As the new semester is creeping closer, the challenges of pre-med 3/1 are still vivid -- trying to find time to study, trying to maximize said study time, and trying to stay sane. While some students breezed through 3/1, there were just as many who dropped the course, and just as many who made it by the skin of their teeth. Being one of the later, it seemed appropriate to reflect on what worked last semester, what didn't, and what I can apply to next semester.

Depending on the type of business you have, Search Engine Optimization can mean life or death. If you’re selling products on a national or international level – making sure your products are found on the Internet is on of the keys to success. However, it has been recently brought to my attention that people outside

Sometimes we’re in such a hurry to buy our domain name we can often over look just how much we’re paying. In this article, we’ll cover how much you should (an shouldn’t) pay for a domain name. A domain name is quite possibly the most important step in getting a web site. The name help

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The WikiPremed MCAT Course MCAT Review MCAT Topics & Explanations by QofQuimica and Shrike | MCAT Study Question Q&A | Student Doctor Network MNEMONIC-DEVICE.EU – BIOLOGY – Searchable collection of assistive mnemonic devices (memory devices). Improve your study skills and memory. Memory aids for memory improvement. Organic Chemistry Reaction Mechanisms for the MCAT  -  Reactions of Alkynes  -   Electronic Organic Chemistry Flashcards Resource: The Mechanical Universe…and Beyond Organic Chemistry On-Line

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Moving is such a ambivalent experience. The excitement of moving to a new place, mixed with the stress to pack and the sadness of leaving friends. Right at this moment, I’m mostly stressed. We have a four bedroom, two bath house that needs to be packed up. But, it’s not as simple as packing a moving truck and unloading the truck at our new house — we’re moving overseas! We have to pair down, decide what we want to keep in storage and what we want to take. Step 1: Pairing down and Packing A good friend of mine recently moved to Ireland. After soliciting her advice for moving oversees, here is what she said: On Packing: 1. Get rid of everything replaceable, but keep the things you use weekly. 2. If you haven’t worn it in a year, if it has holes, doesn’t fit, or is worn out, donate it. 3. Scan photos and videos into a digital archive. If you must keep paper photos, get rid of the frames. 4. Donate/sell all books/magazines. 5. No furniture. I know you have heirloom stuff, so give that to friends/family who can use and enjoy it. When you decide to finally buy a house, you can ask for it back. 6. If your electronics will require a converter, donate/sell it. Converters are garbage and dangerous. 7. When sorting, if you think “Well, I might need that…” put it aside. When you realize you have too much stuff to move, go back to that pile and sort through it again. If you REALLY have too much stuff, the whole pile goes. 8. You don’t need any collectables. Really. For reference, when I moved to Iraq, I had 3 suitcases worth of stuff and it was everything I owned. When I moved to Ireland I had 1 large and 2 small suitcases with all my clothes and shoes. I’ve been living here 6 months just fine on that. I have 3 50lb boxes of stuff that I’m shipping over with things that are very expensive to replace here (my really nice sheets, towels, and fine china). I call them my comfort boxes. I recommend moving in two phases. For the first couple months, you’ll probably have a temp housing situation of some sort(if you don’t, I recommend you do it this way so you don’t get cheated or wind up in a ghetto.). It will be challenging to move all your stuff around, so only take the bare minimum. Once you have your permanent residence, have some friends/family ship your (already packed for shipping) comfort boxes to you. You’ll find things easier to manage this way. I’m in the middle of sorting everything into three categories: Pack, Move, and Sell. Here is how I’m doing it:

Suit cases are open on the floor in the bedroom for toiletries and clothing. Everything that will be moved goes into the suitcase. If I’m not sure about an item, it goes in a pile next to the suitcase. Everything that needs to be packed for storage is being packed in boxes and moved aside. I do have some of my grandmother’s furniture that is being moved to parent’s house. It is more cost effective for my parent’s to get the furniture, otherwise it too would be sold off. Everything else that is not packed will be moved outside for a garage sale this Saturday. A donation truck was reserved (two months in advance) to pick up everything that does not sell on Saturday. This way we do not have to move anything back into the house.

