Start with the syllabus, not the textbook
“Inorganic chemistry” covers a wide range of material, and the balance differs between courses. One course may spend more time on coordination compounds; another may emphasise periodic trends, solid-state structures, descriptive chemistry or reaction mechanisms. Start by checking your course syllabus, learning outcomes, lecture list and past assessments. Use those to decide what belongs in your revision plan rather than assuming every textbook chapter is examinable.
Turn the syllabus into a checklist of assessable topics. For each topic, note the kind of work you are expected to do: explain a trend, draw or identify a structure, calculate a quantity, predict a reaction, or justify a conclusion from data. This distinction matters. Recognising a definition is not the same as explaining a trend, and knowing a formula is not the same as using it correctly.
A useful unit of revision is a small, connected set of ideas. For example, coordination chemistry can be organised around oxidation state, ligand identity, geometry, electron configuration, magnetic behaviour and colour. Keep the notes and practice questions for that unit together so that you can retrieve the whole chain of reasoning, not just isolated facts.
Build a board around one topic
Make a revision board from your own lecture slides, textbook notes and worked examples. A board should be concise enough to scan, but detailed enough to support an answer without reopening the source material. Put related information together, and record exceptions or conditions beside the rule they qualify.
The example below focuses on coordination chemistry. It shows the kind of links worth keeping visible: oxidation state gives the metal’s d-electron count; geometry and ligand field affect orbital splitting; and those ideas help explain spin state and magnetic behaviour. A MySummaries board on this topic might look like this:
- In [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻, Fe is +2: x + 6(−1) = −4
- Fe²⁺ is d⁶; remove 4s electrons before 3d electrons
Count unpaired electrons in the d orbitals. In an octahedral d⁶ complex, weak-field ligands commonly give four unpaired electrons; strong-field ligands can give none.
| Coordination number | Common geometry | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Tetrahedral | [CoCl₄]²⁻ |
| 4 | Square planar | [PtCl₄]²⁻ |
| 6 | Octahedral | [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻ |
- [Co(NH₃)₄Cl₂]⁺ has cis and trans forms
- [Co(en)₃]³⁺ has Δ and Λ optical isomers
- Octahedral: t₂g lower than e_g
- Strong-field ligands can give low-spin d⁴–d⁷ configurations
- Pairing energy competes with Δₒ
Use a board as a map, not a substitute for understanding. If a section is a dense block of copied text, split it into a principle, an example and an exception. If you cannot explain how one section connects to another, add a short linking note. For instance, say explicitly that the number of unpaired electrons depends on both the d-electron count and the ligand-field splitting relative to pairing energy.
Make a short “must know” core
For each board, create a compact core of statements you should be able to recall without prompting. Keep it short: a core is a checkpoint, not another set of full notes. Include values, relationships and distinctions that recur in your course questions. Check each item against your source material, especially if your lecturer uses a particular convention or set of examples.
For coordination chemistry, the core might contain these four links between calculation and explanation:
Test the core by hiding it and explaining each statement aloud, including one example. If you can repeat the wording but cannot apply it to a new complex, the item is not secure yet. Practise with an unfamiliar charge or ligand set: calculate the oxidation state, identify the d count, establish the likely geometry and then work through the electron arrangement. If the question does not provide enough information to decide between alternatives, state what additional information you need rather than guessing.
Study facts as questions, then retrieve them
Inorganic chemistry contains details that benefit from direct recall: ligand charges, common geometries, electron configurations and names of structures. Flashcards are useful for these, provided each card asks for one answer. Avoid cards that ask you to “explain coordination chemistry”; they are too broad to grade honestly.
Work through a card by reading the question, giving an answer before turning it over, and comparing your answer with the back. Grade your recall based on what you produced, not on whether the answer looks familiar. If you missed a charge or skipped a condition, mark it as a miss. The following deck is a short drill cut from the board above:
What is the oxidation state of Fe in [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻?
+2: x + 6(−1) = −4.
All 6 cards
That is a MySummaries deck, filled with inorganic chemistry material. Yours is written from your own notes. Start free
On the next review, answer again before looking. A correct answer reached by a guess is less reliable than one you can derive. When you get a card wrong, identify the reason: a forgotten fact, a charge-sign error, confusion between geometry and electron configuration, or a misread question. Fix that cause in your notes or worked practice, rather than simply rereading the answer.
