Chemistry flashcards from your own lectures
StudyPDF makes chemistry flashcards from your own lectures, with your formulas intact and figures from your slides on the cards.
- Cards built from your lectures, not someone else's deck
- Formulas, ions and charges kept as written
- Figures from your slides on either side of a card
What are the formula and charge of the sulfate ion?
SO₄²⁻. Sulfite has one oxygen fewer: SO₃²⁻.
On this page
Flashcards cover the memorization layer
Chemistry students split on flashcards, and both sides are partly right. Flashcards work for the things you simply have to know: element symbols, polyatomic ions and their charges, naming rules, solubility rules, the strong acids and bases, functional groups, and which reagent does which job.
They do not work for mechanisms, stoichiometry or equilibrium. There the skill is working a problem, and you cannot flip a card to do that. So use cards for the memorization layer and a quiz or practice problems for the rest.
StudyPDF builds the deck from your own lectures, so the cards match what your professor teaches instead of a generic pack.
What a chemistry deck looks like
Upload your slides, notes or a textbook chapter and StudyPDF drafts the cards. Here is what a draft can look like from a general chemistry and an organic chemistry lecture:
Show the full example
What are the formula and charge of the sulfate ion?
SO₄²⁻. Sulfite has one oxygen fewer: SO₃²⁻.
What is the name of Fe₂O₃?
Iron(III) oxide. Each Fe is 3+, so two Fe balance three O²⁻.
Which carbonates are soluble?
Only those of the Group 1 ions and ammonium. All other carbonates are insoluble.
Which reagents turn an alkene into the anti-Markovnikov alcohol?
BH₃·THF, then H₂O₂ with NaOH (hydroboration-oxidation).
Treat the draft as a starting point. Each card cites the slide it came from, so you can check a charge or a subscript in seconds, then edit the card or split a long back in two.
Formulas and figures stay on the card
Chemistry cards break when the formulas break. StudyPDF keeps charges, subscripts and equations as written, and figures from your slides can sit on the front or the back of a card, such as a labeled orbital diagram or a titration curve.
For diagrams you have to name, such as lab apparatus, a phase diagram or a heating curve, image occlusion hides the labels and you recall each one. It works when your slide has the labels on it.
On Pro you can export the deck to Anki as a .apkg file with the LaTeX kept, and diagram decks use Anki's native Image Occlusion note type. Open a few cards after the first import to see that your formulas look the way you want.
Where flashcards stop
A card can ask what a reagent does. It cannot make you push the arrows. Mechanisms, stoichiometry, equilibrium and thermodynamics are skills you build by working problems, and a deck of facts will not build them.
For that part, make a quiz or a practice exam from the same lecture, and try practice problems for organic chemistry. StudyPDF tracks mastery per concept, so a card you keep missing and a question you keep missing count toward the same concept, and the next quiz leans on your weak spots.
A simple split works well: cards for symbols, ions, names and reagents in the first days, problems for everything else from then on.
What to put on a card and what to practice
Use this split for every chapter. Cards cover the first rows, problems cover the last two.
| Topic | Cards work? | How to study it |
|---|---|---|
| Element symbols, ions and charges | Yes | One item per card, the formula on one side and the name on the other |
| Naming compounds | Yes | Formula to name and name to formula, then a mixed quiz |
| Solubility rules, strong acids and bases | Yes | One rule per card, then a few example compounds |
| Functional groups | Yes | The structure on the front, the name on the back |
| Reagents and what they do | Mostly | Reagent to outcome on cards, choosing between reagents in practice problems |
| Reaction mechanisms | Not on their own | Work them by hand in practice problems |
| Stoichiometry and equilibrium | Only the definitions | Worked problems and a practice test |
How to make chemistry flashcards
Four steps from your lecture to a deck you can drill.
- 1
Upload your chemistry material
Add lecture slides, your notes, a lab handout or a textbook chapter. Scans and photos of handwritten notes work too.
- 2
Get a draft deck
- 3
Check and edit
Compare a card with its slide, especially charges, subscripts and reagents. Fix it, or split a long back into two cards.
- 4
Drill, then test
Rate each card Again, Hard, Good or Easy. Then build a quiz or practice exam from the same lecture for the parts cards cannot cover, or export the deck to Anki on Pro.
What you get
A chemistry deck that matches your course, and a clear line between what to memorize and what to practice.
- Cards on the exact ions, rules and reagents your professor taught
- Hide-the-label cards for labeled diagrams
- A citation on every card, so you can check it against the slide
Make flashcards from your own lecture.
Upload one lecture or chapter and flip through your first cards.
Questions and answers
Are flashcards good for studying chemistry?
For memorization, yes. Element symbols, polyatomic ions, naming rules, solubility rules and functional groups are facts, and recalling them from a card beats rereading. For mechanisms, stoichiometry and equilibrium, flashcards are not enough. Work practice problems for those, with a quiz or a practice exam built from the same lecture.
What should I put on chemistry flashcards?
One fact per card. Good fronts are a formula, an ion, a compound name, a functional group or a reagent. Good backs are the name, the charge, the rule or the product. Keep each back short and move anything that needs working out to practice problems.
Can I make flashcards for organic chemistry?
Yes, for the memorization side: functional groups, nomenclature, reagents and what they do, and named reactions by name. Cards will not teach you to push the arrows of a mechanism, so pair them with organic chemistry practice problems.
4 more questions
How do I make chemistry flashcards from my lecture slides?
Upload the slides, your notes or a textbook chapter and StudyPDF drafts the cards from them, each one citing the page it came from. Edit anything that is off, then start reviewing. Figures from your slides can sit on either side of a card.
Do formulas and charges survive, and can I use the deck in Anki?
Charges, subscripts and equations are kept as written. On Pro you can export the deck as an Anki .apkg file with the LaTeX kept, and diagram decks use Anki's native Image Occlusion note type. Check a few cards after your first import.
Should I buy a pack of chemistry flashcards or make my own?
A printed pack is fine for the periodic table and common ions. But a pack follows a textbook, not your professor, and an AP or general chemistry pack may skip what your course tests. A deck built from your own lectures matches your syllabus, and that holds for AP Chemistry too if you upload your own review material.
Is it free?
It is free to start. You need a free account with your email and no card, and Free gives you about 4 materials a week. Upgrade to Pro for more, and for Anki export.