Different verbs with similar meaning

Hi!

I've started to prepare myself for JLPT test (not sure should I take level 5 or 4 though) and I've gathered list of verbs (about 200 verbs) that have often been seen in the test. I noticed that there are some verbs that are different but have the same meaning.

Could someone please help me and explain the difference between these verbs. I don't want to end up using some very old-fashioned or too formal verb in casual chat or vice versa. Also showing the usage in a sentence would be a great help too! Here are the verbs:

開く - すく to become empty
思い出す - 覚える to remember
変える - 変わる to change
うかがう - 訪ねる to visit
うかがう - 尋ねる to ask
終わる　 - 済む to finish
亡くなる - 死ぬ to die
始まる　 - 始める to begin
壊す　　 - 割れる to break
伝える　 - 垂ｵ上げる to tell

開く ("hiraku" or "aku" - for things like door/windows to open
すく (a place) to become empty, (your stomach) to become empty (onaka ga suku = get hungry)

思い出す to recall later
覚える to remember, to memorize, to place in your memory

変える someone changes (something)
変わる something changes (by itself)

うかがう a humble way (respectful to the other party) to say to visit
訪ねる simply, to visit

うかがう a humble way (respectful to the other party) to say "to ask"
尋ねる simply, to ask (a question, etc.)

終わる something finishes
済む more like something gets done/completed

亡くなる "to pass away"
死ぬ "to die"

始まる something begins
始める someone begins something

壊す to destroy (something)
割れる something breaks/cracks

伝える to communicate, to tell, to inform
垂ｵ上げる a humble way to say "to tell, inform"


Please note the difference between transitive/intransitive verbs such as "変わる・変える and 始める・始まる.

I don't know what dictionary you are using but you might try this for translations and examples using the word.
http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E8%A6%9A%E3%81%88%E3%82%8B
http://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/content/%E8%A6%9A%E3%81%88%E3%82%8B
Different pages.

Thank you! That really helped me out :)