Trial (& HSC) Study Tips

STRATEGY #1

Throughout the year you have been doing a huge amount of work on the HSC booklets.

I tried to do my part by writing comments to highlight any questions that contained tricks, needed a specific approach/strategy or were challenging for the class as a whole.

Now it is time to make those booklets, those comments and all that hard work to pay dividends.

This works for Pre-Trial and Pre-HSC.

It is a tried-and-tested Dr Burg approved method of study.

 

1) Get out all the HSC booklets from the year (even if you haven't done them, this is still a valuable exercise).

2) Get some paper (draw up 2 columns), a pen and 2 highlighters of different colour.

3)Start with one Focus-Area booklet (I'd start with 9.6.7 and work backwards to 9.2.1).

4) Click on the link to the comments - the links are at the bottom of this post below strategy 4.

5) Go through the HSC booklet and look at all the questions that I specifically made a comment on.

6) Read the question. See if you can remember the trick, the strategy, the problem or just the key things to say for this question. Check my comment - see if you have an "ahhh, that's right" moment.

7) If you remembered all the tricks, strategies, and are happy with that Q - move on.

8) If you thought to yourself "I know that topic pretty well, but I'd better check this again to remind myself those tricks" then highlight that question one colour. Also make a note of the Focus area, year and Q # in one column of your paper (“revise”).

9) If you thought to yourself "I really need to do this again" highlight this in the other colour and make a note (Focus area, year, Q#) in the second column (“redo”) on your paper. You can also do this for questions you got no/v.low marks for first-time around  if you wish.

10) Don't revise or redo the questions now, just keep working through the focus areas as above.

11) Once you have reached the end you will have a list of questions to revise and a list to redo.

12) In your Chemistry study time redo the "redo" questions – using whatever resources you need until you understand the concept/question. Then it can be shifted into the revise column.

13) At the end of study sessions (or for a pre-bedtime-routine) read over the "revise" questions.

14) Why this strategy can work:

a) It is thorough. All the important concepts have been covered in HSC questions so you are covering the course by looking at the questions.

b) It is study. By revising the questions and comments you are bringing all the strategies, concepts, tricks back into your short/medium term memory and strengthening their place in your long-term memory.

c) It is high-gain. By redoing the questions that trouble you, you are focussing the bulk of your time into the areas where you can make the biggest improvements.

 

STRATEGY #2

1) Focus-area by focus-area make a list of the things &/or questions that you DO NOT want to see in the Trial/HSC. I.e. you are making your own personal “HSC-paper-from-hell”.

2) Study those topics as though you *knew* that the list was the exact paper you were going to have to sit.

3) You have just negated your “HSC-paper-from-hell” and have turned your weaknesses into strengths.

 

STRATEGY/TIP #3

At the end of the Literacy/Numeracy assessment I noted to you all that there were a few questions that very few students submitted (Q4, Q7, Q9, Q11, Q14, Q17, Q19, Q21, Q23, Q24, Q26, Q27, Q37, Q38) At the time I remarked how I really need some extra assessment information on those topics and that it was lucky that there was an assessment exam coming up.
I found it interesting that when I marked the 9.4.2 and 9.4.3 HSC booklets that the students who had done the essays on the Haber process, impacts of the Haber process, AAS techniques, AAS trace elements and pollution wrote very good extended response answers on those topics. Make of this what you will, but I am still happy to check, correct and provide feedback on ½ page essays…

 

STRATEGY #4

This is really an ‘exam-room’ tip that I thought of when writing the 9.3.4 Feedback.

You need to get in the mindset (to be hyper-aware) that that you need to distinguish yourself. The only way to distinguish yourself is through what you write. No matter how much you know - if you don’t include detail, address the verb, define terms etc, there is no way of distinguishing you from someone who knows nothing. Ask yourself :

• Could someone who was trying to ‘wing it’ write my answer?

• What have I added that cannot be ‘winged’ that makes me stand out?

HSC FEEDBACK LINKS

9.2.1 – Polymers

9.2.2 – Cellulose and Biopolymers

9.2.3 – Ethanol

9.2.4 – Electrochemistry

9.2.5 – Nuclear Chemistry

9.3.1 – Indicators

9.3.2 – Acidic Oxides & LCP

9.3.3 – Acids & pH

9.3.4 – Acid Theory & Titrations

9.3.5 – Esterification

9.4.1 – Collaboration & Monitoring

9.4.2 – The Haber Process

9.4.3 – Ion Analysis

9.4.4 – CFC’s & The Ozone Layer

9.4.5 – Water Analysis & Treatment

9.6.1 –History of Electrochemistry

9.6.2 –Steels & Rusting

9.6.3 – Electrolysis

9.6.4 –Corrosion Protection

9.6.5/6 –Deep Ocean Corrosion

9.6.7 – Conservation & Restoration

 

Remember this - All it takes is "Just Work"!

 

 

 

And watch this before your study/exams etc - How could you not want to do well and dominate the state after watching this ?

 

 

 

The Reactions to Know

These are the equations you need in your toolbox to support your answers in the HSC. Some are handy to push for the high marks in extended response questions. Some are VITAL to know (eg 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19) to achieve the basics of the course.

If you are having trouble remembering them – try to think of them in context. Eg remember what happened in your fermentation experiment, remember how we decarbonated soft drink, remember how ozone blocks UV rays and why CFC’s decompose ozone etc

 

Click on the images for a larger version.

