Start with one connected topic
A useful inorganic chemistry deck tests connected ideas, not disconnected definitions. This one focuses on coordination chemistry: identifying a complex’s charge and metal oxidation state, predicting geometry and magnetism, and recognising common isomerism. Those ideas recur together in worked problems, so practising them as one set helps you catch where a mistake starts.
The cards below are cut from a revision board. First, use the board to see the scope: its sections group the facts you need to retrieve. Then work through the deck one card at a time. Read a question, try to answer it before turning the card, and grade your recall honestly. If you needed a hint or made an error, choose Again or Hard rather than marking the card as secure.
In MySummaries, a board on coordination chemistry ends up looking like this:
- Complex charge = metal oxidation state + ligand charges
- d count for a transition-metal ion = group number − oxidation state
- [Fe(CN)6]4−: Fe is +2; Fe(II) is d6
- Unpaired electrons produce paramagnetism; all paired electrons give diamagnetism
- Spin-only moment: μ = √[n(n + 2)] BM for n unpaired electrons
- Octahedral d9 ions commonly show Jahn–Teller distortion
- Coordination number counts donor atoms bonded to the metal
- [PtCl4]2−: four-coordinate, square planar Pt(II)
- [CoCl4]2−: four-coordinate, tetrahedral Co(II)
- Linkage isomerism: NO2− binds through N (nitro) or O (nitrito)
- cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2] is square planar Pt(II)
- [Ni(CN)4]2− is square planar and diamagnetic
- Octahedral splitting places t2g below eg
- Weak-field ligands can give high-spin complexes; strong-field ligands can give low-spin complexes
- In the common spectrochemical series, CN− is stronger-field than H2O
The Must not miss core
Before drilling, reduce the board to a few checks that prevent cascading errors. For each complex, write down the overall charge, ligand charges, metal oxidation state and d count before deciding its structure. For magnetism, count the unpaired electrons in the stated geometry and ligand field; don’t infer the answer from the metal alone.
In MySummaries, the board’s Must not miss core looks like this:
Work through the deck
There are 18 cards, each testing one retrievable fact. On the first card, answer aloud or in your head, then turn it and compare your wording with the answer. The four grade buttons represent how well you recalled it: Again if you missed it, Hard if recall was effortful or incomplete, Good if you answered correctly, and Easy if it was immediate and precise. The exact button names may vary by platform; the important thing is to grade recall, not familiarity.
For calculations, show the step that leads to the answer. For example, don’t only say “Fe(II)”: explain that six cyanide ligands contribute −6 and the complex has charge −4, so iron must be +2. On structure cards, include the geometry as well as the coordination number when asked. Those small distinctions are easy to lose when a card is reviewed too quickly.
In MySummaries, the coordination chemistry deck is ready to study:
First card — What is the oxidation state of Fe in [Fe(CN)6]4−?
Fe is +2: six CN− ligands contribute −6, and the complex charge is −4. Grade recall: Again · Hard · Good · Easy.
All 18 cards
That is a MySummaries deck, filled with inorganic chemistry material. Yours is written from your own notes. Start free
Fix errors where they begin
After a review, sort errors by cause rather than simply repeating the whole deck. If you missed the oxidation state, revisit charge balance and ligand charges. If you got the d count wrong, check the metal’s group number and oxidation state separately. If you knew those but missed magnetism, return to the geometry and ligand-field strength before counting unpaired electrons.
A short correction should name the missed step. “I forgot the charge” is more useful than “I need to study complexes”. When the same fact is missed repeatedly, make it easy to spot during the next review. MySummaries can put a repeated error into a remediation tray:
You lost this mark twice: in [Co(NH3)5Cl]2+, NH3 is neutral, coordinated Cl− is −1, and the complex charge is +2. What oxidation state must cobalt have?
A practical review routine
Study a small group of cards, then return to the ones graded Again or Hard later in the session. On a later day, review cards when they come due rather than restarting the full deck. Spaced repetition works best when the grade reflects what you could retrieve without looking; recognising an answer after turning a card is not the same as recalling it.
Once the cards are mostly secure, use the board to make mixed practice: calculate a metal oxidation state, find its d count, identify a likely geometry from a familiar complex, then explain its magnetic behaviour. Keep the conditions explicit. Geometry and spin are not safely inferred from a metal ion alone; ligand, coordination number and ligand-field strength matter. Check a course text or your own notes for any syllabus-specific exceptions or conventions.
How MySummaries helps
Build a coordination chemistry board from your own notes, then turn its key facts into spaced-repetition cards. Repeatedly missed facts can return as focused remediation prompts. Start at portal.mysummaries.app.