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GRE Chemi str y subject test - Chemi str y - The Gr adCafe For ums
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GRE Chemistry subject test Started Starte d by winterwind, Aug 27 2009 07:10 AM Pa ge 1 of 3 3 Posted Po sted 27 August 200 9 - 07 :10 A
winterwind
Are there any good prep book s out there to help me me prepare for the test? I can only find a few (Princeton Review, REA) that have less than favorable reviews. What books or methods did you guys use to study for the exam? Posted Po sted 28 Au gust 2009 - 07:19
UnlikelyGrad
I used both Princeton Review and REA for the practice tests only. However, what helped me the most was just getting out textbooks and working through them. Posted Po sted 20 December December 2 010 - 07:13 A
waddle
Those of you who took the 1 3 Nov 2010 test, what did you think? (Belated, (Belated, I know. I haven't gotten my my scores y et.) I was surprised surprised at the plethora of biochem questions, but other than that, I felt it was very similar to the two two practice tests from ETS available on the web. I used two practice tests (i.e. actual exams previously adminstered) available free on the web: GR0027 (http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/Chemistry.pdf) and GR0627 (http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/gre_0910_chemistry_practice_book.pdf) . ETS also sent sent me a copy of GR0627 in the mail a few weeks after I registered for the test. In studying for the test, I just went through my class notes & textbooks (I actually had to read them this time!
):
analytical:: Quantitative Chemical Analysi analytical Analysiss , 7e / Harris [one [one of the best a. chem. textbooks I'v e ever ever read] read] inorganic:: Inorgani inorganic Inorganicc Chemistry, Chemistry, 3e / Miessler & Tarr [the Miessler & Tarr book is actually helpful for some of the p. chem. concepts]; and Descriptive and Descriptive Inorganic Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry,, 4e / Rayner-Canham & Overton [I hadn't taken i. chem. before studying for the test, so the Rayner-Canham book is useful for learning the material at a basic level] organic:: Organic Chemistry, organic Chemistry , 3e / Hornback [Hornback's pretty good about most reactions, and the mechanistic presentation is helpful for working out o. chem. reactions you've never seen before (like I had to-I didn't know anything about nitrile chemistry before studying for the test; wasn't covered in my o. chem. classes), though I admit, I'm used to the mechanistic v iew (my classes didn't focus so much on functional
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GRE Chemistry subject test - Chemistry - The GradCafe Forums groups)] physical: Physical Chemistry, 8e / Atkins & dePaula [this is an absolutely terrible book, at least for poor me's puny intellect, lack of mathematical understanding, & not knowing how to use MATLAB. typos everywhere, terrible explanations, lack of clear derivations, ...]; Physical Chemistry, 2e / Mort imer [used this to learn quantum mechanics (never had a class on QM, so I did the best I co uld); from what I could tell, this did a slightly better job of explaining than Atkins ... but if you have time on your hands, you may want to pick up McQuarrie's p. chem. b ook--it goes against the classical par adigm and starts off with QM, then builds thermo & kinetics from a quantum perspective, or so I've heard]
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Also, if I had to recommend a g. chem. textboo k for rev iew or just some easy reading, it'd be, hands down, General Chemistry / Linus Pauling. Some of the material is outdated (e.g. his convo luted bonding models), but hey, yo u gotta cut the man some slack. It's the absolute best chemistry textbook you'll ever read. (Well, maybe 2 nd best--Gonick & Criddle's Cartoon Guide to Chemistry is also really good.
)
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Posted 20 December 201 0 - 04 :16
UnlikelyGrad
Examination
Interesting list of bo oks, waddle. I used Harris as well, which I still think is pretty goo d and use as a desk reference (even though it doesn't refer to some of the analytical methods I use in research: Skoog does a more thorough job of
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that.)
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To give y ou an idea of how old I am, when I was an undergrad, I used Miessler & Tarr 1st ed. in inorganic; I think it was a brand new book then...b ut I didn't like it very much as a text. I used Housecroft. And when my dad (who's in
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China on a cultural exchange program) was asked to teach inorganic for the first time in 30 years, he borrowed my
Exam
Housecroft...and said it was the best inorganic book he'd seen. (My sister also lent him a couple of inorganic books.)
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Organic: I used to have a bunch of organic books which my dad gave me for desk references...he taught organic for decades and had been given many free copies by textbook publishers. He also preferred the mechanistic approach.
