CHEMISTRY: Need I say more ;-/

donsterRN, ASN, BSN · Aug 6, 2007

I freely admit that I was terrified of Chemistry. My school offered it in a summer session (13 week course condensed into 6), and I wasn't doing anything else, so I made that my day job. I went to school every day from 8 til 12, and I learned to love chemistry. My teacher was awesome, the labs were great, and most of what we learned was based on Algebra. I feel confident when I tell you that if I can pass it, anybody can pass it. And I got an A.

Don't think I'm not grateful I'll never have to take it again, though!

SDRN2BN09 · Aug 10, 2007

I just started Bio this quarter. Our class has a lot of chemistry and organic chemistry in it. I can honestly say that it was very difficult at first. I am just now starting to feel a tiny bit more comfortable in class. I don't know if it's because I've been out of school for about 10 years or what, but this class was just killing me!

Everyone keeps telling me it's going to get easier......I'm choosing to believe them! :uhoh3:

TRCCnurse2be · Aug 11, 2008

Chemistry, in my opinion is only as hard as you want to make it. If you are dedicated and study hard you will survive chemistry. Also if you do well in Algebra you will have an easier time. I made an A and I never had chmeistry in high school, and I graduated 20 years ago.

mommy2three2 · Aug 11, 2008

I will speak from the viewpoint of someone who really struggled with chem in high school but went on to get an A in gchem I & II in college.

First of all, I personally found that it seemed not as difficult in college as it did to me in high school. Now whether this was because I had awesome teachers (which I did) or because I struggled with it so much in high school that it rattled around in my brain to the point where I at least knew what they were talking about when I took it, I do not know. In all likelihood, it was some combination of both. My advice to you is to get help early in the semester if you are having trouble, look into tutoring at your school...DO NOT wait until the end of the semester or halfway through the semester to get help (I speak as a former tutor for chem here). Ask the prof questions if you are lost, again earlier is better. The skills will build and you need to at least grasp the previous chapter before you move on. Also, and I think this is the most important thing, do as many problems/examples as you can get your hands on. Do problems above what is assigned, check your answers and make sure you can follow the reasoning and math in the examples in your text book.

As far as OChem goes, it is not that bad. It is NOTHING like GChem at all, it is all reactions and mechanisms. It is a TON of memorization so plan on taking a lighter load or with classes that do not require as much heavy memorization. Just keep writing the reactions down and you will be fine.

Best wishes.

Cee_Lee_78 · Aug 11, 2008

I just finished my organic and biochem class in 6 weeks. The hardest class I have taken so far, and I passed with an A. I was crazy to take it as a 6 weeker but I want to be able to apply on time to NS. And I believe my A&P is going to be that much easier for me now that I have gotten my chem series out of the way.

AtomicWoman · Aug 12, 2008

Key to doing well in Chem:

Do the homework. Do all the homework. Ask questions about any problem you don't understand (ask the teacher or a tutor). Before an exam, do all the problems AGAIN. Before you attempt a problem during exam review, ask yourself (I say this out loud, looking/sounding like a lunatic): What is the problem asking? How would I approach this problem. Always have the path toward the answer in your head before you start.

If you have problems with any particular type of problem, do a Google search for "dimensional analysis problems" or whatever you're working on at that time. There are tons of online practice problems.

I adore chemistry and I make no secret of it. But when we started drawing Lewis Structures, I was struggling, mainly because I am not a visual learner. I found a website with 197 practice Lewis Structure problems. I am not kidding you, I did most of them. My husband laughed because everywhere he looked, he saw Lewis structures I had drawn. But you know what? I got really good at them, and began to see certain patterns. Now I own the concept. :)

Don't stress! Go into the class with the attitude that you are going to think "How cool is THAT?" every day. Ask questions, do the homework, talk to the prof after class every once in a while. Enjoy the labs, which give you a nice break from lecture. And remember, as I am fond of saying, Chemistry Is Everything. :chuckle

Good luck!

tinybabynurse · Aug 12, 2008

I took A&P I, Micro, and Chem 101 last spring semester. I had never had Chemistry either and my instructor wasn't good. Honestly though, I did get an A and I spent the least amount of time on Chemistry...you just need to be sure to not get behind (ever) and either get a great instructor (ratemyprofesors.com) or utilize tutoring at your school. The concepts do build upon each other so you really need to understand the material or you will get bogged down.

You'll be fine if you're dedicated!

Cee_Lee_78 · Aug 12, 2008

I do have to agree....I reread the chapters about 3-4 times, and GOOGLE helped me the most!

msdeannah · Aug 12, 2008

I was just reviewing dimensional analysis problems in my chemistry book. I kind of get it but need more practice. I just googled it and found tons, thanks.

osagarese · Aug 12, 2008

I took Chem in the summer and it was hard. The math part I got, it is mostly conversions. There is a site called chem4kids.com it is for kids but a lot has to do with the intro to chem in college, this help me a lot.

Also try

Hope these truly help, they helped me:D

Good Luck!

You'll do fine, just study, study :banghead: and study some more.

I got an A during the summer session and that is the professor tells us about 3 chapters and an exam right after he finishes the chapters. Hardly anytime to study. If you like math and you know algebra you'll do fine.