Chemistry Fall 2008

jjnRN · Jul 28, 2008

Count me in as well. It's been 22 yrs since HS chem and I did alot of partying back them! Also taking biology so I need all the help I can get. Thanks for the references and sites to get started... :up:

BusyMomof5 · Jul 28, 2008

Thank you AtomicWoman! I am going to check out Ebay and see what I come up with. I appreciate your advice!

Take Care

If you can afford it, the Teaching Company has their High School Chemistry course on sale for $79.99 (it's usually way more than that):
http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=111&pc=Science%20and%20Mathematics
I love the Teaching Company videos for the way they boil things down. They are great refresher courses. I own this Chemistry series and once in a while I still go back to it to refresh my memory about a technique I haven't used in a while. You can sometimes find these videos on eBay or Amazon pretty cheaply, so keep your eyes open for that if you can't afford the $80 bucks plus shipping.
By the way, the course is high school chemistry, but it covers most (not all of the advanced ones) of the topics you'll see in college chemistry. I was fortunate to have a former high school teacher as my Fundamentals of Chem teacher. She was great, because she knew all the places where students tend to get lost!
Best of luck in Stats and Chem!!

phoenixRisin9 · Jul 28, 2008

Thanks, CracklinRose for starting this thread!

It was just a few weeks ago, that I considered becoming an RN. After finding out the base pay of a correctional RN where my husband works, I started actively pursuing the idea of becoming an RN. After further reading and research, thanks in part to this forum, I had an epiphany--it's not just about money. This is the path I should have started long ago... for my family, and because it's in my nature to help and care for people.

The one thing that discouraged me before: Chemistry. I barely passed high school chem and that deterred me from any health or science related major in college.

Wish me luck! I'm meeting with a counselor to see if I can get into Intro to Chem in August. Thanks to everyone for submitting links--they'll be really helpful!

CracklinRose · Jul 28, 2008

Your Welcome and Good Luck Phoenix....stick around so we can support eacj other.....many of sound like we may need it....lol

phoenixRisin9 · Jul 28, 2008

Definitely! It'll make the semesters more manageable with a support system.

Livenlearn · Jul 28, 2008

thank you for all of the chemistry links!

im in for fall - intro to chem - this will be my 3rd time! i took intro and had a b in the class until the final. she failed anyone who did not get 75% ( i think) or better on the nomenclature part of the test. ugh! i got a d. retook it with a much better teacher. first teacher was trying to weed people out of healthcare. this was at a community college no less. secnd time i did much better.

fast forwards 14 years and i attempted general chem from a teacher who read his lectures right out of the book. i lasted half a semester and despite a tutor decided i had been through enough torture.

now i need to take intro to chem again because my last class was taken so long ago. argh! this time i am taking it online and hope i have the discipline to pull off an a.

i really fear chemistry. it is the only thing i fear next to spiders. hehe

i just have a mental block about all the rules and regulations of matter.

dallet6 · Jul 29, 2008

I'm having trouble with energy diagrams. I know there's alot of good links here, but if possible, I'd prefer not to look thru them all to see if they have energy diagrams in them. Anyone know a good site for that?

thanks!

msdeannah · Jul 29, 2008

I just want to say, I am not a huge fan of the Idiots Guide to Chemistry. While the definitions and chapters are clear and concise, the equations, skips steps, I believe under the assumption that you already know how to do it. But hey I'm an "idiot" in Chemistry I don't know anything!!! Lol. The Chem review site is very helpful, I like how they break things down step by step. I just wish they had more problems. I need way more practice. With that being said does anyone know of any other sites where I can practice with exponents, changing regular numbers to exponents, adding, dividing ect?

And scientific calculators, they range from 12-150.00 I am taking a general chem course intended for people with little to no chem. background, does anyone know what kind of calculator I would actually need?

smellyacres, BSN, RN · Aug 1, 2008

I just joined the site but i'm deffinately in too!

Just wondering, but what chemistry are you all taking. I'm taking Chem for allied health sciences, so a mix of everything. But I graduated high school early and never got to chem so I don't know what to expect. Apparently the teacher I am taking the class from is not so great... (it was the only one that fit my schedule) but I am still opptimistic! I'm taking bio and speech as well, so I'm not sure what to expect.

Also, I have Chemistry for Dummies, and I'm not a fan of that one either. In the beginning it is explained really slow and boring and then all of the sudden I don't understand anything they are talking about.

BusyMomof5 · Aug 1, 2008

Hi ZAR963

The Chemistry I'm taking is called "Intro to Chemistry". At my school it is the Chem required as a pre req for the Nursing Program. I took Chemistry in High School and I have also read Chemistry for Dummies. I do NOT remember learning it the same way which is really frustrating to me. I guess my teacher had a different method of teaching it..You said your professor is "not so good". I had to end up registering for a night class just to get the professor that had good ratings. I can't afford to waste time with a teacher who isn't passionate about their job or who has a "God Complex". Which so many of them seem to at each school. I have to rant a bit about those teachers: We are there to learn, not be looked down upon if we don't know or understand. It's their job to make us understand. If we already knew the answers why would we be in their classes? We would already be nurses! :nurse:

It is very frustrating when a class is only offered by a teacher that doesn't seem to care about the success of their students.

Good luck to you!

smellyacres, BSN, RN · Aug 1, 2008

Thanks BusyMomof5

I haven't accutally started the class yet. It begins in august. I have only heard from others that she is not the best teacher, yet I have heard mixed things about her and I often don't agree with other's opinons about teachers being bad. That is why I am forcing myself to stay optimistic. I just want to learn and be successful. :up: while I try not to be to stressed out and nervous :wink2:

penelopelp · Aug 1, 2008

Thanks for this thread. I'm signed up for Introduction to Chemistry (online course!) and the lab. This is my first online course and my first pre-req at this cc. I took chemistry my first time in college, and made a "D." That was over 15 years ago. So, I need all the help I can get.

I'm going to start with the Algebra review.