[EJM]

I am taking General Chem this fall. I would like to learn as much as possible before going into the class, expecially the math aspect. Does anyone know of good resourses that are out there for me to get a jump start?

Thank you.

[Travellpro]

What we learned/used the most in the class is dimensional analysis. It is so easy but its a basic concept you have to master to get through the course. Here is a web site that might help if you are not already familiar with it.

http://www.chemtutor.com/numbr.htm#da

Chemistry is a piece of cake if you just do all of your assigned homework. Good luck and don't stress about it too much. Trying to learn something from a book may be a little harder. I always need a teacher to explain things to me.

[Daytonite]

Here are some links that I think you will find helpful. I suggest that you make flash cards of the chemical elements and their abbreviations on the periodic table along with the number of their protons, neutrons and electrons to memorize and learn them initially. If you fail to learn them when first starting out, you'll be behind for the rest of the course. Have fun!

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/nph-pertab/tab/periodic-table and http://www.wfu.edu/~ylwong/balanceeq/balanceq.html - the periodic table. Click on any element to bring up a page with more specific information about it

http://www.wfu.edu/~ylwong/balanceeq/balanceq.html - simple interactive tutorial on balancing chemical equations with 10 additional practice exercises and step by step hints to help you out from Wake Forest University - you will have to download Macromedia Shockwave player to see the video (it's a free download) – there is also a game at this site to help learn the elements of the periodic table (see links on left side of page)

http://regentsprep.org/Regents/chem/onlineresources/index.cfm - this is an online resource with many links to all kinds of help with chemical subjects on a website for preparing for the New York Regent's Exam in high school chemistry. Within the links are explanations of the topics as well as some worksheets with answers, particularly in solving equations.

http://www.sparknotes.com/chemistry/ - this is Spark Notes Chemistry Study Guides. You link into the subjects in chemistry you are looking for information on. Also includes some practice problems with answers within the various sections.

http://www.learnchem.net/tutorials/ - listing of links to all kinds of tutorials on subjects in chemistry

http://sphs.spusd.net/groves/chempage.html - website of a high school general chemistry class. Lots of links to helpful information and tutorials

http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/ChemTeamIndex.html - The Chem Team. A tutorial for high school chemistry.

http://www.wwnorton.com/chemistry/tutorials/ch1.htm - click on "1.4 Dimensional Analysis". It is an interactive program that explains DA using animation rather than video in what I thought were very simple terms. Also includes several problems you can try your hand at which are not chemistry related but utilize the concepts of DA. (DA=Dimensional Analysis)

[RN and Mommy]

I survived both general and organic & biochemistry with a book called Chemistry For Dummies. It might be worth it to read some of it this summer to get a heads up. It puts things in very simple terms. Good Luck.

[EJM]

Thank you so much for the websites and book recommendation. I have checked out each site and bookmarked them. I appreciate your help. I have a big fear of Chemistry, and these will come in handy.

As extra questions, is there any advice that would help me get an A? Anything you wished you would have known previous to begining class? Or anything you wished you would have studied more? Thank you again. It is a big deal to me, and any advice is appreciated.

[RN and Mommy]

Originally Posted by EJM

Thank you so much for the websites and book recommendation. I have checked out each site and bookmarked them. I appreciate your help. I have a big fear of Chemistry, and these will come in handy.

As extra questions, is there any advice that would help me get an A? Anything you wished you would have known previous to begining class? Or anything you wished you would have studied more? Thank you again. It is a big deal to me, and any advice is appreciated.

To this day, I can not balance equations in chemistry. If I could do anything differently it would be to really pay attention when they taught that. Good Luck with Chemistry. If you pay attention and study on your own, you should be fine.

[Daytonite]

Originally Posted by EJM

. . .is there any advice that would help me get an A? Anything you wished you would have known previous to beginning class? Or anything you wished you would have studied more?