Trying to pack the “comfort boxes” has been difficult because we have so much stuff. Since our move is not permanent, we’ll most likely replace items rather than ship them — anything we ship there will also have to be shipped back (for twice the cost!). Step 2: Sell, Donate, and Load the Truck In an effort to move as little as possible, we’re selling virtually everything in the house. TVs, DVD players, tables, sofas, etc. Anything that would be a pain to load into a moving truck is being sold in a garage sale. Garage sales can be tricky, and timing is important. Here what we had to to in order to coordinate the move with the sale:

Get a city permit for the garage sale.

Always check your cities’ website for rules and regulations regarding garage sales.

Donation truck rental

We called Salvation Army (1-800-728-7825) to schedule a “garage sale pickup.” They will come with a huge truck in the afternoon after your garage sale to pick up everything that did not sell. This has to be scheduled well in advance because they only allow for two garage sale pickups each day.

Rented tables from a local party supply place.

No one wants to pick stuff up off the floor, so invest in renting tables for the event. They will earn their cost back within the first hour of the sale. We rented 6-8ft tables for under $70 dollars during out last sale, and we made over $600. Make sure the tables can be picked up after the sale so you don’t have to store them over the weekend. Also get the tables a day in advance so you can set them up early on the day of the sale.

Advertise!

Craigslist is a must.

If you have the time, list you items in the ad. Sometimes people will contact you in advance to purchase items.

Free online listing sites

http://www.yardsalesearch.com http://www.bonqo.com http://www.yardies.com http://www.yardsalequeen.com

An ad in the local paper is not a bad idea.

Get the Friday/Saturday listing only to save money. Place you order for the ad at least 5 days in advance to avoid missing the cutoff date.

After everything unwanted has been moved out of the house, packing the truck will be easier and faster. We’re going to store most of our stuff at my parent’s house. Otherwise, we would have rented a storage unit in advance as well.

If you have plastics or items that can melt, make sure the unit has air conditioning!

Another option we could have gone for is having a moving company come to house to pack and store everything for us. In retrospect, we should have done this because we are really pressed for time. While moving ourselves is a LOT cheaper, we’re paying in terms of stress and time constraints. Most moving companies have a storage unit where they will keep your items until you’re ready to have them moved to another location. Again, this is very convenient if you are pressed for time and do not know where you will be moving to later on. A note about our cars. My husband has sold his vehicles (an older car and older truck). As for my car, it’s a 2009 and we’re moving it with us to my grandmother’s empty garage. Otherwise, we would have sold that too. Lastly, we’re not driving the car, we’ll be towing it on raised trailer (the trailers that keep the back wheels on the ground add wear and tear to your tires, so we try avoid these if we can afford it). Since the move to my parent’s is over 3,000 miles, we did not want to add those miles to the car by driving it (or pay for gas in a moving truck AND a car — yikes!). And very lastly, we’re also moving our cat to my parent’s house. We got her a collar with an id tag, a super nice rolling pet carrier (for only $33 from target store — not online), and some homeopathic relaxing tonic. There is a website, http://www.petswelcome.com, that allows you to enter your travel plans and the site will give you a list of pet friendly hotels along your route. Although, there is not mention of Motel 6, which also welcomes pets. We hope we will not have to sedate the cat, but I have read many articles on the use of baby benadryl for cats. If needed, we’ll pick this up on the road. So in a few days, we’ll be on our way to the wonderful island of Grenada! Beaches, breezes, and lovely warm weather. Until then, we’ll be packing!