Practise the reasoning chain
Inorganic questions often combine several stages. Make your practice answer show those stages clearly. For a complex ion, a dependable sequence is:
- Write the overall charge and the charge of each ligand.
- Calculate the metal oxidation state.
- Find the metal’s d-electron count.
- Identify the geometry if the question gives enough information.
- Apply the appropriate orbital splitting and assess spin state.
- Use the electron arrangement to discuss magnetism, colour or reactivity, as requested.
Do not jump from the name of a ligand straight to a conclusion about magnetism. The ligand helps determine the splitting, but the metal’s d count and the coordination geometry also matter. If your course assesses spectroscopy, connect colour to transitions between energy levels and the wavelengths absorbed; do not say that a complex is a particular colour merely because a ligand is “strong field”. If it assesses solid-state chemistry, use a separate board for structures, coordination environments and the specific physical properties in your syllabus.
Use worked examples in two directions. First, work from a formula to oxidation state, d count and likely properties. Then reverse the task: given a metal oxidation state or a proposed magnetic behaviour, decide which electron arrangements are consistent. This makes it harder to mistake a remembered example for a general rule.
When checking your work, keep an error log with the question, the step where your reasoning failed and the correction. “Got it wrong” is not useful enough. “Counted NH₃ as a −1 ligand” tells you exactly what to practise. Revisit the error with a different complex so that you test the underlying rule, not just the original answer.
Use audio to review relationships
Audio review is best for revisiting explanations you have already studied, not for replacing calculations or diagrams. A short spoken explanation can help you rehearse the order of a reasoning chain while travelling or doing another low-attention task. Pause afterwards and reproduce the calculation, orbital diagram or structure from memory.
A useful lecture should follow the links on your board and make the reasoning explicit. This MySummaries lecture follows the oxidation-state calculation into d count and spin state:
Transcript · tap any word to jump there
Start with the charge on the whole complex. In [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻, each cyanide ligand has a charge of minus one, so six cyanides contribute minus six. The total is minus four. Iron must therefore be plus two: x minus six equals minus four, so x equals plus two. Fe²⁺ is d⁶ because the two 4s electrons are removed before the 3d electrons.
Now separate the oxidation-state calculation from the spin-state decision. In an octahedral field, the d orbitals split into lower t₂g and higher e_g levels. For d⁶, a strong enough field favours pairing in t₂g, giving t₂g⁶ and no unpaired electrons. With a weaker field, electrons occupy the higher set before pairing is complete, giving the high-spin arrangement t₂g⁴e_g² and four unpaired electrons. The ligand field and the pairing energy determine which arrangement is favoured.
Finish by answering the question that was asked. If it asks for the oxidation state, give plus two and show the charge balance. If it asks for spin state or magnetism, state the geometry and ligand-field assumption before giving the electron arrangement. Do not infer the answer from the metal name alone.
After listening, close the notes and write the sequence on a blank page. Check that you can reproduce the charge balance and distinguish low-spin d⁶ from high-spin d⁶. If the recording felt clear but you cannot reconstruct the argument, return to the board and identify the step you did not retrieve.
Run a weekly revision loop
A repeatable week is more useful than a one-off long reread. Set the number of sessions around your own timetable and the deadlines in your course, but make each session produce something you can check:
- First session: map the topic. Read the relevant syllabus outcomes and your lecture material. Build or update one board, marking unclear claims for checking against a reliable source.
- Second session: recall the core. Reproduce the core from memory, then use flashcards for short facts. Add missed cards to the next review rather than copying the whole section again.
- Third session: solve problems. Work through representative calculations, structures or reaction questions without notes. Show each reasoning step and keep an error log.
- Later review: revisit weak links. Redo missed questions and explain the corrected idea aloud. Mix in a few questions from earlier topics so that you practise choosing the right method, not merely continuing a familiar exercise.
At the end of the week, check progress against the syllabus checklist. A topic is not finished because you have read every page. It is closer to ready when you can recall key facts, explain the connections, solve a fresh problem and recognise where your answer depends on an assumption. Keep the plan flexible: if practice reveals a gap in oxidation-state calculations, spend time there before adding more descriptive detail.
How MySummaries helps
MySummaries lets you build a revision board from your own PDFs, slides and photographed notes, then make flashcards and audio lectures from that material. For inorganic chemistry, use it to keep a topic’s definitions, structures and worked examples together, and to revisit weak facts between problem-solving sessions. Start at portal.mysummaries.app.