Problem-solving
and working with molecular models are fundamentally different activities. It’s
natural to feel some urgency when you practice solving problems, and the more
you practice solving a certain kind of problem, the easier and faster it should
get.
This is not a useful way to approach the molecular modeling questions on homework assignments. The models that
you build contain a lot of information, some of it useful, some of it
not. You should take your time to
look the models over from different angles, juxtapose what you see against what you have learned
elsewhere, and develop some mental pictures that inform your understanding of
chemical phenomena. The goal is not to learn a new problem-solving skill, but to create another dimension for thinking about chemistry. If you don’t feel like you have the time to do this, save
the models for another day.