Anyone out there NOT good at math but aced Chem?

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What is the secret?? Do I honestly need to stay up all night everynight studying Chemistry in order to get an A?? Give it to me straight because I thought I was putting in ample time, but obviously by looking at my last test i am not.

Those who got an A, pleease tell me what you did and how much time you really spent on it. Maybe Im not doing near enough......

Are we talking 6 hours a day, 2 hours a day or reading chapters 2-3 times.

I know you have to practice practice problems. But what else?

Thanks

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I had an A all semester in Chem, but ended up with a B, probablyl because I had the flu when I was taking my final and was not allowed to reschedule. So.... take really good notes. Even small details could end up being on the quizzes and exams. Attend every single class. There is no such thing as too much detail. (I remember getting an answer wrong because I put 1 and not 1.0.) Read the chapters you are focusing on several times. Highlight, make notes in the margin, whatever works for you. Study, at least a little, every day. Repetition is key. Hope that helps some! Good luck to you!

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I ended up with an A in Chemistry, and I hate math, but that was partly due to having some extra credit offered. Just study as much as possible, answer all the practice questions in your book. Good luck!

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What is the secret?? Do I honestly need to stay up all night everynight studying Chemistry in order to get an A?? Give it to me straight because I thought I was putting in ample time, but obviously by looking at my last test i am not.

Those who got an A, pleease tell me what you did and how much time you really spent on it. Maybe Im not doing near enough......

Are we talking 6 hours a day, 2 hours a day or reading chapters 2-3 times.

I know you have to practice practice problems. But what else?

Thanks

With dimensional analysis being such a big part of ChemI, you're going to need solid foundation of algebra.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

Nope - not true - never took an algebra course - ever.

In fact math never made sense to me - I was a math for dummies kinda gal - until I got to chemistry. Once the instructor explained dimensional analysis it was like a light bulb going off - all the math that had never ever made sense all of a sudden just clicked. After that I made an A in chem, an A in stats, and had no problem with drug calculations!

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Specializes in Too many to list.

I did. I used to fall asleep in math classes, and to this day, don't remember phone numbers (use my cell phone for backup). I think it's a disinterest or maybe a disconnect with numbers for me. But, the problems in chemistry were easy for me. I did use several workbooks from other sources other than the ones from my class. I did practice, practice, practice solving those problems several different ways. It was not unusual for me to take the longer route to solve a chemistry problem when a shorter one would do, but that's just the way my brain works. The point is I aced chemistry, and I stopped taking math after algebra. Though I have to admit I did take statistics and got thru it some how. Good luck!

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

Just work a lot of problems which can be really time consuming but worth it to ge the good grades you need to be competitive for nursing school! I did fine with chemistry but did spend a lot of time working those flippin' problems. I think for most people a good math background makes things easier for sure (it did for me personally).

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Specializes in Too many to list.
Nope - not true - never took an algebra course - ever.

In fact math never made sense to me - I was a math for dummies kinda gal - until I got to chemistry. Once the instructor explained dimensional analysis it was like a light bulb going off - all the math that had never ever made sense all of a sudden just clicked. After that I made an A in chem, an A in stats, and had no problem with drug calculations!

You know, I never heard the term "dimensional analysis" before, but that's exactly how I solve drug calculations. Learned to do it that way from a little workbook. It was like magic, everything was in order, and I knew whether to multiply or divide depending on what units I needed to end up with. Now if you said the term "ratio and proportion", I would go into math anxiety disorder!!!

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Specializes in med-surg.

Any tips for taking a 3 1/2 week biochem course? It meets M,W,F - 10 days total only! I haven't done chemistry since high school, except for the brief attention we paid to it at the beginning of A&P1. I have a 100 average in A&P1 with only one week left, but I'm really nervous about the chemistry thing - I'm not really bad at math, it just doesn't come naturally to me...

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I'm the opposite. I'm in College Algebra with an A and have made A's in all math courses leading up to this point. I'm also taking Intro to Chemistry this semester and am trying to hold onto a B (84%). The conversions are just not clicking with me :o . So I can't say that algebra has helped me. I understand that you put what you want to get rid of on the bottom of the equation so it will cancel out, but when you throw in moles, grams, mass, etc. I get confused. :uhoh3:

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