how well and in depth the organic chemistry material on this website covers the concepts on the USNCO. Can anyone answer this?</p>