Organization and Procrastination

1. Check that nothing is due on Monday. Check again. 

2. Write down due dates for the rest of the week.

3. Pack your bag. Phone, keys, everything. 

4. Take a bath, have a long shower.

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5 Techniques for Biology

Tips for Biology

Biology Study Tips

Coursera

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Astronomy Study Skills

Astronomy Study Resources

How to Study Astronomy

stoi·chi·om·e·try \stoikēˈämitrē\ noun - the relationship between the relative quantities of substances taking part in a reaction or forming a compound, typically a ratio of whole integers

For me, one of the more difficult aspects of chemistry was stoichiometry. In basic high school chemistry, stoichiometry is not too hard but can be a bit confusing when you first learn it. This post isn’t necessarily how to do stoichiometry, it’s just tips on how to make it easier so I’m not going to go over the basics (e.g. what a mole is, how to convert mass to moles).

*things in black ink are pieces of information given, anything in color is something you have to find

1. Don’t try to do anything in your head

It doesn’t matter how great at mental math you are or how many numbers you can remember in your head at once, just take the 5 seconds to write your calculations down. Problems like the one above are relatively simple and you may be able to get away with not writing everything down, but it’s much better to form a habit of writing things down so you’ll be used to it by the time you get to really complicated problems.

2. Set up your problem neatly

Many stoichiometry problems will ask for moles, masses, and atoms of the compounds in your reaction. Depending on how many compounds are in your reaction, there can be 12+ numbers and calculations so you want to keep track of them. As you can see in the photo above, I wrote down the original equation, balanced equation, and under those, 4 horizontal rows each labeled with a different piece of information. Do your calculations off to the side and have a designated area on your paper for the answers since you’ll probably need some of them to do other parts of the problem (e.g. you need the moles to find the number of atoms).

3. Space things out

I cannot stress how important this is, I usually write rather small but if I’m doing a stoichiometry problem, I’ll make my writing about two times bigger than normal and space things out a lot. Cramped writing leads to confusion and the whole thing looks messy and difficult to understand.

4. Pay attention to your significant figures

Hello, anon. I can see how this is a problem, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to change it completely. Here are some articles that could help though:

Why You’re an Early Bird or a Night Owl 

Why You’re Not a Morning Person (and How to Become One) 

Changing From a Night Owl to a Lark 

Can a night owl become an early bird? 

Hello there!

I’ve been looking (on and off bc of a midterm) and wow you’re right I don’t think I’m following any American science focused studyblrs?! Our system is quite different from others too so I expected more… But you should check out @study-well‘s community lists! I’ve followed quite a few interesting people from there, just not many from here :] Anyone else know any US science focused studyblrs?

Hey!Honestly I can’t give you a good answer for this as I have no experience with studying psychology. Try looking at what people who have studied it have said and also talk to others who study it.

List of Studyblrs Studying Psychology

hiiiii beans! here are a few simple, healthy, and yummy snacks for all ur needs. (ps i might add more as i find them, but these are the ones i eat most frequently)

studying

pretzels + cream cheese

dab a bit of cream cheese in a small bowl or plate

get some pretzels (i like the flat pretzel crisps for this)

carrots

almonds

blue berries

chillin’

veggie sandwiches - awesome for hot days

toast some bread

spread some cream cheese on that bad boy

cut up some cucumbers and tomatos

cut your bread into fours (or however many pieces you want)

place 1 cucumber and 1 tomato slice on each little square

done!!

salami rolls - again, great for hot days

get some salami slices (i recommend 2-3)

spread some cream cheese on half of the slice

roll it!

bonus: poke a toothpick in it if u want to be extra fancy and make sure it stays rolled

another bonus: great w/ pretzels as well

avocado on toast

toast some bread

(optional) cut ur avocado into thin slices

place/spread the avocado onto the toast

avocado + some tortilla chips

on the go/school

almonds 

carrots

dried apples (or any dried fruit u prefer)

those lil tangerines/clementines

home-made trail mix

cheese-itz/gold fish/whale crackers

peanut butter chips

chocolate chips

nuts (almonds, cashews, etc.)

dried fruit (apples/mangoes/bananas)

you’ll need..

vegetable oil

vinegar

(half or less) red onion

(whole to half) tomato

(half depending on size) cucumber

slice up your red onion, tomato, and cucumber however you want (dices, slices, etc.) and throw those bad boys in a bowl

splash in some vegetable oil

add a bit of vinegar

add some salt

mix it all up!!!

add salt and vinegar according to what tastes good to you!

Some of you have requested that I show you my note taking technique. This is in no way a proven technique, but it really works for me and many of my professors have applauded my structure. So try it, and if you like it and it works for you, great! If not, I commend you on having a more structured system! These are my general rules when I take notes:

1. Leave space. A lot of space. While going through previous notes, whether it be right after class or a month later, I always found that I had information that I wanted to add, and cramped pages never allowed for that. Plus, it’s a bit less daunting on the eyes when there is some room between ideas. I do realize that this is not very eco-friendly, but hey! 

2. Use the margins in a smart way. I have developed a “legend” of symbols to draw in the margins so that when I need a quick scan of what pages in the textbooks I referenced or vocab, I can find what I need easily. It might not seem useful on this one page, but when you have a whole 3″ binder full of notes, it’s a blessing.

3. Write on one side of the page. Again, not a eco-friendly option. However, I’m sure there are those of you (my past self included) who have wished you just had another page to write down book notes or additional thoughts without having to get a fresh paper. This solves that! 

4. Make it pretty later. I know this page is visually appealing, but keep in mind that I was in my nice warm room by myself and listening to music while writing this. My notes straight out of class aren’t color coded and they definitely don’t have cute little decorations on them; just get the information down, worry about aesthetics later.

5. Put yourself in the classroom. You might think: “but I’m physically in the room what the hell are you talking about”. The concept is weird but it works. I always try everything I can to make sure I place as many visual cues in my notes as I can so that when I look back on them later I remember exactly where I was and what was happening. Are you not paying attention and thinking of food? Write it down. Did someone fart? Write it down. Placing yourself in the room is the most beneficial thing you can do for future you.

6. Keep it short. I can’t tell you how many times I freaked out when I first got to college because I was trying to write everything down. I was certain I was going to miss something. WELL HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU. You aren’t going to miss anything if you keep your bullets to a minimum of one sentence. It’s proven that short phrases in your own words help memory better than full sentences that the professor gives you.