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But this didn't work so well for me; I hadn't even looked at o-chem for 15 y ears before I took the test, so I preferred Maitland Jones, who has a very conversational writing style.
Admission A lication As for p-chem: I used to work for a p-chemist. He used Atkins for his classes, even though he actually preferr ed MacQuarrie. The reason he used what he considered an "inferior" book is that he thought MacQuarrie was too intensely mathematical for most o f his students. But he suggested I use it as a reference, since math is a for te of mine. Thomas Engel's book isn't too bad, though, especially if you're a bit math-deficient. Posted 20 December 201 0 - 07 :4 4
waddle
'Backside Attack ', on 20 Dec 2010 - 4:09 PM, said: The thi ng I don't like about study ing from gen eral books and lectu re notes is tha t a lot of the materi al is extran eous. If you hav e a lot of time to study, then it w ould be better to cover more topics in more detail, but if y ou are tight for time, I woul d sugg est stic kin g to t he "big t opics" that ar e most often tested on t he ex am . Th e rev iew books do a good job of presenting a lot of the necessary material concisely. I studied for a week a nd used those two books, and did considerably better on th e exam t han I was hoping for.
I gave up on a Princeton Review book I borrowed at my library after taking one practice test out of it. T he questions
WebSpad es
were convo luted but way too simplistic, and the review material was presented in a way that only benefits one who has already learned it in depth (the ty pos didn't help, either). I figured I might as well spend the 3 weeks I had just condensing & rewriting my notes f rom my v arious classes, and trying to f ill in the gaps in my knowledge (which were plenty). Posted 24 De cember 201 0 - 09 : 29
Woofuls
'Backside Attack ', on 20 Dec 2010 - 4:09 PM, said: I used the Princet on Rev iew an d the Kaplan books.
Kaplan does not offer a Chemistry Subject GRE study guide. Posted 17 March 2011 - 02:37 A
chaospaladin
'waddle', on 20 Dec 2010 - 1:13 PM, said: Those of you who took the 1 3 Nov 201 0 test, what did y ou think? (Belated, I know. I hav en't gotten my scores yet.) I was
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GRE Chemistry subject test - Chemistry - The GradCafe Forums surprised at the plethora of biochem questions, but other than th at, I felt it was v ery similar to the two practice tests from ETS available on the web. physical : Physical Chemistry, 8e / Atkin s & dePaula [th is is an absolutely terri ble book, at lea st for poor me's puny intellect, lack of mathematical u nderstanding, & not knowing how to use MATLAB. typos every where, terrible explanations, lack of clear derivations, ...]; Physical Chemistry, 2 e / Mortimer [u sed this to learn quantu m mech anics (nev er had a cla ss on QM, so I did the best I could); from wha t I could tell, th is did a sligh tly better job of explaining than Atkins ... but if y ou hav e time on your hands, you may want to pick up McQuarrie's p. chem. book--it goes aga inst th e cla ssical pa ra digm and st ar ts off wit h QM, t hen bui lds th erm o & kin etic s from a qua ntu m perspectiv e, or so I'v e heard
If you could recommend 1 single Biochemistry book and 1 single Physical chemistry book in order to prepare for the GRE, what two books would those be? I also hav e a question on the timing of taking the GRE Chemistry test. If I plan on graduating Spring 2012 and applying to PhD Chemistry programs in Fall 2011 for enrollment in Fall 2012 and the Chemistry GRE is only offered in October, November, and April and I start the inorganic chemistry sequence in Fall 2011 and Winter 2012, how should I study fo r the inorganic question of t he Chemistry GRE? Should I just start self-study ing in the summer and take the Chemistry GRE in October 2011? Edited by chaospaladin, 17 March 2011 - 02:41 AM.
Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:05 A
Eigen Wow, you're all about digging up old posts today!
I like Garret and Grisham for biochemistry, and I like Levine for Physical Chemistry. Stay far, far away from Levine's specialized QM text though- very good, but very difficulty. I really liked McQuarrie's QM book, but am not familiar with his other PChem texts. Posted 17 March 2011 - 04 :27 A
UnlikelyGrad
'Eigen', on 17 Mar 2011 - 09:05 AM, s aid: I really liked McQuarrie's QM book, but am not famil iar w ith hi s other PChem text s.
