<p>I understand that Zumdahl is all you need for the open exam, but what books do we need for the national exam? </p>
<p>Also for my school, in order to pass the open exam, you need a score of 51 or higher. How difficult is this to attain?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>If I understand what you’re talking about… pretty freaking difficult. I don’t think any upperclassmen except one or two got past the 51 mark and my school’s produced many Ivies.</p>
<p>I think the general consensus is to use Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight (or something like that) by Atkins, its the book that MIT uses for their intro chemistry course I think, so its pretty comprehensive, I also suggest buying the solutions manual along with the book.
Try half.com it generally has really cheap textbooks</p>
<p>So, Atkins is the book that the majority of the students use after the open exam for the national exam?</p>
<p>I made it to UNSCO by just doing AP Chem (5 I think) and SATII Chem (800).</p>
<p>^Do you remember the cutoff score for your region?</p>
<p>It isn’t that difficult to get 51 or higher. I got a 56ish this year by taking AP Chem and practicing with old local exams. To make it past the locals, you should have a thorough AP Chemistry knowledge and practice using the old local exams. Those old exams are the most helpful thing. </p>
<p>For the national exam, practice using the actual national exams. Once you see what types of questions you’re missing, use the internet and/or Atkins’ book to help study and review problem-solving techniques or concepts. I think the actual exams are the most helpful part in preparing for this test.</p>
<p>How much math does one need for the exam? I’ll only have half of Algebra II when I take the local.</p>
<p>You should be fine with that math, kyoakyoa. The math is not too hard in the USNCO exam, it’s just the way of applying the chemical equations that may be hard in problem-solving. That being said, you should take a few practice exams to see if you need to brush up on some math skills, as I have no concrete idea how much you’ve covered in your algebra 2 class.</p>
<p>It looks like ACS never bothered to put up 2011’s National Free Response and Lab. Does anyone know of another place we can get the test?</p>
<p>They probably should put it up later, maybe by the end of summer? Lol. I don’t think there is another place to get the test.</p>
<p>Lol, ACS still hasn’t put up the 2011 Free Response or Lab. Who’s planning on competing this year? I was considering not competing again (since I’m a senior and senioritis hits hard next semester :]) but I’ve decided I’ll study hard and really try to make the study camp this year just for fun and learning. Anyone else studying for USNCO this year?</p>
<p>Me! except, I’m in Canada, so I’ll be studying for their version. How are you prepping? </p>
<p>My school doesn’t offer AP Chem, so I’m selfing it…
or I may look into auditing a class…I have Chemistry: The Central Science ( 2 edition-1 was free, though) Chemistry by Chang (free). I might try to find a copy of Atkins-I really love chem because it’s quantitative and you can’t bs it as much as you could bio…</p>
<p>I’m using Atkins’ Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight. It’s a great textbook. I used Chemistry by Chang last year for my AP Chem class and it was good, but Atkins helps more with some of the more advanced chemistry concepts. </p>
<p>Lol, you’re somewhat right about bio. I just took USABO on a whim and managed to make it to semis, but then the semifinal test destroyed me. </p>
<p>Did you do USNCO (Canadian version) last year?</p>
<p>I think I might do the USNCO again this year. Last year I studied the week before nationals by doing like 3 practice m/c national tests with the other guy who was doing it from my school and both of us made honors (top 152 in nation). Apoc, did you make camp last year? </p>
<p>I basically studied by taking old national tests + spot review from Zumdahl (my AP Chem textbook). However, I did just buy the Atkins Chemical Principles/quest for insight as well. I really hope to study harder this year and make it in camp (If senioritis doesn’t completely take over by the april time)…</p>
<p>I made Honors last year, but I was pretty rushed for studying time that week before USNCO. This year I’m going to really tear apart Atkins’ and make sure I can proficiently complete the MC and Free Response sections.</p>