Mistake #1: Leaving Studying until the last minute Honestly, the idea of spending two months on MCAT studies seemed like a good idea. It still seems reasonable. The problem, two months is simply not enough time to cover all the material well enough to score above a 30. Despite the fact that I did really well in the prerequisite classes (biology, chemistry, physics, and org. chem.), this did not translate into a guaranteed high score on the MCAT. Also, I did not study for the test while in school (it was hard enough to get A’s in the classes, none-the-less study additional material on the side). Basically, I’m a good student, but far from genius status. But being a genius isn’t required to do well on a test, even if it is a test designed to fail the people taking it. Another reason two months is simply not enough time is because we’re not precognitive. While in theory two months is a descent amount of time, it does not allow for burn-outs, relaxation, or even an unforeseen illness (as in my case). Mistake #2: Lacking a clear [reasonable] study plan Sure, I bought the books: Kaplan biology, chemistry, physics, and organic chemistry; Exam Crackers 1001 passages; AMA MCAT review, etc. I bought the AMA practice tests, and even supplemented with Kaplan’s QBank. While most of these tools were invaluable, I did not have a clear outline on how and when to use them. Took a test, read some review, did whatever struck my fancy at the moment. While I did put together an outline on what I should have studied for each day of my 2-month study plan, again I did not plan for unseen circumstances. Before long, I was running out of time and the outline went by the wayside in lieu of making up lost study time. I started to scramble, trying to do what I thought would produce the most amount of points on the test. Suffice to say, scrambling did not bring about any usable test strategies or knowledge to implement on test day. Mistake #3: Not booking a test date early Now this was just stupid. I waited until the last minute to book my test, and now have to fly to another state which had a seat open. Dumb, dumb, dumb! There is a silver lining: I can always take the test again. There is an option to void my score should I not be happy with my test performance, and the test will not be reported to any school. However, it still counts as one of the three chances to take the MCAT. Meaning, the stakes are even higher for round two. Regardless, I’m excited to be able to do this all over again; the right way.

The Periodic Table: Classification of Elements into Groups by Electronic Structure; Physical and Chemical Properties of Elements Alkali metals Alkaline earth metals Halogens Noble gases Transition metals Representative elements Metals and nonmetals Oxygen group

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Electronic Structure

Orbital structure of hydrogen atom

Principal quantum number n Number of electrons per orbital (hydrogen)

Ground state, excited states Absorption and emission spectra Quantum numbers n, l, m, and s

Number of electrons per orbital

Conventional notation for electronic structure Bohr atom Effective nuclear charge

