PI : How to prep for IChO

Finally something that breaks from the monotony of  writing about universitiy applications, IChO. After trying it out when my friend jio'ed me to, I find it to be a wonderful experience although I just managed to enter the 3rd phase qualifiers. With many encouraging seniors with their TLC (Tender Loving Care) who always bring us out to dinner (Yes Ze Kai and Ching Koon) as well as the chance to go overseas. it was definitely fun to try it out. So here are the tips from one of my good friend, Lin Zi Khang, two times IChO bronze medallist.

IChO- Tips and advice

By Lin Zi Khang

Warning: this post is not for the average man
Only for those who love chemistry and has a heart of steel

Introduction

International Chemistry Olympiad (hereafter known as IChO) is an annual chemistry competition held for talented high school students around the globe. The Olympiad comprises two parts, theoretical and practical. The theoretical exam is given a weight of 60% while the practical exam makes up the remaining 40%. Each country is allowed to send a delegation of 4 students, accompanied by mentors.

Tips for Preparation

Stage 1: Knowledge Accumulation

In this article, I will make the following assumption: Most of the readers are Malaysian students not exceeding the age of 20 by 1st July of the competition year and are currently studying in any high school or pre-university institution in Malaysia.

First thing the readers should bear in mind is that the whole IChO training and team selection process is run by the Department of Chemistry of University Malaya (UM). However, I must break some bad news to the readers: the training provided by UM every year is very limited (4 days in total for IChO 2016) so be prepared to do A LOT of self-study. By a lot, I really mean A LOT. To get what I mean, try google some past year questions of IChO theoretical paper. If you find yourself struggling to even understand the questions, this is an indication that you have a lot of reading ahead of you to do.

So good, now you sit yourself down at a study table with a few sheets of neatly stacked A4 papers and sharpened pencils, ready to hit the books, but where do you even start? For beginners, the variety of  books available for selection is very huge, you are free to choose any chemistry textbook which provides you a reasonable grounding in Chemistry knowledge, but here’s a few of my favourite:

General Chemistry: 

He would tell you a good chemistry joke,
but the good ones are Argon

• Any good traditional STPM (pre-modular system) should suffice. I personally used “Ace Ahead: STPM Chemistry” but I am sure there are better alternatives. By the end of your study, you should have a good grasp of topics in Thermochemistry, Electrochemistry, Basic Structure and Reactions, Kinetics and Equilibrium.

Physical Chemistry: 

• I recommend “Schaum 3000 problems in Chemistry”. In this book you will cover all the major aspects of physical chemistry, including aspects of the much dreaded advanced equilibrium - topics from charge and mass balance. While studying, you should make sure you understand every question. Prepare to be creative especially when it comes to questions concerning multiple equilibria. Instead of sorting through the mess of solving six simultaneous equations, is there any simplifying assumptions you can make? (You must however, be able to justify any assumptions if you make them!) On the other hand, on kinetics question, which step is rate-determining? What can you assume about the intermediate concentration, is it in steady state? Remember, while you might think that physical chemistry involves a lot of mundane calculations, the reality is always very different. If you find yourself mindlessly solving an extremely complicated system of equations, then chances are, you are doing it wrongly. There are better and more elegant approaches.

• For the more technical aspects of thermodynamics and quantum chemistry, the Physical   Chemistry book by Atkins is pretty good. Bear in mind though, don’t get bogged down by too much theoretical knowledge, oftentimes they are not tested in IChO, especially these few last years when the questions are increasingly geared towards aspects of creative problem solving.

Organic Chemistry: 

• A very good intro-level book would be Organic Chemistry as A Second Language 1& 2. These books should give you a solid grounding in basic organic mechanisms. After that, you can proceed to the holy grail of all undergraduate level organic chemistry book- the famous book by Clayden et. Al. The initial learning curve is likely to be steep if you have done little organic chemistry before, but try to persevere. The intellectual payoff you reap later will be huge, believe me.

• It might seem to you that some people are just naturally more talented in Organic Chemistry than the others. While I acknowledge this reality (some people, like one of my friend, are just better in spatial visualization- figuring out molecules conformations effortlessly in their brain), there’s only one way you can get better: by reading and practising more!

Inorganic Chemistry:

• Unfortunately, since I am quite poor in this area, I am not sure whether I am the right person to offer any advice. Personally, I find the book “Inorganic Chemistry” written by Glen E Rodgers quite helpful. Some people have attested to the effectiveness of the book by Wilkinson et. Al., but I have not the chance to verify it.

Stage 2: Problem Solving

• Now that you are reasonable well-versed in several areas of chemistry, it is time to hone your problem solving skills. Remember, the problems in IChO are nowhere as direct as those you find in a typical textbook, so don’t be discouraged if you fail to solve a problem! For starters, you may find the preparatory problems from 1997 and 1998 a rather good introduction to the easy questions you can expect in IChO. There are a few points to bear in mind though:

• Bear in mind that in IChO, you will be solving 8 or 9 questions in 5 hours so there’s time pressure. You might think that 5 hours is a lot of time but don’t be deceived!

• Don’t be discouraged if you cannot solve a question. Try not to look at the solution until you are pretty sure that the solution is beyond you. After looking at the solution, try to figure out the central idea of the question. Which part of the question have you overlooked? Have you misunderstood anything? Remember, you can only improve if you take the initiative to learn from your mistakes.

