Field Guide · For everyone

5 key points, and what it leaves out.

Study with AI, part 4 of 6. Key points from your own notes plus what it left out, tested on free ChatGPT: right points, a left-out list that didn't add up.

12 Nov 2026 · 5 min read · sources read up to 11 Nov 2026

The night before a chemistry test. You don't need everything again, you need the five things that matter and an honest answer to one question: what's still not covered? That's the job this part tests. Part 4 of the Field Guide series on studying with AI: one job, tested on a real screen, with the catch said plainly.

The job, and what to type

Use only notes you wrote yourself, in your own words. Not textbook pages, lecturer slides or handouts, question papers, a classmate's notes, or notes copied word for word. The notes below are a sample on rates of reaction, made up for this demo.

Turn my chemistry notes below into the 5 key points I most need for my test tomorrow.
- Plain words. Explain any term the first time you use it.
- Then list everything from my notes you left out of the 5 points, so I know what I still need to revise.

My notes:
Rates of reaction
1. Rate = how fast reactants turn into products. Measure it as gas made per second, or mass lost per second.
2. Particles only react when they collide with enough energy. That minimum energy is the activation energy.
3. Hotter: particles move faster, so they collide more often and more collisions have enough energy. Rule of thumb: about twice as fast for every 10 °C rise (not exact).
4. More concentrated solution (or higher pressure for a gas): more particles in the same space, so more collisions, so faster.
5. Smaller pieces or a powder: more surface area, so faster. Fine powders can be dangerous: flour dust can explode.
6. Catalyst: speeds up the reaction, is not used up, lowers the activation energy.
7. Exam trap: a catalyst does NOT give more product. Same amount, just sooner.
8. Measuring: collect the gas in a gas syringe, or stand the flask on a balance with cotton wool in its neck.
9. Graph of product against time: steep at the start, then levels off when one reactant runs out. Steeper line = faster.
10. Safety: wear goggles; acid is corrosive.

Why these lines

"The 5 key points I most need for my test tomorrow" gives it a number and a deadline, so it has to choose instead of rewriting everything. "Plain words. Explain any term the first time you use it" is there because a key point that leans on a word you can't explain isn't one you know yet. And the last line asks for the list you'd actually act on tonight: everything from your notes that didn't make the five, so you know what's still left.

How it was tested

One run on 11 November 2026, on free ChatGPT in a web browser, logged out, in a new temporary chat (kept out of chat history), so there was no account, memory or saved chat history to draw on. In this run, logged out, the page didn't show which model answered: not on the answer, not in the menu, not in the page's own data. OpenAI's own release notes fill the gap: their 29 October 2026 entry says its GPT-6 update in Chat "applies to Free and Go users, and people using ChatGPT without signing in" ^[2]. So by OpenAI's account the answer came from GPT-6; the page itself never said so. The six checks, the sample notes and the prompt were written down and saved before the prompt was sent.

1. Exactly 5 key points, and every one is right and matches the notes, with nothing wrong added.
2. The exam trap survives: the catalyst point says a catalyst doesn't give more product (the same amount, just sooner), as note 7 says.
3. Plain words: activation energy, catalyst, concentration and surface area are each explained the first time they appear.
4. The left-out list is true: every item on it really is in the notes and really isn't covered in the 5 points.
5. The left-out list is complete: every note that isn't in the 5 points shows up on it, and nothing is dropped without a word.
6. The model is named: the run records which model answered, from the page or the page's own data.

What came back

An answer was on screen in about 20 seconds: "Chemistry: Rates of Reaction — 5 Key Points", tagged "Test tomorrow · Priority revision". Five numbered points, then a table headed "Everything left out of the 5 points", then a 5-question quiz nobody asked for (its answers were right).

Four of the six checks passed. All five points were right and came from the notes: what the rate is and how to measure it; particles colliding with enough energy; the three ways to speed a reaction up, with the 10 °C rule kept as a rule of thumb; catalysts; and measuring, with the graph. The exam trap made it through, twice: "It does NOT increase the total amount of product made", and a "Common exam trap" box saying a catalyst makes the same amount of product in less time. Every term on the list was explained the first time it came up, and so were reactants, products and corrosive.

The catch

The left-out list. It named notes 5, 8, 9 and 10. But note 9 (the graph levels off when one reactant runs out) and note 10 (wear goggles, acid is corrosive) are both already in point 5, a few lines above the table. Under the table it even says so, in its own words: "Some of these details are already mentioned in the five points, but I've listed them here to help you check your original notes."