Orbital structure of hydrogen atom The hydrogen atom possesses only one electron and one electron shell. Based on the quantum mechanics model of atoms, this means that Hydrogen’s orbital/sub-shell is the 1s orbital. The s orbital/sub-shell is spherical in shape. Principal quantum number, n The principle quantum number, n, describes the highest energy level for an atom of a particular element. The highest energy level corresponds to the number of electron shells an atom has. The easiest way to identify an element’s principle quantum number is by observing the period it is in (a.k.a. the row); i.e. Hydrogen is in period (row) 1, so it’s n value is 1. This value of n=1 tells us that Hydrogen has only one orbital. Number of electrons per orbital (hydrogen) Within each shell (n), there are exactly 2n2 electrons. We can determine the maximum number of electrons in Hydrogen’s only orbital by using this formula: 2n2 Electrons in Hydrogen’s’ orbital = 2(1)2 =2 This tells us that Hydrogen’s only orbital can contain 2 electrons. However, Hydrogen does not have two electrons, it has one electron (given by it’s atomic number, 1). Reminder: A Hydrogen cation (H+1) has no electrons. Ground state, excited states An atom of any element is said to be at its ground state when it is at its lowest energy potential. This means that all the electrons are in their expected shells and orbitals/sub-shells, as determined by the quantum mechanical model of atoms. An atom’s electrons may be excited in the presence of energy (heat, light, radiation, etc.). The term excited refers to the movement of one electron from a lower energy level (shell) to a higher energy level. In terms of quantum numbers, an electron is excited when the principle quantum number (n) has increased; i.e. from n=1 to n=2. In order to excite an electron to a higher energy state, the energy must be specific. Technically, the energy must be quantized. Moving an electron from one energy level to a higher energy level is equal to the difference in energy between the two energy levels. Although this is mostly covered in the Physics section, it is relevant to note that the amount of energy needed to excite an electron from the first shell to the second shell is equal to En2 – En1. hv = ΔE = En2 – En1 = -13.6 eV -(-3.40 eV) = -10.2 eV     Remember: The amount of energy required to move from a higher energy level (n=2) to an even higher level (n=3) is significantly smaller than the amount of energy required to excite an electron from the ground state. En3 – En2 = -3.40 eV -(-1.51 eV) = -1.89 eV Absorption and emission spectra The absorption spectrum represents the the energy required to excite electrons in an element in terms of wavelength and frequency (E = hf = hc/λ ). The energy required to excite every electron present in an element from the ground state to an excited state is unique to that element. Absorption is graphed as intensity versus wavelength. More information can be found (soon) in the Physics section. The color we perceive of any element is due to the colors which are not absorbed. Random Factoid: Absorption spectra are used to identify gases present in stars.     Hydrogen absorption and emission spectrum The Emission spectrum is the exact opposite of the absorption spectrum. It represents the amount of energy released by an excited election when transitioning to a lower energy level. The energy released is a photon with the same amount of energy required to excite the electron (see section Ground State versus Excited State) and the electromagnetic energy of the photons is equal to hc/λ. Each photon released by an electron has a characteristic wavelength, specific to the energy transition. Because the energy release is quantized, a continuous spectrum is not observed — instead a line spectrum is seen. There are many wavelength series, but we should familiar with these two: the Lyman series in the ultra-violet (n = 2 to n = 1), and the Balmer series in the visible spectrum (n = 2 to n = 3). The Lyman series has a wavelength of 1250-800 where the Balmer series has a wavelength of 800-400 nm. The equation used to calculate the energy absorbed or emitted is: E = hv = -RH[(1/n2initial) - (1/n2final)] v = c/λ Remember: If the E value is positive, it represents absorption energy. If the E value is negative, it represents emission energy. Quantum numbers n, l, m, and s Quantum numbers are used to describe electron configuration and probable electron locations of an atom. The Quantum model of an atom replaced the Bohr model; but the Bohr model laid the path for the QMofA. The quantum number n represents the principle quantum number. The principle quantum number describes the highest energy level possible for an electron in any atom. Basically, the number tells us how many electron shells are present in an atom. In addition, the n number tells us the size of the orbital (n = 1 being the smallest). Quick refresher: Atomic shells contain orbitals. Orbitals contain subshells. The first atomic shell has one orbital, 1s. The second atomic shell has 2 orbitals: the 2s and 2p. Subshells within orbitals are represented as, in the case of the p orbital, px, py, and pz. Each subshell can only hold two electrons. The value of n is given by the period (row) that an element is located in on the periodic table of elements. Hydrogen, n = 1 (first period) Florine, n = 2 (second period) Chlorine, n = 3 (third period) Remember: As n increases, so does the atomic radius. This is also true when an electron is excited — the radius expands and then contracts when the electron returns to the ground state. From the principle quantum number, n, we are able to distinguish the other quantum numbers: l = 0 to (n – 1) Quantum number l (Azimuthal) represents the number and shape of orbitals within a shell (aka energy level). For example: Hydrogen, n = 1, l = 0 to (1 – 1) = 0 IMPORTANT: Although the value of l is zero, it is important to realize that the value 0 is a digit. A single digit, 0, represents the first orbital — the s orbital. This means that Hydrogen (or any other atom with a n value of 1, such as Helium) only has one orbital, the 1s orbital. The s orbital is spherical because it does not share space with any other subshells (no repulsion). Another example: Florine, n = 2, l = 0 to (2 – 1) = 0, 1 Here there are two digits, 0 and 1. As with the example of Hydrogen, the 0 digit represents the shell’s s orbital. The second digit, 1, represents the the second orbital within the shell — the p orbital. Because we are using the n value of 2, the orbitals are called the 2s (represented by the 0) and 2p orbitals (represented by the 1). The first shell containing the 1s orbital is not accounted for (it’s considered a given). The quantum number ml (also known as the quantum number m) represents the number of subshells present in each orbital. Although at first glace it seems very similar to the l quantum number, the ml number does not count the number of orbitals present in a shell, it distinguishes electron paths (aka subshells) within the s, p, etc. orbitals. ml = -l to l Tricky example: Chlorine, n = 3, l = 0, 1, 2 There are three l values to derive ml, l = 0,  l = 1, and l = 2 For the s orbital (l = 0),  ml = 0. As with the previous quantum number l, the 0 value represents one digit. Hence, there is a maximum of one subshell within the s orbital. For the p orbital (l = 1), ml =-1, 0, 1 Here we have three digits, -1, 0, and 1. This indicates that there are a maximum of 3 subshells located in the p orbital. For the d orbital (l = 2), ml =-2, -1, 0, 1, 2 Here we have five digits, -2, -1, 0, 1, and 2. This indicates that there are a maximum of 5 subshells located in the d orbital.