• Work neatly, especially when a question involves calculations. You don’t want to get lost in a mess of calculations later on. It also makes things easier for your graders.

• It is often a good idea to set aside some time every week in your schedule for problem-solving. Try to determine the optimum time for yourself. Too much problem solving in a short time isn’t good as you risk overloading your brain. It is important to allow your brain enough time to appreciate the trick behind solving a problem and let it “connect the dots”.

• As for sources of problems, you can find the download links for all past year questions at http://www.iuventa.sk/en/Subpages/ICHO/Past-Competition-Problems.alej. For a change in pace, you might also like to try the National Exam from US and Australia.

Tips for qualifying rounds

• Every year, UM host a few rounds of selection to determine the final 4 students who will represent Malaysia in IChO. The first round typically comprises 30 MCQ questions. The syllabus for round 1 is very slightly above the core for STPM or A Levels syllabus. Nevertheless, get prepared for any eventuality. Answer fast as there’s time constraint (1 hour 30 minutes) and make sure you shade every bubble even if you do not know the answer!

• For the second round, you will typically write a subjective paper which is of 4-5 hours length. The questions are drew from all aspects of Chemistry an undergraduate student is expected to know. It would be very bad if you are facing a knowledge deficit at this point, so  make sure your knowledge is up to par!

• For the third round selection, students will typically be invited to a 1 weeks residential stay in UM. Practical and theoretical training will be held and there will be a selection test at the end of the camp. IMPORTANT: Make sure you know the material covered at the camp very well. Unfortunately, while some topics covered by the lecturers are unlikely to be asked in IChO, you must still know them if you want to qualify for IChO. There’s no way around this.

• For the final round selection, all the advice from second and third round selection holds. You will likely be sitting a 5 hour paper at the end of the selection. Hopefully by now you have already formulated your own exam-taking and study strategies.

Tips for IChO

General Tips

• Socialize! Don’t be a recluse, especially after the competition ends.  It is not every day you get to meet talented Chemistry students from all corners of the globe. Play cards, go on excursions, steal other teams’ mascots, make sure our team mascot doesn’t get stolen... Ultimately, after the IChO ends, it is the memories you forge with other participants at IChO which will define your overall experience.

• Rest well. Especially, you shouldn’t overexert yourself on the two days before the two exams. If the Olympiad is held at a country with major time difference, resting would help alleviate the jet lag.

• Stay safe. Keep your passports and valuables safe. Try not to drink from tap water. More importantly, have fun!

Tips for Practical Exam

• It seems to be the Malaysian’s team specialty that we suck at practical exam every year due to lack in training. However, practical exam is often an easy source of mark and so you should try to do your best!

• IMPORTANT: Get the data first, do the deductions and calculations later. Data often account for more than 70% of the overall marks on offer, so make sure you don’t miss out on them.

• Be careful while doing titration, especially near the endpoint. Anyone can do well in titration as long as he or she is careful enough. You should decide how many parallel measurements you want to make: typically, many people choose to do 1 rough trial and 1 accurate titration. Remember to account for time! While accuracy is important, if you spend too much time, you might find yourself in a time pinch for the rest of the exam.

Holey Moley!
There is so much to learn about chemistry

• Organic synthesis: Follow every instruction given. Read every line twice to make sure you are carrying out the correct operation. Oftentimes, reagents cannot be replenished without penalty and you will lose precious time if you execute a step wrongly. Don’t let it happen!

• Plan in advance so you can work efficiently. If the next step requires a water bath, then you should have started heating the water 5 minutes ago. Also, sometimes, you have to run 2 experiments concurrently, eg; carry out titrations while your organic mixture is refluxing. Make sure your timekeeping is excellent!

• Sometimes, despite your best efforts, things can go horrendously wrong during practical. If this is the case, it is important to focus on the theoretical exam which will be held two days later instead of dwelling on the past. Believe in your own capabilities that it is still possible to make a comeback. (If you need a living example, I scored around 11/40 for practicals in 2015 but still did decent enough in theory to end up with a bronze medal)

Tips for Theoretical Exam

• IMPORTANT: Study the preparatory problems provided by the orgnaizers. Make sure you understand every question. Also, research on the topics of advanced difficulties mentioned.

• Don’t be careless. I cannot emphasize this enough. Unless you are absolutely sure that your script is careless mistakes-proof, allocate at least 15 minutes before the end of the exam to check the whole script and correct any careless mistakes you have made. This is especially important for organic structures, as even a minor error sometimes results in 0 points!

• Know your strengths and favourites. If organic questions are your forte, then it makes sense to focus on them first. However, make sure you don’t miss out on the easier parts of other questions.

• Do the bits of questions you can do first. Chances are you will not be able to finish any question fully, especially towards the end. That’s fine, make sure you grab the easy marks available.

• Check every MCQ box. Even if you do not know how to answer, there’s no harm taking a guess.

This marks the end of my article. Hopefully any would-be-members of Malaysian future IChO team find this article useful. I wish you well in your preparations and all the best in winning Malaysia’s first ever gold medal.

Interested? Come and join! Ze Kai, IChO Honorable Mention had always joked that the Malaysian IChO team suffers from a female drought...