So of the ten notes, only two were really left out: note 5 (fine powders can be dangerous, flour dust can explode) and note 8 (the cotton wool in the flask's neck). Both were on the list, so nothing went missing. But a list that mixes what's still left with what's already covered can't tell you what's still left. You'd go back over the safe parts and never know how little was missing.

The other miss was the model. The page didn't say which model answered; only OpenAI's release notes do, above.

The fix takes a minute. Read the five points, then hold the left-out list up against them, item by item. Anything already in a point, cross off. What's left is the real list.

The stamp

Half works · 11 Nov 2026 · free ChatGPT, logged out, temporary chat · 4 of 6 checks passed. Five right key points with the key terms explained and the catalyst exam trap kept. But its list of what it left out named four notes when only two were really left out, and the page didn't show which model answered. One run is one run: try it with your own notes and see what yours does.

Before you use it

For revising only. Never in an exam, and for marked work, follow your school's or college's AI rules. ChatGPT is for ages 13 and over, or the minimum age in your country, and under 18 needs a parent's or guardian's permission ^[1].

The raw answer, word for word

Taken word for word from the page text. The page shows the left-out list as a table; in the page text its cells sit on lines of their own, with blank lines between them, and they're left that way here. Nothing else changed.

Chemistry: Rates of Reaction — 5 Key Points
Test tomorrow · Priority revision

These are the 5 most important things to remember. Learn these first!

The 5 key points
1. What is the rate of reaction?

The rate of reaction means how fast reactants (starting substances) turn into products (new substances).

It can be measured by the gas produced per second.

It can also be measured by the mass lost per second.

Remember: Rate = speed of a chemical reaction.

2. Particles must collide with enough energy

Particles only react when they collide with enough energy.

This minimum energy is called activation energy (the minimum energy needed for a reaction to happen).

More successful collisions = faster reaction.

Collisions without enough energy do not cause a reaction.

3. Three ways to make a reaction faster

Higher temperature: Particles move faster, collide more often and have more energy.

Higher concentration or pressure: More particles are packed into the same space, causing more collisions.

Smaller pieces or powder: More surface area (more of the substance exposed), allowing more collisions.

Important exam fact: A 10°C temperature increase makes a reaction roughly twice as fast. This is a rule of thumb, not an exact rule.

4. Catalysts speed up reactions

A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a reaction without being used up.

It lowers the activation energy.

It makes the reaction faster.

It does NOT increase the total amount of product made.

Learn more
Common exam trap

A catalyst makes the same amount of product in less time. It does not make extra product!

5. Measuring and understanding reaction rates

A gas syringe collects gas to measure how much is produced.

A balance measures mass loss as gas escapes.

A product-against-time graph starts steep and then levels off when one reactant runs out.

A steeper graph means a faster reaction.

Safety: Wear goggles when doing experiments. Acid is corrosive (it can damage skin and other materials).

Everything left out of the 5 points

These details are still worth revising, even though they are not part of the main five points.

Original note



What you still need to remember

Note 5



Fine powders can be dangerous. Flour dust can explode.

Note 8



When measuring mass loss, place cotton wool in the flask's neck.

Note 9



The graph levels off when one reactant runs out.

Note 10



Acid is corrosive, so wear safety goggles.

Some of these details are already mentioned in the five points, but I've listed them here to help you check your original notes.

Quick test: Can you remember these?

Try answering without looking at the notes.

5-question practice test

0/5 answered

1. What is activation energy?

The energy released by a reaction
The minimum energy needed for a reaction
The energy stored in a catalyst

2. What happens when temperature increases?

Particles move faster
Particles stop colliding
Particles become smaller

3. What does a catalyst do?

Creates more product
Gets used up
Lowers activation energy

4. What does a steeper product-time graph mean?

A slower reaction
A faster reaction
No reaction

5. Why does powder react faster than a large lump?

It has more surface area
It has less mass
It has less energy

Check my answers

My advice for tomorrow: Make sure you can explain activation energy, the three ways to speed up a reaction, what a catalyst does, and why a catalyst does not make more product. These are especially important exam ideas. Good luck! 🌟

ChatGPT is AI and can make mistakes.

Next in the series, part 5: "A timetable that fits your week".