However, Chlorine does not have a d orbital. REMEMBER: Quantum numbers do no dictate the number of electrons, orbitals or subshells of any particular element. They represent the highest energy level possible for a given principle quantum number (an atomic shell). Chlorine has a 3rd shell. It’s principle quantum number is 3. However, Chlorine’s 3rd shell does not contain a d orbital, as postulated by the Aufbau principle which states, “According to the principle, electrons fill orbitals starting at the lowest available (possible) energy states before filling higher states (e.g. 1s before 2s).” This means that the 3s and 3p orbitals will be filled before the 3d orbital — which explains why Chlorine does not have a d orbital; it does not have enough electrons to occupy the s, p and d orbitals of the 3rd shell. The ms quantum number (a.k.a. the s quantum number) represents the spin state for each electron pair, and hence the maximum number of electrons allowed in each subshell. Before we had mentioned that each subshell could only contain two electrons. In addition, the electrons cannot have the same spin orientation, otherwise they would repel each other and fail to stay in the same subshell. The spin states are given a value of +1/2 and -1/2. The value of ms will always be +1/2 and -1/2 which are represented as up and down arrows. This is the basis for orbital diagrams. Example: Hydrogen, n = 1, l = 0, ml = 0, ms =+1/2, -1/2

In the diagram, the number 1 represents the shell number (n), the s represents the orbital (l), the box which contains the arrows represents the number of subshells (ml), and the two arrows represent the opposite spin states (ms). REMEMBER: An electron diagram is a visual representation of the atomic numbers. Number of electrons per orbital The number of electrons per orbital is determined by the number of subshells in a orbital (ml) quantum number, multiplied by 2 (representing the two states of ms).

Conventional notation for electronic structure The conventional notation for electronic structure is synonymous with electron configuration diagrams. Electron configuration diagrams are based on the quantum numbers n, l, m, and s. In order to properly create an electron configuration diagram, one needs to remember the order of permitted energy levels within an electron — 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, etc. Or, creating a electron configuration scheme, such as this: (C) MDHS SCH 4U Study Page This video also covers electron configuration diagrams: IFRAME Embed for Youtube Bohr atom Bohr was the first to identify that electron excitation in Hydrogen was only possible at certain frequencies. This gave rise to the concept of quanta — discrete energy bundles. He proposed that electrons could be excited only when a specific amount of energy was supplied to the electron. E = hf Bohr used quantum mechanics to define the angular momentum of an electron (quantum number l), and found that the momentum of an electron changes only in discrete amounts in respect to the principle quantum number. Hence, the energy emitted (or absorbed) by an electron is quantized by the principle quantum number. REMEMBER: As the principle quantum number increases, energy increases and get closer to zero. Effective nuclear charge Electrons surrounding a nucleus experience two major forces: the force of attraction to the positive nucleus, and the repulsion from neighboring electrons. Electrons at lower energy levels shield or offset the attractive forces experienced by valence electrons. The resulting attractive force (real attraction minus the shielding effect) is termed the effective nuclear charge. Effective nuclear charge allows valence electrons to bond to other atoms, or create ions.

