Customer Reviews

Cracking the GRE Chemistry Test, 2nd Edition (Graduate Test Prep)

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There are several conceivable uses of this StudyGuide: for initial familiarization of basic materials (that often is not covered in standard undergraduate curriculum), for subsequent in-depth study, and for practicing on the model tests / questions included.

Writing a book that concisely yet succinctly covers every aspect of undergraduate curriculum in chemistry is a behemoth task, and it deserves credit for bringing up most of the material I've encountered in either other model tests, or the actual GRE I've taken. I estimate the coverage of the material on my actual exam be about 90%.

I would not recommend anyone to rely solely on this for in-depth studying. As mentioned by a large number of reviewers, the guide is in much want of care and quality. I wonder if there has been any reviewer who have gone through the book before publishing. To cite an example, I refer you the Physical Chemistry practical questions #20 (pp. 277).

The question implicitly requires examination and interpretation of a graph; however, the graph is nowhere to be found with the question; in fact, it is located with the *answers* on page 281. There are 4 pieces of possible facts that constitute the answer - I, II, III, V (not a typo on my part). The answers are [A. I and II] [B. II and IV] [C. II and III] [D. II and IV] [E. I and IV] - again, not a typo on my part for B and D to be identical. 3 critical errors in one single question is perhaps abit too much.

Beyond the careless in proof-reading & preparation (like the multitude of five-bonded carbons), some of the material is outright *wrong*. To cite an example, on page 314, Median is defined as 'the value that appears the most frequently in the group' - this is the definition for Mode (median is the value in the middle of the series of number). These seriously hamper the use of the StudyGuide as a study guide - afterall, in case of doubt, one is never sure whether to trust the book or not!

The model test is of appreciably better quality. My suspicion is that it's cropped directly from ETS materials (since some questions recurred from other guides) so there is not much to comment upon.

My advice is to get an old edition of this book and treat it as a half-rotten treasure map. Yes, there's an X and some landmark that could be worth looking at - but to trust it wholehearted, and expect it to actually lead you to the treasure is something I'd do only as last measure.

JKWC.

Do not waste your money for this lousy prep book. This is the worst chemistry book that I have ever seen. I just can't believe that this book actually is in press despite having so many mistakes ... It seems to me that this book was not edited by people who know about chemistry before being published. Believe me, mistakes in this book are countless .. starting with a carbon with five bonds, a carbocation having four bonds, and so many more. The more I read this book, the more upset I became.

There are so much inaccurate information as a result of poorly edited chemical strutures drawings. For example, in page 173, the structures drawn showed that ketones react with amines to yield amides, which this reaction couldn't possibly happen (unless if there are such reactions that I haven't been taught in college).

I am deeply disappointed with this GRE Chemistry book (however, I am quite satisfied with the general GRE prep book by The Princeton Review)). So, if you need a study aid for GRE chemistry, your undergraduate textbooks and notebooks are actually your best bet to score high on the test.

This is the most awful chemistry review book I have ever read. I cannot trust any of the information given in this book to be true because of the many mistakes that were made.
The most amazing thing occurred on the top of page 132: There are 5 bonds to carbon! Within the same example, the molecule containing a double bond is an alkene NOT an alkane. Other simple errors also occured, such as on page 111 when they spelled iso-butane, "iso-butnae." Also, on page 104, they spelled naphthalene, "naphtalene." Is there not an editorial staff looking for these errors? I must say I only read pages 104-132 because I fear to see MORE obvoius mistakes made. If you want to learn something about chemistry, DO NOT get this book!!

I just reviewed the first edition and now the second - it's horrible. I read one review that said that Princeton Review had corrected all the mistakes and typos in their previous edition. I challenge that review; I have counted just as many mistakes in this edition as in the first. If you go through the book quickly, you may not notice the mistakes, but they are there. I rarely go two or three pages without finding a significant error.

I think the book format is great, and the information presented well, although quite inaccurate at times. Their Inorganic section is VERY weak and seems to be more a review of general chemistry than a more advanced course in inorganic chem (though, they DO address some more advanced topics, just not as much as they should.)

I would recommend this book only to the attentive student who has a strong grasp on chemistry, and question almost everything you read. Double check formulas, reaction products, ion charges, etc. Don't accept anything at face value. If something looks wrong or doesn't seem "right", then chances are, it is not.