1) Addition polymerisation  eg PVC

HINT
Show 2n monomers so you can show the repeating structure of the polymer chain. NB the square brackets to signify the repeating unit

2) Polymerisation of glucose to form cellulose
HINTS

1)      If you need help remembering the structure of glucose – let me know – I’ve taken a few people through it and it is (for the most part) working

2)      Every second glucose is inverted.

3)      Being a condensation polymerisation there is a water molecule produced for each link – there is always one less link than monomers (think about why) thus there is always one less water molecule than monomers.

4)      Showing four glucose monomers is ideal to illustrate the above but under time pressure two would suffice as long as you note that every second one is inverted.

3) Addition of bromine water to cyclohexene

HINTS

1)      use the carbon chemistry shorthand – ie don’t bother drawing the C and H atoms

2)      Bromine water is an aqueous solution, but cyclohexene and 1,2-dibromocyclohexane are non-soluble in water so are liquids.

4) Fermentation

HINTS

1)      you *SHOULD*  know that ethanol and carbon dioxide are products, that the glucose needs to be aqueous and yeast is required. We do the experiments (and you learned all about ethanol production) so you don’t need to think about these things – you should just remember.

2)      If you know the products then it is just a simple case of remembering that there are TWO of each product.

3)      This is one of the only reactions involving carbon compounds where you don’t need to use structural equations

 

5) Combustion of an alkanol  eg ethanol

HINTS

1)      For all hydrocarbon combustions – balance carbon, then hydrogen, then oxygen (CHO)

2)      Remember that there is an oxygen in the alkanol so you need one less oxygen than normal (ie one of the reasons why ethanol has such complete combustion)

 

6) Incomplete combustion  eg ethanol
HINTS

1)      The simplest incomplete combustion is where C_(s) is the only product

2)      Use CHO

 

7) Dry cell reactions
HINTS

1)      Never hate mangoes watery monkey nuts

2)      You should know that ammonium has a charge of +1 (it is the ‘t’ in hate)

 

8) Silver cell reactions

HINTS

1)      The silver and zinc reactions are basically opposites of each other

2)      The oxide and hydroxide must be on opposite sides of the equations

3)      Hydroxide is consumed at the anode and produced at the cathode

 

9) Radioactive decay
HINTS

1)      RULE 1 – If Z > 82 = alpha emitter

2)      RULE 2 – If n/p is too high = beta emitter

            Z < 20 : n/p = 1:1

            Z ~ 50 : n/p = 1.3:1

Z ~ 80 : n/p = 1.5:1

Eg 1) C-14

C has 6 protons

Thus there are 14-6 = 8 neutrons

n/p = 1.33:1 – too high s it should be 1:1 – thus it is a beta emitter

Eg 2) Hg-210

Hg has 80 protons

Thus there are 210-80 = 130 neutrons

n/p = 1.625:1 – too high should be 1.5:1 – thus it is a beta emitter

Eg 3) Sn-115

Sn has 50 protons

Thus there are 115-50 = 65 neutrons

n/p = 1.3:1 – just right = stable

Eg 4) At-217

At has 85 protons – thus it is an alpha emitter

 

10) Acid rain

HINT

All you have to show is that it forms an acid – thus if you can show sulphur dioxide forming sulfurous acid or nitrogen dioxide forming its mixture of nitric and nitrous acid you can stop

11) CO₂ solubility

HINTS

1)      Generally, non-polar covalent molecular compounds do not dissolve in water. Carbon dioxide is an exception because it REACTS with water

2)      The reaction is as simple as just adding the atoms of carbon dioxide and water together – remembering to use an equilibrium sign!

 

12) Citric acid
HINTS

1)      Remember that it is the oxygen of the hydroxyl group that bonds to the carbon

2)      Carboxylic acid groups have a double bonded oxygen and a hydroxyl group

 

13) Esterification  eg pentyl ethanoate
HINTS

1)      Remember it is EQUILIBRIUM

2)      Remember that it needs a concentrated sulfuric acid catalyst

3)      Remember that is produces water

4)      Remember that primary alkanols from propanol onward need to end with ‘…an-1-ol’

 

14) Haber equilibrium
HINTS

1)      Know the formula of ammonia

2)      Know that it comes from hydrogen and nitrogen gas

3)      Balance the equation

4)      Know that it is in equilibrium

15) Ozone

HINTS

1)      When writing the ozone equilibrium always show O3 absorbing UV – this is so you can explain how the ozone layer absorbs UV

2)      It is good practise to label the coordinate covalent bond for ozone (distinguishing the electrons from each oxygen is also useful)

 

16) CFC’s decomposing ozone
HINT – to show that it is a catalyst for ozone decomposition you must show them reforming (ie catalysts provide a reaction pathway that lower the activation energy but are not consumed in the reaction).

 

17) Rusting
HINT – if you want to do well in the shipwrecks option you need to know these four equations. They can be used to explain just about everything about the factors that effect rusting and rust protection systems

 

18) Sulfate reducing bacteria
HINT – Soloh ate his two sneakers for water. Need I say more?

 

19) Precipitation
HINTS – This is as simple as I can make the solubility rules for the HSC

1)      All Group 1 metal, ammonium, nitrate, acetate (and phosphate in acidic conditions) compounds are SOLUBLE

2)      All other carbonates and phosphates are INSOLUBLE

3)      Chlorides are soluble except lead and silver

4)      Hydroxides are soluble except lead, silver, iron and copper

5)      Sulfates are soluble except for lead, silver, barium and calcium

6)      Carbonates bubble in acid

7)      Flame tests – barium = apple green, calcium = brick red, copper = emerald green