One of the projects for a class I was taking on Statistics required that we watch a video on the Annenberg Learner website, learner.org. The video was pretty good; not too boring or childish. After finishing the assignment for my class, I started to snoop around for more videos, and I came across a pretty wide selection of science videos (you can view all the science videos here).
There were two among these that really stood out for pre-med students; The mechanical universe . . . and beyond and Physics for the 21st Century. There are also videos on chemistry and chemical reactions, biology and microbiology, as well as some videos on the subject of learning. . Overall, a pretty good find. Do know of any additional videos for pre-med subjects online? If so, please share!

Despite reading many books on organization, time-management, etc., I had yet to find a methodology that really worked for a scatterbrain like myself. Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits was overbearing, and required too much “stuff.” The concept that I had to plan my day down to the minute was crazy, and have not met anyone who does this effectively. Other books, such as Time Management for Dummies, First Things First, and The Four Hour Workweek all required simultaneous habit changes in order to be effective. Being a scatterbrain, requiring more than one habit change at a time was simply asking way too much — it was downright absurd. Furthermore, some of the suggestions made in these books were wishful thinking, as in the case of The Four Hour Workweek which advised hiring a secretary in India to do most of your work for you (HA! Do they do homework too?). Even more implausible, the author suggested starting an online business to automate revenue, which sounds good in theory; too bad his example was selling french style striped T-shirts. I had given up on these self-help books years ago, and rightly so IMHO. Then things started happening which forced me analyze how I manage my to-do lists (or rather, did not manage it). School was getting harder, chores were neglected, phone calls were missed, and I was always exhausted. To boot, we’re looking to move out of the country, sell our house and everything in it, planning a going away party, planning trips to see family, and I’m trying to study for the MCATs. So, I broke down and bought Getting Things Done by David Allen. Finally I discovered a book which not only “get’s it,” but also understands how to, no pun intended, get things done! Instead of fighting my habits, this book is showing me how to benefit from them. GTD doesn’t require anyone to change their entire life in order to become more organized like so many other books — which claim anyone can be more organized by simply changing everything about themselves. GTD is not full of the same suggestions over and over, such as breaking bigger projects into smaller pieces (duh), or incentivizing (when you finish this task, you can have a whole gallon of ice cream!). Rather, GTD outlines a method which is completely compatible for those of us who really need a book on organization, time-management, and completing the items on an ever growing to-do list. Unlike other books, GTD understands it’s readership and offers valuable tips and tricks which, almost magically, make someone more organized. As the author puts it, “we trick ourselves everyday, like putting important documents next to the door the night before we need to take them with us.” The strategies suggested in this book are so simple, even I can do them (which is saying a lot). Suffice to say, GTD is the best book on organization I have ever read (and I’ve read a lot of these types of books!). It’s easy to read, easy to implement, and does not make you feel bad about yourself. A great find, a great book, and a great addition to my library. Highly recommended!

For all the organic chemistry students out there, IR Spec Check is just for you!  Quickly analyze absorbance peaks from an infrared spectroscopy graph. IR Spec Check recognizes over 75 absorbance frequencies and matches frequencies with possible R-groups. IR Spec Check’s ranking system displays R-Groups based on how accurately your peak falls into the frequency ranges of each result. Check it out here.