See if you can get your hands on the syllabus for the course and the textbook ahead of time and start studying. I put off taking chemistry for years because of the fear of it. I finally had to take it as a nursing pre-requisite and studied my rear end off. Turned out it wasn't as bad as I thought. Then, because I was in love, I took College Chemistry with the boyfriend for fun (can you believe that?) I started out with the flash cards and memorized those elements on the periodic table. You have to know their atomic numbers and valences in order to do the redox problems and most profs won't let you use any cheat sheets so you have to know that stuff off the top of your head. They'll also cover up the periodic charts hanging on the wall of the chemistry lecture hall during tests too! I also was able to find a supplemental book to help with learning how to do the redox and dimensional analysis problems and worked problems all the time. That really paid off because about every other test was straight math rather than straight factual information from the textbook. I can't stress enough, however, that you have to start out by learning those first 40 elements or so and their atomic numbers and valences. As you get into the common combining forms of things such as acids and bases, you just keep adding flash cards of those. When you understand how many electrons an element has, it's easier to understand how it bonds to another element. You have to understand this basic stuff or you will be dead in the water by the time you get to things like proteins, enzymes, aldehydes and all that other fun organic stuff for the health science chemistry and you will never be able to catch up enough to get an "A". When I was surfing the web for chemistry information a few weeks ago I found a lot of information on solving redox equations and dimensional analysis for chemistry and physics problems, so you may not need to buy supplemental textbooks. Some of the links I gave you have links to more weblinks to this information.

[Travellpro]

It really depends on your professor. We had a periodic table with us for each of the tests. Also, you will want to have your basic math skills down because our teacher got very angry at some of my classmates for not knowing basic math. He is a chemistry teacher, not a math teacher!! But we did have to learn our acids and bases about mid course. Overall, I think if you just really pay attention and take really good notes of example problems given in class, you will do fine. Make sure you do all of your assigned homework because those problems will most likely appear on the tests. Lastly, if you havn't already signed up for your class, go to Ratemyprofessor.com and try to get a professor that the students rate as a person who explains things very well.

[GratefulHeart]

Originally Posted by Travellpro

It really depends on your professor. We had a periodic table with us for each of the tests. Also, you will want to have your basic math skills down because our teacher got very angry at some of my classmates for not knowing basic math. He is a chemistry teacher, not a math teacher!! But we did have to learn our acids and bases about mid course. Overall, I think if you just really pay attention and take really good notes of example problems given in class, you will do fine. Make sure you do all of your assigned homework because those problems will most likely appear on the tests. Lastly, if you havn't already signed up for your class, go to Ratemyprofessor.com and try to get a professor that the students rate as a person who explains things very well.

Great post! --A lot will depend on the style of the instructor and how he/she has set up the course. I have consulted ratemyprofessors several times in the past (for two chemistry classes this past year in fact), and it has proven to be a very useful resource.

I think how most people get into trouble with chemistry is that they don't keep up with the work, the reading, problems, and reviewing lecture notes soon after class. If you stay on top of things, you'll know immediately when you're confused and can jump on that to clarify with the instructor before it becomes a bigger problem.

The math skills for basic chemistry are really not that difficult. As another poster has pointed out, practicing dimensional analysis will help, but it will probably be covered in class as well. That is where I learned it again, as I hadn't had college math in 20 years. The most difficult aspect of chemistry math for most people, I think, is learning how to set up the problems. Your instructor most likely will demonstrate how to do this over and over, and your book will probably show it sequentially as well.

Check into your college's resources too. The JC where I took general and organic chemistry had free group tutoring, and the instructors offered grade incentives to participate in this. I also utilized the instructor's office hours and emailed them to ask questions, and sometimes I went online if I wanted additional clarification.

[maryk99]

Check on your Chemistry Dept's calculator requirements. Most will not allow a graphing calculator b/c you can store information. Some will let you use a scientific calculator. This is how I passed, myself. I used a Sharp (HP also makes one) scientific calculator with a built-in key for CONV (conversion factors) and CONS (physical constants like mole, etc). If you can only use a basic calculator, ASAP memorize conversion factors. This is the key for Stoichiometry(?). Always start every problem with a list of KNOWN items with units and the UNKNOWN with units for the problem's solution. This can usually help you find the correct formula. BE NEAT! Also helps with Physics!
Good Luck!