Books to prepare for USACHO?

Colleges & Universities Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>My ap chem class uses </p>

<p>Chemistry by Bruce E. Bursten, H. Eugene Lemay (2005, Hardcover): The Central Science.</p>

<p>What books are necessary to score well on the usacho?</p>

2

<p>I heard Chemical Principles by Peter Atkins and Zumdahl are good?</p>

3

<p>As well as 3 comprehensive MIT intro chem courses on OCW: </p>

<p>5.011 - Principles of Chemical Science ([MIT</a> OpenCourseWare | Chemistry | 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008 | Home](<a href=“http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemistry/5-111-principles-of-chemical-science-fall-2008/]MIT”>Principles of Chemical Science | Chemistry | MIT OpenCourseWare))</p>

<p>5.012 - Principles of Chemical Science (advanced version) ([MIT</a> OpenCourseWare | Chemistry | 5.112 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2005 | Home](<a href=“http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemistry/5-112-principles-of-chemical-science-fall-2005/]MIT”>Principles of Chemical Science | Chemistry | MIT OpenCourseWare))</p>

<p>3.091 - Solid State Chemistry (an alternative intro chem that counts toward General Institute Requirements at MIT) ([MIT</a> OpenCourseWare | Materials Science and Engineering | 3.091 Introduction to Solid State Chemistry, Fall 2004 | Home](<a href=“http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/materials-science-and-engineering/3-091-introduction-to-solid-state-chemistry-fall-2004/]MIT”>Introduction to Solid State Chemistry | Materials Science and Engineering | MIT OpenCourseWare))</p>

4

<p>^^Those are good classes, but I don’t know if they are good prep for USAChO. I imagine that the MIT classes would include things not covered by USAChO.</p>

<p>I used to study for Science Olympiad Chem events with a Zumdahl book. Though that is completely different from USAChO, I can say that the Zumdahl book I studied was excellent in terms of explanations and sample problems. While I’m sure a big chunk of the book would be covered on the USAChO, I can’t really say what you would need to supplement. However, these exams are on the chem olympiad website so you probably can get an idea.</p>

5

<p>Zumdahl is really great. If you know it inside out, you’ll have no problems. However, at the later levels of the competition, you might want to read some extra organic chemistry or inorganic chemistry from a higher level book.</p>

6

<p>^^I agree with this.</p>