I need tips on how to study/revise for chemistry,especially physical chemistry.
Dear anon, I don't know whether you meant boards or competitive exams, so I covered for both since it is based on common ground anyway.
So👇
There is no other way that we could do well in physical chemistry except practice. A LOT.
What I understand about this dilemma (that I too have at this point, not fully solved) is that by the time you do at least 15 questions on a topic, you can get a grasp on the important formulae/which topics the questions hail from.
Mole concept : limiting reagent, M, m, w/w or w/v% (this particular option is not that frequent), reactions with stoichiometry coinciding with chemical kinetics, electrochemistry and metallurgy
Atomic Structure : which spectral series is in which region of the spectrum, sums with ratio of wavelengths (largest, smallest, comparison of different series), emission and absorption spectra, parts correlating to the physics part of energy levels and radius of hydrogen-like species
Gaseous state : GRAHAM'S LAW OF DIFFUSION (I cannot stress this enough, do it), the Cv and Cp values for Mono, Di and Polyatomic gases which connects thermo in Chem as well as Physics, mean free path proportionalities
Thermo (unit) : everything. All the laws, equations and graphs. adiabatic, isothermal, isochoric, my head and my tongue. Do every numerical in thermo. It's a weak point for a lot of us and we, right now, have the time to make it... Well, a not weak point.
Equilibrium : learn all the formulae and before you learn the formulae visualise/logically understand how something is happening. Log tables, roots, figure out some way to make decimal operations easier. A lot of sums from this one tpo because it isn't that connected to physics like thermo or electrochemistry
Redox : Make a trick for recognising which one is oxidation and which one is reduction. Balancing reactions must be practiced.
Solid state : Repetitive revision of the lattice examples is the only way we can remember them. Muscle memory can serve us well here. Make charts or stick it up on your wall to look at it every few days if that works for you. The rest are formulae and 4-5 numbers to be remembered. Density sums, chemical formula sums, voids sums <- practice
Solutions : formulae, how you get van't hoff factor for a compound, association and dissociation which is linked with electrochemistry molar conductivity part
Electrochemistry : formulae, graphs, molar conductivity sums, kohlrausch's law sums, electrolyte difference/spotting (will help in equilibrium), the cathode and anode of cells (this rarely comes)
Chemical Kinetics : some zero and first order reaction examples (will connect to radioactivity in nuclei chapter), half life formulae, and the 75% and 99% concentration formulae too (these 2 are not there in the tbk but it makes life easier in both phy and chem), all the graphs (should be able to read them even if they are messed around with or changed a bit)
Surface Chemistry : gold number sums, coagulation power and value orders in sols, recognising positive and negative sols, purification methods, electrophoresis definition (you'd be surprised how many times this came), helm holtz double layer theory, tindal's effect (connects a bit to optics, but vaguely), micelles (connects to bot biomolecules and cell unit). This chapter is very theoretical so keep revising stuff you don't get at first glance
Now briefly about Inorganic and Organic Chemistry:
Inorganic : write all the orders and the logics behind it. Some trends are weird so remember them with some trick (keep the tricks to the minimum in inorganic btw, it messes with your brain otherwise). That's as far as I've gotten with inorganic myself, but we can still work on it. If you have any advice regarding this, please do share.
Organic : understand the mechanism behind any reactions. Not just the way it's given in the textbook, but try to connect all organic chapters to each other. Practice a lot of questions, the direct ones as well as the weird ones. Organic does not have any tricks, it just requires practice and that can be done if we understand how each reaction goes about and why we do it.
Hope this helps you with Physical Chemistry and the like🤗 Thank you for approaching me with this so I could think out loud
Have a nice productive day!