Recently a friend of mine inquired about the necessities in web design. He mentioned some items that I found to be unnecessary and quite pricey. Which got me thinking about all the free stuff I have used throughout the years to develop websites. Frankly, most everything I used was free, or an older (hence cheaper) version of any software. Which leads to my point, professionals use free stuff,  so why shouldn’t businesses owners or others looking to get into the web design field? The question is, where does someone start? And, how do you know whether or not a free product is any good? Rest at ease, because here is a list of all the good free stuff waiting for you! 1. Firefox The reason Firefox is such a powerful web browser is because it can be modified by add-on’s which expand its capabilities. These add-on’s range from simple to complex. For our web design purposes, we’ll be adding-on some simple, and some not-so-simple add-on’s that can replace the need for many different types of software. 2. Firebug

Firebug is a Firefox add-on that allows you to see the HTML, CSS, Scripts, DOM and .NET coding all within Firefox. While it is not an inline editor, it is ideal for identifying design bugs visually. Also, it allows you to visualize changes instantly. A must have for all. 3. Web Developer Toolbar Web Developer Toolbar covers items which FireBug overlooks, such as the ability to outline elements on a web page, directly edit and save CSS files, and overlay local CSS files on top of websites without having to upload files to the server to view style changes. 4. MeasureIt MeasureIt allows designers to accurately determine the size needed for graphics by drawing a ruler across any webpage to check the width, height, or alignment of page elements in pixels. 5. FireFTP FireFTP is a free, secure, cross-platform FTP/SFTP client for Mozilla Firefox which provides easy and intuitive access to FTP/SFTP servers. Along with transferring your files quickly and efficiently, FireFTP also includes more advanced features such as: directory comparison, syncing directories while navigating, SFTP, SSL encryption, search/filtering, integrity checks, remote editing, drag & drop, file hashing, and  more! 6. YSlow YSlow analyzes web pages and suggests ways to improve their performance based on a set of rules for high performance web pages. YSlow is a Firefox add-on integrated with the Firebug web development tool. YSlow grades web page based on one of three predefined ruleset or a user-defined ruleset. It offers suggestions for improving the page’s performance, summarizes the page’s components, displays statistics about the page, and provides tools for performance analysis, including Smush.it™ and JSLint.

From time to time, no matter how much we study, cram, or seek help from others, it seems that certain topics escape us. It’s not for a lack of trying to understand the topic, but it seems like everyone is speaking Greek. So, here is my list of tutors and teachers who have taught me various concepts, and have helped me get better grades. Best of all, these are all video tutorials!

Khan Academy

Topics Covered:

Mathematics

K-12 subjects Geometry Pre-Algebra Algebra Pre-Calculus Calculus Statistics Trigonometry Differential Equations

Science

Biology Chemistry Physics Organic Chemistry Cosmology and Astrology

World Events Test Prep

SAT Prep GMAT CASHEE ITT JEE

Freelance-Teacher

Topics Covered

Mathematics

Trig and Calculus

Science

Chemistry Biology Organic Chemistry Physics

Professor Burger

Topics Covered:

Mathematics

MindBites.com (commercial site – free video snippets)

Topics Covered:

LOTS!

Hope this list helps you as well!

