Many students find chemistry to be difficult because it requires to mastery of number of different skills. You must be able to take good notes, organize your work, do mathematical calculations, develop good study habits, do some memorization, and most important, be able to translate problems from word statements into mathematical equations.

Having a good set of notes is essential for success in most chemistry courses. It may surprise you to learn that the first step in taking good notes is to read about the material in your textbook before hearing it explained in lecture. Do not attempt to understand everything in the chapter completely but just try to become familiar with some of the ideas and identify what topics seem hardest to grasp. When you go to the lecture, pay very close attention when these more difficult topics are discussed.

As you listen to the lecture, try to determine what the instructor thinks is important and make sure that your notes indicate these priorities. The worst mistake an inexperienced student can make is to attempt to write down very word the instructor says or places on the blackboard. Since you can not write down everything, what you will get is a mixture of the essential and the trivial, with no indication of what is which.

When you see that a multi-step process is being presented, place a number box around each step. Then later you will be able to follow the logical order that was presented.

Each student develops his or her own preferences about taking notes, but for a starter try the following approach. Only write your notes on the right hand page in your notebook, leaving the left page empty. A soon as you can after each class, review the notes. Reading what you wrote down in class will usually remind you of words and phrases that you did not have time to include. Add this material to your notes. Be sure to go over your notes as soon as you can, for your memory of these extra comments will soon fade.

As you read the notes, identify those sections that aren’t completely clear. Try to write a question that focuses on each idea you didn’t understand and write it on the left hand page next to the confusing section. When you have a chance, ask your lecturer or teaching assistant these questions and write the answers in the appropriate place on the left-hand pages.

When you can’t understand a topic on your own, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions. Try to make sure that they are clearly stated and asked at an appropriate time. Be as specific as possible. If you say, “I don’t understand moles,” when you really need help on the moles to grams conversion, you are likely to receive an answer that will deal with many other aspects of the mole concept rather than focusing on what you really need to know.

Once you have a good set of notes, it is time to really read the textbook carefully. If you have trouble with a certain problem type, copy an example problem fro your text or study guide into the space on the left of your notebook. Also add any comments or special data that may be useful. In this way you will create a set of notes that includes supplemental information just where you need it most. Some students rewrite their notes and produce a beautiful notebook. By following this suggested procedure you will probably invest less time, and your notes should be a clear, complete study aid.

One of the major activities in any general chemistry course is the solving of numerical problems. Since many students have difficulty with this skill, it is an important reason why students think that general chemistry is a hard course. There has been a great deal of research on problem solving techniques, and your instructor may well have some suggestions to help you. The method described in this section is based in part on an excellent book by G. Polya and is suggested as a model of how you should attack problems.

I) make sure that you understand the problem. Read the question carefully before you decide how it should be worked. Clearly identify what data is provided and especially the quantity which you are asked to calculate. Time is important on an examination, but you can waste time by misunderstanding the question and starting to work the wrong problem. Try to organize the information to determine what is important and what is unnecessary. Some students like to circle the important points in the problem statement or make a rough drawing to help visualize the situation better. A data table is another good way to organize the information, and you will find this method used frequently in the text and study guide, especially when the problems become more complicated.

II) when you are sure that you understand the situation, develop a plan for solving the problem. Try to relate this situation to what you already know. Look carefully at the data and the unknown; have you worked a similar problem before? In many cases, a problem that looks difficult is a combination of several easy problems, so try to break it down into simpler components. If you don’t have enough information to solve directly for the unknown, can you combine what is available to obtain the missing data that you need? Try to reason backwards; what data would you require to determine the requested unknown? Can you rearrange the available data to produce what you need? If you are totally unable to see how to work a problem on an examination, skip it for the time being and return to it later if time permits.

III) once you have devised a plan, execute it carefully. Don’t try to skip steps or do too much in your head. This not only increases the chance of error but also decreases the possibility that you may see your mistake when you check the problem. Try to organize your work as neatly as possible. You will not only improve your instructor’s good humor but also make it easier for you to see mistakes in your own work. Students frequently complain that they make “stupid mistakes.” When your solution is presented in a clear, step-by-step way, it is easier to avoid simple mistakes as well as to find your errors.

IV) check your work if time permits, but even if you are rushed, always take a few seconds to ask yourself if your answer seems reasonable for this type of question. Remember that the instructor may sometimes ask questions that have answers beyond your previous experience, so that every answer that looks unusual isn’t necessarily wrong, but often the answer that looks strange reflects a mistake in your solution.