BMCC Che 121 and Mat 104

U.S.A. New York

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Hello nurses (present and future).

I'm in the pre-req portion at BMCC and will be taking these classes spring and summer '14, respectively. Can you tell me what kind of math I should be up to par in for both? Math freaks me out so I want to be prepared so I keep my current GPA and maintain A's.

Also, are the Che 121 textbooks the same regardless of the professor? I don't know who will be teaching my chemistry class as of yet, but the syllabus I was able to find online listed:

General, Organic and Biological Chemistry (3rd Edition) written by Timberlake, Karen C. and published by Pearson Prentice Hall (2009), and

Laboratory Manual for General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry (2nd Edition) written by Timberlake, Karen C. and published by Pearson Prentice Hall (2010).

Thx in advance.

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Hi there! I took Che 121 this past summer (currently taking 122). The textbook will be the same -- there's a new edition out now, but I bought the 3rd edition used on Amazon and it has suited me just fine. The lab manual also has a new edition, and there have been some issues with the transition w/the bookstore. I think next semester's classes will probably all be using the new edition. Each section should be using the same text/lab manual, so don't worry about that.

Math in Che 121 is fairly simple; you'll be calculating molecular weights by addition and multiplication from the periodic table. I'm transferring out of BMCC for my ABSN and therefore skipping Math 104, but I have heard it's easy (and since Che 121 uses dimensional analysis techniques, I bet it's very similar math-wise). Just be careful and double-check your calculations and you should be fine. You'll need a calculator, which you'll be able to use on exams.

Good luck! I'll be taking Microbiology in the spring semester (last pre-req, woo hoo!!!!!), so maybe I'll bump into you. ;)

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Thanks for such a detailed post! People always talk about how hard chemistry is which makes me even more nervous. What school are you transferring to? Was it something about BMCC that made you want to change?

I didn't realize we needed to take 122. That's interesting.

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I started taking pre-reqs at BMCC and decided I wanted to shoot for an accelerated BSN program; that's all. (Life logistics, haha!) I'll be going to Stony Brook's ABSN program next year. :)

You don't need to take 122. I was thinking of applying to some programs which required organic chem (Hunter in particular), so I took it.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Behavioral health.

I used to tutor chem at BMCC many many years ago. Fractions, decimal, percents, and solving for unknown variables is as complicated it goes. I found most students didn't have problems crunching the numbers but determining what numbers to crunch. It was mostly word problems. My suggestion:

1. Do all the problems you can get your hands on from your textbook and similar books from the school library. With practice your reasoning skills will improve.

2. Sign up for tutoring from day one. Don't wait until you have difficulty by then it's too late. When I was there, the service was free.

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Thank you both so much.

I wish I could apply for an accelerated program. Unfortunately, my day job prevents me. :/

I will definitely sign up for tutoring. I'm actually looking forward to the class (surprisingly).

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