Chemistry, Physics and Psychology study material question

[riches]

I will be doing Year 12 next year and with these 3 subjects im wondering if anyone has suggestions as to what study material i should look for to buy, i really only know of the Checkpoint books.

So is the Checkpoint books good? and is there any similar things that I should consider to get?

[Damoz.G]

I didn't do Physics or Chem, but I did Psych this year. 

For Psych, Checkpoints is very helpful particularly as SAC Revision, so it can be done throughout the year. Past VCAA Exams on their website still have irrelevant content that isn't in the Study Design anymore, so Checkpoints makes sure that these Questions aren't included again. Also, the Questions are all broken up into Topics from each Area of Study, which once again, really assists you for SAC and Exam preparations.

I also purchased these two Books as well:
Unit 3 A+ Psych Notes
Unit 4 A+ Psych Notes

Those two books have very good summaries and also assist in doing the activities in Psych Workbook. Coincidently, the A+ Notes and Workbook are by the same author. The use of diagrams in the A+ Notes Books are also very good, particularly if you are a visual learner. I am definitely one, and it really helped me out to remember a lot of content for SACs, particularly diagrams for topics such as the Brain and Memory.

So definitely worth buying Checkpoints (But make sure you use it properly), A+ Notes for Unit 3 and Unit 4 are helpful if you are a visual learner, and the Psych Workbook is a good addition to do throughout the year for general revision of the chapter, SAC Revision and even Exam Revision.

Sorry I couldn't help with the Physics and Chem resources. Hopefully someone else can assist in explaining good books for them.

Good Luck!

[slothpomba]

Checkpoints is (or used to be, maybe things have changed) ripped off VCAA exams. The exception for this is chemistry (unless memory fails me), they are written from scratch. They're good questions, they're original ones too, there is definitely value there. I'd be weary of buying the checkpoints which are just ripped off exams though.

A++ was also fantastic, its always good to get another point of view and explanation. Don't go too overboard with notes though. Checkpoints and A++ should be fine. You don't need to spend heaps of cash to do well. Keep in mind your library might also have copies or you might be able to organise something with your friends where you buy several different kinds and share them.

Don't forget there are also many FREE resources like the notes section of this very site. There is also a plethora of chemistry content on youtube, especially on Khan Academy. All worth looking into.

[PB]

Hey Riches,
Both Chemistry and Physics are problem-based subjects, meaning that you want to be exposed to a wiiiidddde range of questions if you want to do well. You want to be doing this throughout the year so that it lightens the load at the end of the year. Thus, I would HIGHLY recommend you grab Neap AND Checkpoints study guides for both subjects.

Mind you, this was recommended by Istafa Raza himself (on this forum) so I think it is advice worth heeding.

In fact, I would say that Physics Checkpoints 2013 is a MUST. I don't know how good the 2014 edition will be, but the one I used this year was absolutely amazing - soooo many good questions and neatly categorised into set topics (great for SAC revision). It truly helped me get my 1st SAC ranking and Physics subject award at my school.

Just to advice you on Checkpoints which I learnt the hard way - try not to buy the newest edition (I shouldn't have bought 2013 physics myself even though it was brilliant). Why? Because they contain questions from the latest VCAA exam. Ideally, you should have no exposure to the 2013 exams as they give you the best performance indicator before the 2014 exam. Besides, buying the previous year's books means that you save money and also help the Year 12s get rid of their books. Lastly, I think the 2014 versions don't come out till next Jan-Feb or something like that, so you are wasting the entire summer holidays when you could have gotten stuck into learning the course WELLL ahead of the majority of the cohort.

Having said all that, I still own Checkpoints and Neap 2013 for both Physics and Chemistry (both of which are spanking clean because I did the answers in a separate notebook)     I will be selling them cheap, so do inform me if you are interested! Lastly, if you ever feel a need for some help learning Physics and Chem concepts over the holidays do feel free to contact me as well. (My adverts are on the Physics and Chem forums!)

Regards,
PB