Solving past exams is a great way to study for your upcoming chemistry test, but there are a few things you can do to maximize your efforts. Even if your prof doesn’t opt to give out past exams, these pointers are still helpful when approaching any set of sample problems you are studying with.
Reach out to your classmates and upper-year students to get your hands on as many past exams as possible. Also, don’t forget to check out Prep101 for amazing prep sessions and study aids.
- Cover up the solution. This is an obvious one, but the only way to truly test your skills is to attempt to solve a question on your own before looking at the solution. Ideally you can keep the solutions separate from the questions, but if not, make sure you cover them up as best as possible. No peeking!
- Always write out the solution. If you get stuck on a question, keep working at it for another few minutes before you look at the solutions. But when you finally do, it’s really important to follow along with your own work and your own calculations, and not simply read it over. Even better, review the solution and then go back and re-try solving it by yourself. Questions are rarely recycled verbatim so make sure you understand the approach, and don’t just memorize it.
- Jump around. Feel free to tackle the exam out of order to maximize your studying. Questions are usually grouped together by chapter, and you should start with whichever topics you feel you need the most help with. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so just do whatever is best for you. Remember, however, to do the reverse on the actual exam and start with your best topics to maximize your marks!
- Look for patterns. Unless the syllabus has changed drastically, look over the most recent past exams (maybe three to five years) and tally up the number of questions from each topic to see the distribution of marks. Also make note of specific questions that occur repeatedly. Perhaps there is always a question about quantum numbers, or maybe a calculation of pH for a weak acid or base. If you can figure out the big topics that show up year after year, you can better manage your time while studying.
- Use your units. For formulas and complex calculations, remember that the unit on each of the variables is just as important as its numerical value. Keeping track of your units in every step of your solution can help guide you through the math and will help catch errors in your work. The fancy name is “dimensional analysis” but it basically means that your units must make sense. For example, number of moles divided by volume gives concentration (mol/L), but multiplying the two terms is meaningless (mol L). Also pay close attention to the units given in exam questions and answer choices, so you don’t accidentally report a final amount in grams instead of moles, or a temperature in Celsius instead of kelvin.
- Age is just a number. Although the most recent exams are typically the best match for the current year, don’t let the date turn you off. The syllabus, professors, or course code may have changed, but the chemistry most definitely did not. Any past exam from an equivalent course at your university means more practice problems, even if you have to skip over topics that are not covered this year.
Reach out to your classmates and upper-year students to get your hands on as many past exams as possible. Also, don’t forget to check out Prep101 for amazing prep sessions and study aids.
