Most general chemistry problems follow a small set of reliable methods. These guides show you those methods worked all the way through — balancing equations, stoichiometry, bonding, and more.
A fixed order of operations for balancing chemical equations — anchor the complex molecule, balance rare elements first, save oxygen and hydrogen for last.
Atomic radius, ionization energy, and electronegativity come from two competing forces — learn them and you can rank any element by its position.
The mole map turns every stoichiometry problem into the same three moves: grams to moles, moles to moles, moles to grams.
Ionic bonds transfer electrons, covalent bonds share them — use the electronegativity difference to place any bond on the spectrum.
One reliable method for limiting reactant problems: convert both reactants to moles, see how much product each could make, and the smaller answer wins.
McGraw-Hill Assignment Guide
pH and pOH are logarithms, and every whole-number step is a tenfold change in concentration — here is how to read the scale and convert both ways.
Treat the periodic table as the filling order it already is, and you can write any electron configuration fast — no fragile diagram to memorize.
Choosing the right gas law is a two-question decision: one state or two, and what is held constant — the equation picks itself from there.
Reading a phase diagram is a lookup — pressure, temperature, and the region your point lands in tell you the phase, plus the triple and critical points.
Best McGraw-Hill SmartBook Tool
A general chemistry exam grades problem-solving, not recognition — study by solving closed-book and timed, with an error log catching your patterns.
System vs. surroundings, exothermic vs. endothermic, and what ΔH really measures — with the q = mcΔT calculation that grounds the unit.
Compute an unknown enthalpy by adding known reaction steps — three legal moves (reverse, scale, add) and a fully worked CO formation example.
Dynamic equilibrium, writing K for any reaction, and what large vs. small K tells you about how far a reaction goes.
Can McGraw-Hill Detect Cheating?
How a system at equilibrium responds to concentration, pressure, and temperature — plus the two stressors that look real but do nothing.
Strong vs. weak acids and bases, the equivalence point, and the four regions of a titration curve — with a worked HCl-NaOH titration.
Why buffers resist pH change, with the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation derived and worked on an acetate buffer stress-test.
Identify oxidation and reduction by tracking oxidation-number changes — six rules, the OIL RIG mnemonic, and three worked examples.
What McGraw-Hill Won't Tell You
Balance redox equations with the half-reaction method, worked end-to-end in acidic solution and converted to basic with one extra step.
The ten functional groups every intro student must know cold — structures, naming suffixes, and the one behavior each group is famous for.
Name straight-chain and branched alkanes by the five-step IUPAC recipe — longest chain, lowest locants, alphabetize, assemble.
Writing a rate law, what zero/first/second order mean, and the ratio method that turns a four-row data table into a complete rate law.
McGraw-Hill Chemistry Homework Help
Predict molecular shape from electron-domain geometry with VSEPR — five steric numbers, the lone-pair correction, and the cases you must know.
Rules of thumb for predicting which ionic compounds dissolve in water, with the named exceptions and worked precipitation examples.
Set up a galvanic cell and compute its standard cell potential — anode and cathode rules, the E°(cell) formula, and a worked Zn-Cu example.
Link enthalpy, entropy, and temperature with ΔG = ΔH - TΔS to predict spontaneity — the four cases and the crossover temperature.
