What to put on my Chemistry Final Notecard?

I'm in a sophomore chemistry class that is taught like an honor level class. For our final, we are able to make a notecard (as long as it's handwritten). I wrote in (easily) 8 pt font on my card, but I feel like I should add more on the back. What's good to remember on that final?

THANK YOU SO MUCH

2 Answers
SupernovaT
Dec 18, 2017

Write whatever you feel you may be unable to remember in the exam

Explanation:

I am not familiar with the exam you are going to take, but my general recommendation to students with notecards is to write what they feel weakest on.

Write factual statements - especially equations / units and not long prose.

For example, if you struggle to remember the charges of particles, don't write out +1 proton, -1 electron, etc. Just simply write +1 proton. This will mean you can easily deduce in the exam that an electron must be -1. Allowing more space for other information.

If you can, read through your courses specification and see what areas you feel weaker in and then make notes accordingly.

Notes should not try and form answers for you, they should be to jog memory or to give you facts (i.e. an equation or bond length, etc) that serve no purpose to remember.

Truong-Son N.
Dec 18, 2017

It sounds simple, I would put what you know you would easily forget.

As such, here are some common things students should remember, that you could consider putting on the note card. If it's too basic for you, don't worry about it, but it's up to you.

COMMON CONVERSION FACTORS

  • #"1 cm"^3# #=# #"1 mL"#
  • #"2.54 cm"# #=# #"1 in"#
  • #"milli" = 10^(-3) -= m# (relative to the base unit)
  • #"micro" = 10^(-6) -= mu# (relative to the base unit)
  • #"nano" = 10^(-9) -= n# (relative to the base unit)

COMMON GUIDELINES/TIPS

  • If the units aren't working, then you must check your work and units!
  • Mass, energy, and mols are common extensive quantities, and #"extensive"/"extensive" = "intensive"#.
  • Density, temperature, and concentration are common intensive quantities.

USEFUL INFO

  • Electron geometry does not discriminate between the types of electron domains, but molecular geometry does, and the latter describes the shape.
  • The gas laws needed (Boyle, Charles, Avogadro, Gay-Lussac) can be derived from the ideal gas law, #PV = nRT#, by knowing the environmental conditions (what is held constant?).
  • Enthalpy is heat flow at constant pressure. Enthalpy is a state function.
  • The rate law is always of a general form #r(t) = k[A]^m[B]^n#, where #A# and #B# must be reactants and #m# and #n# are reactant orders.
  • Reaction equilibrium is achieved when the forward and reverse reaction rates are equal (also, #DeltaG = 0# and #Q = K#), not zero.
  • Reduction occurs at the cathode, and oxidation occurs at the anode (RedCat/AnOx).
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