MAIN POINT: Write questions when you’re confused. Most students who get good grades feel like they don’t know how to study. At least, this is the opinion of my classmates in advanced classes. What I find most interesting about these students, and myself, is despite our anxeity over study methods, we consistently crank out good grades. At first glance, most people might assume that we are brainiacs. Please, let me clarify that students who get good grades are not any smarter than other students. For example, I cannot tell the difference between right and left without reminding myself that I write with my right hand. I am not dyslexic, it’s just a normal part of life for me. Also, I do not know the difference between a noun and pronoun, adverb and adjective, or possessive and plural. Every time I have to write an essay I have to double check if the apostrophes are in the correct spot. Lastly, the mere idea of doing simple math in my head gives me a headache just thinking about it! These are some of the things most students struggle with. So by all means, the students in advanced classes are normal students. Trust me, most all of us have some story to share about how we feel inadequate when it comes to our studies. To prove even further that I am not a brainiac, my GPA in high school was a measly 2.33. Yet, despite all of this, I have managed to maintain a 3.92 GPA in college. Some say there is not a secret to getting good grades, and for the most part that is true. What the students I have spoken with do that is different from most other students is spend time studying. In all reality, that is the only difference between a student getting A’s and a student getting C’s. There are some students, however, who do spend a good amount of time “studying” but they do not get A’s or B’s. More often than not, these students spend some time staring at a problem, get frustrated, and walk away. This tends to happen often with math subjects, hence why so many people hate math. The main thing to understand here is that the frustration anyone experiences is completely normal. If you understood how to do all of the work, there would be no need to learn the subject because you already know it! Frustration with classes is why there are so many tutors, online instruction videos, and websites dedicated to helping students better understand a particular topic. That last point holds especially true for text books. Many students read a text book and their eyes glaze over because the words make no sense. This is really terribly when you have a question, look at the book for the answer, and get more confused than you were before! Again, this is completely normal. More importantly, this is not a problem with your abilities; this is a problem with the text book! So, with the frustrations that we all experience with studying, why is it that some students can study well and others don’t? I cannot speak for everyone, but most everyone I know does the same thing when they reach a point where they are ready to give up. Here is what a typical study session looks like for myself:

Skim the chapter covered in class (without taking notes) Get confused within 5 minutes, or less Write out a question about the topic (who, what, where, when, and/or why … )

Go to YouTube and look up the topic If I can not find the answer there, look up the topic on Google If I cannot find the answer there, skip the topic, write an email to the instructor, and go back to reading If the instructor cannot answer the question, email a friend in class If the friend cannot answer the question, seek out a another book (ForDummies series, CliffNotes, etc.) If the question is still unanswered, seek a tutor

Write the answer next to the question Go back to text and repeat the whole process

This process can take anywhere from 30 minutes for a short chapter to hours for an advanced topic. The point is that at the moment confusion sets in, a question is written down to be addressed by another source. Most often, a quick 2-minute video on YouTube will cover any question the textbook has not. This process can be used for any topic, especially math subjects. More importantly, the above method works well for homework problems which seem impossible to solve. Once you have your list of questions, along with the answers you have been able to find, you can review them at any time (like before a test). You have also created notes on the hardest topics covered, complete with the answers! Basically, the difference between students who get good grades and those who don’t is stubbornness. Stubbornness which drives us to write out questions and find the answer. To this day, I read books on study techniques, note taking methods, and memory tricks. Despite being able to score high on tests and complete all homework assignments, I still feel like I can do better. It is this bull-headed line of thinking which makes the above study method a common denominator for most advanced students. It also seems to be the difference between getting a C on a test, and getting at least a B.

Maintaining a blog is not the first thought on most people’s minds. In fact, I would venture to say that with everything most business owners have to deal with everyday, week and month, the last thing an entrepreneur wants to do is tack more work onto their already strained daily schedule. However, the benefits of maintaining a blog are qualitative and quantitatively measurable. First off, a blog allows business owners to connect with their current and potential clients in a meaningful way. I’m not trying to suggest that a business owner should rant and rave about their daily musings in the form of a personal journal. Rather, a business blog allows a business owner to articulate their expertise through experiences, give helpful tips to clients, and establishes a connection with clients. All of these items are incredibility important for business owners, and the ability to obtain them for the measly cost of a a few minutes each day is a great opportunity for most. Second, for any business that maintains a website, a blog provides substance. In search engine terms, this translates to one of the most important factors for search engine ranking and placement; lots of text to search. Search engines like information, and the more information a business owner can provide, the better. A great side effect of having useful information on your blog is that people will link to your blog, thus giving your website and blog a boost in search engine rankings. There are many other technical and public relation reasons for maintaining a blog, but they are out of the scope of this introductory post. For more information on the benefits of maintaining a blog, check out these resources; So while my business doors have closed a long time ago, I hope that this blog will provide some valuable information for business owners looking to start and maintain a blog on their own websites.