I second McQuarrie! I have his full PChem book (QM + Thermo). Mathematically rigorous but very well explained. And I really really lo ved the fact that all of the math was reviewed before y ou needed it--it had been a good 15 year s since I took calculus! Ye s, you will have to do a lot of self-study for the inorganic. On the plus side, you should breeze through your class.
Posted 17 March 2011 - 04 :54 A
Eigen
If y ou're looking to self-study Inorganic... Maybe Shriver & Atkins? It covers a full 2-semester inorganic course. It's a rather annoying book in many ways, but I found it very complete. It's what I used to study for entrance exams. Crabtree's "T he Organometallic Chemistry of the T ransition Metals" was what we used in grad school, and I like the book - it's very readable. And Crabtree's awesome- I got him to sign my book last semester when he spoke at one of our seminars. It's mostly organometallic chemistry, but the introductory chapters are nice basic descriptive inorganic stuff. Shrive r and Atkins has it all, though. McQuarrie's math reviews are great- it hadn't been quite that lo ng for me, but it had been long enough. I actually picked up our libr aries copy of his "Mathematical Methods for Scientists and Engineers" and kept it on my shelf as reference for quite sometime. Edited by Eigen, 17 March 2011 - 04:55 AM.
Posted 17 March 2011 - 04 :35
luce373
Honestly, I found going over my notes from my courses much more useful than going through textbooks. I would have been overwhelmed trying to read whole books in the weeks before the test, especially with classes going on.
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GRE Chemistry subject test - Chemistry - The GradCafe Forums And theoretically , if you'v e been through the classes, you know the important points from the textbo oks already and just need to refresh your memory. I was also only partway through inorganic chemistry when I to ok the test, and I missed some questions that I otherwise would have gotte n. But the number of questions that was an issue for was very small, and I don't think it hurt my score. Posted 17 March 2011 - 05:4 6
Cantorg
The bulk of the content in GRE chemistry is a (very) good understanding of freshmen level general chemistry and organic chemistry . Most (not all) of the content in the 'Phy sical Chemistry' sectio n is simple, like the Laws of Thermodynamics, Raoult/Henry's Law, etc. If you don't have that much time, I suggest focusing on general chemistry and organic chemistry. For an all purpose general chemistry textbook, I recommend Oxtoby's "Principles of Modern Chemistry". If you know the content of this book REALLY well, you should be gold. Any organic chemistry te xtbo ok should be fine. I used Wade. Part of what makes the chemistry GRE difficult (if y ou're aiming for something like a 90+ perce ntile) is its all encompassing content. Look at the past tests. In some years, they will expect you to know the Maxwell relations. Some years, they will expect some rudimentary knowledge of the construction of the Pi Molecular Orbitals via Huckel method. Some years, they will ask you about fugacity. But those questions are few and far between. Most are quite simple regurgitations. My suggestion: 1) Take a look at the past exams. Look at at least two of them, to get a feel of the types of questions they ask. I mention at least two exams, because just by looking at one of them, they appear deceptively simple, and may give you the false impression that the exam is a breeze. You'll quickly realize that to get a good score, y ou need to be comfor table with not only che mical intuition and rationale (which is more important in research), but quick ly solving those anal, trivial, stock questions that characterize almost every standardized tests administered in a multiple choice fo rmat (eg. which isoelectronic io n has the largest radius? which alkane has the highest boiling point? Rank the acids, from most acidic to least acidic, etc.). 2) Start by solving those boring practice problems found in your textbooks (like Oxtoby and Wade). Speed is the key. Solving these early problems boost your score and confidence (every question is worth the same!) 3) Review your general chemistry. Basic Thermodynamics, Equilibriums, and Rate Laws. Know the connection between them. Memorize the equations associated with ever y basic proce ss in thermodynamics (i.e. isothermal, isovolumetric, isobaric, etc.). Know your coordination chemistry (eg. Steric Numbr is not equal to molecular shape, lone pair-lone pair interactions are less favorable than bonding pair - lone pair, etc.) 4) Review your O-Chem. This may not be really helpful advice, but just memorize almost all pertinent reactions. How far does the PCC oxidize? KNOW how to quickly discern the difference between enantiomers, meso, and diasteromers. 5) If you have time, go over the special topics like biochemistry, the implications of quantum mechanics (operators not commuting = the simultaneous standard deviation is not zero), molec ular term symbols, Jahn Te ller distortions, etc. T hese questions separate the people who get something in the 60-70th per centile+ and the people who get 90+ percentile. Posted 17 March 2011 - 07:0 9
Cantorg
I should add that for Inorganic Chemistry, I used Messerschmidt (sp?). For QM/Thermodynamics, I used McQuarrie and Simon. Crabtree is fine, I used it for my second quarter in Inorganic Chemistry, but really, most of the questions in Inorganic Chemistry should be covered by general chemistry. Yo u should be ver y comfo rtable with the 18 electron rule (i.e. how many d electrons are in the metal center?), and be somewhat comfortable with symmetry operations and point groups. Posted 17 September 201 1 - 01:31
contretemps I am taking the GRE Chemistry subject test this October. Any tips?