I've worked my way through the first 100 pages or so, and although the book is generally quite readable, I am very disappointed in the quality thus far. I have found numerous errors, for example:

p. 87: (Question 3) Two answers are exactly the same.

p. 92: (Question 23) The groups should probably include the suffix "A" (IA, IIA, etc.).

p. 105: 2,3,5-trimethylhexane is misidentified as 1,3,5-...

p. 107: The structure for 1-propyne is incorrect.

Admittedly, some of these errors are minor, but my concern is for the mistakes that I will NOT find and thus potentially cause me problems as I study for this exam.

This book is utterly staggering in its low quality, both in terms of Homerically incompetent editing and chemical errors. Many sentences appear to have been proofread drunk, if they were proofread at all. For instance, in some places the editor clearly converted all text to one font, converting Greek letters into Roman ones. Sometimes, bizarre substitutions are made for symbols; degree signs are replaced with a Greek gamma, and deltas are sometimes replaced with thetas. Integral signs (!) sometimes appear seemingly randomly in the middle of bonds in chemical structures. Spelling errors are uncountably frequent ("Diels-Adler" reaction, anyone?)

Of course, a far worse problem consists of errors in the chemistry itself. The organic section is especially atrocious. I honestly wonder whether the author was able to do better than a 'C' in beginning organic; if so, she should be ashamed of the slipshod job displayed. Particularly egregious errors include displaying a ketone hydrate with C=O double bonds (resulting in a hexavalent carbon atom), describing "quaternary amines" with no mention of the fact that they are, of course, positively-charged ammonium ions, and depicting the acylation of an amine with a ketone, rather than with an appropriately reactive carboxylic acid derivative (e.g. an acyl chloride or anhydride). Less ridiculously inane errors on more esoteric topics, which are also myriad, are even worse, as they run a far greater risk of confusing the reader.

For its prominence as a purveyor of study aids, the Princeton Review surely should be able to do better than this travesty of a reference.

This book is full of errors, in both the study section and the answer key. If you use this book as a study aid, you will learn to do chemistry incorrectly! The Princeton Review should proofread and correct error before publishing their books. This book is a disservice to chemistry applicants everywhere.

Save you money.

This book (unfortunately, one of the only GRE Chemistry books out there) is filled with errors. Some of them are typos, and (even worse) some of them are blatant, chemically illogical errors.

If you try to study for the GRE using this book, it'll send you on a wild goose chase searching for other textbooks, to validate (or discredit) what's printed here. [In a way, that can be a good thing because you'll learn a lot from reading other textbooks. But of course, it can be a huge waste of time!]

I'd use this book for its Table of Contents, to serve as a list of topics. Then go elsewhere (like to your textbooks) to get the info you need and build your own study book.

This is a terrible book. I am furious with myself for succumbing to the superior advertising tactics of the Princeton Review. I only read the reviews after wasting a gift certificate on it. The book (2nd ed.) is fraught with technical and grammatical errors. The hallmark of all Princeton review GRE material is the dire dearth of practice questions. This one is no exception. For instance, roughly 20 practice questions are provided for the entire Organic section. The quantity is poor, and the quality of the questions is equally poor - they too are error-stricken. What a scam. I strongly suspect that someone with very little knowledge of chemistry merely transcribed the bolded bits of a couple of textbooks. Also, DON'T BUY the PR general GRE book. It is smug in its self congratulation, lacks practice questions, and presents the material in an unimaginative fashion. The math is way too easy; the verbal is unexhaustive. ***BUY BARRON'S***. Please, somebody at Barron's put out a Chemistry review. Buying this book ranks amongst the two biggest mistakes of my life - the other being that I am currently too sleepy to write the scathing and indignant diatribe that this disgraceful book deserves. Get your act together, Princeton Review. This book is a slander to chemistry.

This is a terrible book. I am furious with myself for succumbing to the superior advertising tactics of the Princeton Review. I only read the reviews after wasting a gift certificate on it. The book (2nd ed.) is fraught with technical and grammatical errors. The hallmark of all Princeton review GRE material is the dire dearth of practice questions. This one is no exception. For instance, roughly 20 practice questions are provided for the entire Organic section. The quantity is poor, and the quality of the questions is equally poor - they too are error-stricken. ... I strongly suspect that someone with very little knowledge of chemistry merely transcribed the bolded bits of a couple of textbooks. Also, DON'T BUY the PR general GRE book. It is smug in its self congratulation, lacks practice questions, and presents the material in an unimaginative fashion. The math is way too easy; the verbal is unexhaustive. ... Buying this book ranks amongst the two biggest mistakes of my life - the other being that I am currently too sleepy to write the scathing and indignant diatribe that this disgraceful book deserves. Get your act together, Princeton Review. ...