Solving General Chemistry Problems

1
Studying and
Thinking About Problems

For many of you, the first course in chemistry will be a new experience—
perhaps a difficult one. To understand chemistry, you will have to work hun-
dreds of problems. For many students, the mathematical side of the course may
seem more difficult than it should, leading to unnecessary frustration. There
appear to be two main sources of this difficulty and frustration; they center
around ( I ) study habits, and (2) the way you analyze a problem and proceed to
its solution. The following suggestions, taken seriously from the very begin-
ning, may be of great help to you. For most people, improved study habits and
problem-solving skills come only with practice and with a determined effort
spread over a long time. It's worth it.

STUDY HABITS

1. Learn each assignment before going on to a new one. Chemistry has a

vertical structure; that is, new concepts depend on previous material. The
course is cumulative in nature. Don't pass over anything, expecting to learn it
later. And don't postpone study until exam time. The message is this: keep up
to date.
2. Know how to perform the mathematical operations you need in solving
problems. The mathematics used in general chemistry is elementary, involving
2 Studying and Thinking About Problems

only arithmetic and simple algebra. Nevertheless, if you don't understand it,
you can expect troubles before long. So, before you can really get into chemis-
try, you need to master the mathematical operations in the first six chapters.
3. Don't think of your calculator as a security blanket that will bring you
vision, light, and understanding about problems. Your calculator can minimize
the tedium and time involved in the mechanics of a problem, thus leaving you
more time to think about the problem. And, in principle, there is less likelihood
of your making an arithmetical error with the calculator, but it won't help you
at all in choosing the right method for solution. Many students make a substan-
tial investment in a powerful calculator and then never learn to take advantage
of its power and its time-saving capability. From the very beginning it will pay
you to learn to use this incredible tool well and easily, so that you can devote
your thinking time to understanding the principles and the problems. This book
emphasizes the proper and efficient use of your calculator.
4. Minimize the amount of material you memorize. Limit memorization to
the basic facts and principles from which you can reason the solutions of the
problems. Know this smallish amount of factual material really well; then con-
centrate on how to use it in a logical, effective way. Too many students try to
undertake chemistry with only a rote-memory approach; it can be fatal.
5. Before working homework problems, study pertinent class notes and text
material until you think you fully understand the facts and principles involved.
Try to work the problems without reference to text, class notes, or friendly
assistance. If you can't, then work them with the help of your text or notes, or
work with someone else in the class, or ask an upperclassman or the instructor.
However, then be aware that you have worked the problems with a crutch, and
that it's quite possible you still don't understand them. Try the same or similar
problems again a few days later to see whether you can do them without any
help, as you must do on an exam. Discussion of problems helps to fix principles
in mind and to broaden understanding but, by itself, it doesn't guarantee the
understanding you need to work them.
6. When homework assignments are returned and you find some problems
marked wrong (in spite of your efforts), do something about it soon. Don't
simply glance over the incorrect problem, kick yourself for what you believe to
be a silly error, and assume you now know how to do it correctly. Perhaps it
was just a silly mistake, but there's a good chance it wasn't. Rework the
problem on paper (without help) and check it out. If you can't find the source of
error by yourself, then seek help. There is often as much or more to be learned
from making mistakes (in learning why you can't do things a certain way) as
there is from knowing an acceptable way without full understanding. However,
the time to learn from mistakes is before exams, on homework assignments.
7. In the few days before an examination, go through all the related
homework problems. See if you can classify them into a relatively small num-
ber of types of problems. Learn how to recognize each type, and know a simple
Problem Solving 3

straightforward way to solve that type. Recognition of the problem (not the
mechanics of the solution) often is the biggest difficulty to be overcome. In most
cases, there are only a few types of problems associated with a given topic.
8. Be sure that you understand material, rather than just being familiar with
it (there's a huge difference!). See if you can write something about the topic in
a clear, concise, and convincing manner, without any outside assistance. The
act of writing is one of the best ways to fix an idea in your mind, and it is the
same process that you use on an exam. Many students feel that repeated read-
ing of an assignment is all that is needed to learn the material; unfortunately,
that is true for only a few students. Most people will read the words the same
way each time; if real understanding has not occurred by the second or third
reading, further readings probably are a waste of time. Instead of going on to a
fourth reading, search through the text and jot down on a piece of paper the
words representing new concepts, principles, or ideas. Then, with the book
closed, see if you can write a concise "three-sentence essay" on each of these
topics. This is an oversimplified approach (and not nearly as easy as it sounds),
but it does sharpen your view and understanding of a topic. It helps you to
express yourself in an exam-like manner at a time when, without penalty, you
can look up the things you don't know. If you need to look up material to write
your essays, then try again a few days later to be sure you can now do it without
help.

PROBLEM SOLVING

1. Understand a problem before you try to work it. Read it carefully, and
don't jump to conclusions. Don't run the risk of misinterpretation. Learn to
recognize the type of problem.
2. If you don't understand some words or terms in the problems, look up
their meaning in the text or a dictionary. Don't just guess.
3. In the case of problems that involve many words or a descriptive situa-
tion, rewrite the problem using a minimum number of words to express the
bare-bones essence of the problem.
4. Some problems give more information than is needed for the solution.
Learn to pick out what is needed and ignore the rest.
5. When appropriate, draw a simple sketch or diagram (with labels) to show
how the different parts are related.
6. Specifically pick out (a) what is given and (b) what is asked for.
7. Look for a relationship (a conceptual principle or a mathematical equa-
tion) between what is given and what is asked for.
8. Set up the problem in a concise, logical, stepwise manner, using units for
all terms and factors.
4 Studying and Thinking About Problems

9. Don't try to bend all problems into a mindless "proportion" approach that
you may have mastered in elementary grades. There are many kinds of propor-
tion, not just one. Problem solving based on proportions appeals to intuition,
not logic. Its use is a hindrance to intellectual progress in science.
10. Think about your answer. See whether it is expressed in the units that
were asked for, and whether it is reasonable in size for the information given. If
not, check back and see if you can locate the trouble.