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GRE Chemistry subject test - Chemistry - The GradCafe Forums Posted 18 Sept embe r 2 01 1 - 03:4 1 A
process chemist
There is just so much content to digest, and to brush up on. I can only recommed you get your old text books and just hunker down. I think for organic, a suitable review would be MCAT materials. I have some old MCAT books, I am using to brush up on my organic with, in addition to working back thro ugh the book. A lso, for t he PChem section, I would suggest breaking down the first three laws and all applications; which, should cove r a good deal of it. For the Quantum part, brush up on all math up to Calc. III, or Diff. Eq. and anything you can muster up (Normalizing Wave Equations, Work Functions, Energy Tr ansitions, etc.). I wouldn't expect to o much Quantum from the PChem part beause you just don't have a calculator to do all of those tedious calculations and unit conv ersions with. Posted 19 September 20 11 - 01:03
contretemps
Thanks! I still have Analytical and Inorganic Chem left to review. I am allotting 2 days to finish the Quantum Chem and statistical thermodynamics part (I saw these topics in the practic e tests). I hope I finish all these with only a month left!
process chemist, on 18 Sept 2011 - 09:41 AM, said: There is just so much content to digest, and to brush up on. I can only r ecommed y ou get y our old text books and just hunker down. I think for organic, a suitable rev iew would be MCAT mat erials. I hav e some old MCAT books, I am u sing to brush up on my organic with, in addition to working back through t he book. Also, for the PChem section, I would suggest breaking down th e first three laws and all applications; which, should cover a g ood deal of it. For the Quantum part, brush u p on all mat h up to Calc. III, or Diff. Eq. and any thing y ou can mu ster up (Normalizing Wave Equations, Work Functions, Energy Transitions, etc.). I wouldn't expect too much Quantum from the PChem part beause you just don't hav e a calculator to do all of those tedious calculations and unit conversions with.
Posted 23 September 20 11 - 11:03
contretemps To those who will be taking the GRE Chemistry, this is a good resource. http://stanford.edu/~selassid/gre/ (http://stanford.edu/~selassid/gre/) I didn't know the 1995 version is also available online!
Posted 09 May 201 2 - 04 :09 A
Faraday
General question. I plan to take the chemistry subject GRE towards the end of the summer and unfortunately I will not yet have taken physical chemistry at that time. If anyone else has been in this situation, what would you guys suggest for preparation to be able to do at least moderately well on the physical chemistry portion while acknowledging that my time is probably best spent trying to teaching myself everything... I hav e the ACS rev iew book and I was thinking I would look through that as well as try t o pinpoint common themes among practice chemistry GREs and try to learn those concepts as best as I can. Edited by Faraday, 09 May 2012 - 04:11 AM.
Posted 09 May 2 012 - 04 :4 5 A
Eigen Any reason why yo u're taking it so early if yo u aren't applying until Fall of 2013?
Posted 09 May 20 12 - 05:1 7 A
NYLA
@Eigen: I'm assuming this person is applying to be admitted for Fall 2013, which would corr espond to this upcoming application season. So I was in a similar situation; I had actually never taken inorganic chemistry prior to taking the GRE chemistry exam. I'm sure that it affected my score negatively, but you can still survive (I scored a 7 70 I think, which was not something I was terribly pro ud of but I was not ashamed either). I think the be st thing you can do is identify specific subjects within the topic and learn them for the exam (For example I learned how to count ligand electron
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