Customer Reviews

Barron's How to Prepare for the SAT II Chemistry (6th ed)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I felt unsure of myself last year before I picked up this book. I studied it diligently - spending over a week intensively pouring over the text. I was pleased to recieve a 750 for my effort. This is really a great book, that I found superior to the "Cracking The SAT II: Chemistry" book. It has more examples, and better explanations.

This book certainly prepares any student for the Chem SAT. It is an even greater help for Chemistry final exams. Although much of the content in the book is not necessary for the SAT II, it gives the student a better overall understanding of Chemistry principles. Also, I found many of the facts in the reviews to be repeated in the actual test, word for word, in question format.

Do not buy this book if you wish to "learn Chemistry" from it. Barron's implies many things and expects the student/reader to understand common Chemistry basics. If you are taking a fairly challenging Chemistry course, have strong mathematical abilities, and are using it as a "strong review," then this book is for you. Otherwise, I suggest Kaplan or Princeton Review.

P.S. Keep in mind that the scores you get on the Barron's practice/diagnostics tests will probably be 100-200 points lower than your score on the actual exam. Don't fret if you got a 500. You might just end up with a 750 or even an 800 on test day!

An excellent Chem SATII prep guide--includes 5 practice tests with correct answers and their explanations, test breakdowns by subject matter, and chemistry content summaries by topic.

Cautions:
Be aware that there are some typos/incorrect answers to test questions. The book also emphasizes laboratory set-ups and some chemical reactions that aren't likely to be part of ANY high school chemistry curriculum for safety reasons (i.e., collection of H2S and HCl gases); nor are they part of most current Chem SAT II tests.

This is more of a review book than anything else. My chemistry class had covered all the information in the book except for ionic equations, and the book did not do a good job of explaining them. The book; however, does make an excellent review source, and therefore should be bought by those who are taking it. Annoying part of the practice tests are that there is no scale, so you cannot get a SAT like score, just number correct, therefore there is no way to tell how well you'll do. My recommendation is that you get the College Board's SAT II book, which has practice SAT II's for all the subject tests to see how the real test is like.

The Barron's SAT II Chemistry book is extremely long and detailed and has tests that exaggerate difficulty. Each chapter does a good job of covering the core material but it also adds alot of extra information that will probably not be seen on the test. In fact, in the nuclear chemistry section, the book goes into sub atomic particles known as quarks, which havent been seen on the test in ages. The practice tests at first are very pessimistic and are quite difficult.
Yet, if you do study this book completely, take the practice test and correct your answers, there is no reason you shouldnt get an 800 on the SAT II. I found the exaggerated difficulty annoying at sometimes, but, its a tough way of forcing you to do good. In short, if you have plenty of time to prepare for the SAT II, buy this book, and do it cover to cover. Your results should be wonderful.

If you have taken AP Chemistry, there is no really no need for you to buy this book. The class is more than adequate as preparation for the SAT II. The only thing I'd suggest reviewing is that stupid question format that asks you to relate if 2 statements are true and if the first statement explains the second statement. If you have only taken one year of chemistry I would recommend buying this book and practicing because there is some material that is covered on the SAT II that is not taught in first year chemistry. I know I wasn't ready to take this test after my first year. If you like studying chemistry and have been working hard, there is no reason you can't get a 770 like I did or even higher.

This year, I took Chemistry and scored A. I decided to take the Chemistry SAT before I forget everything. I bought the Barron's Chem book and discovered that I didn't know half of the stuff. I look at all my fellow test-takers; they are juniors who have completed AP Chemistry. I ask myself: What am I doing here? I recommend the Barron's book for SAT Chemistry; however I recommend even more that you first take AP Chemistry before you take this SAT. It will really help.

This is an truely excellent book. I am not fortunate to have a very deep chemistry curriculum available in the schools in my city (it is actually well recognized as being terrible) but after completing all the chemistry courses available to me I ordered this book off Amazon and realized how much I did not know. I probably spent about 30 mins a night every night give or take for a month, near the end studying several hours everyday. The lab questions in this book, what I found to be the most difficult part, are largely useless and are not on the actual exam but are still good practice.

I would however advise this book for only those seeking to achieve high scores because the content is somewhat difficult and demanding. Good luck

I believe that this is a good book that offers lots of information. It gives detailed questions and answers but requrires the individual to work solidly. If you aren't dedicated, don't expect anything above a 700 with this book or any other.

Barrons has always been my preferred SAT study guide. A Clear logical, concise presentation makes it a breeze to revise for the SAT II Chemistry. However, it cannot replace study of Chemistry at the International Baccalaureate or AP level. It is meant, more to complement and familiarize the student with the nature of the exam than to replace classroom instruction.

For the hardworking and diligent chemistry student, this book makes the difference between a 750 and an 800.