Freaking out about Chem!!

hospitalstaph · Feb 21, 2005

I am glad you are doing well! Hang in there! It can't last forever...can it?
I too am taking chemistry. We had our first quiz and I did ok. Our test is Monday. It's alot of work....very challenging! Also, our lab teacher barely speaks English!
Good luck!

Barely speaks English???? How on earth are you even passing with that type of instruction? Our instructor makes a lot of rude comments like "Where is your common sense people?" and "Did you read the chapter?" I have heard him say this to people that I KNOW are studying very hard but just are not understanding some of the concepts.

Can't wait till this semester is over:)

Tracy

fotografe · Feb 21, 2005

CHEMISTRY FOR DUMMIES -- best 14 bucks I ever spent. Explains it all simply and with humor.

WOW! Thanks for all of the wonderful suggestions! I studied like crazy over the past weekend and finally understood all of the convertions (in to cm, etc). I was really surprised when we returned to class on Monday and well over half of the class was still lost. Now our instructor has thrown algebra at us which is also really difficult for me. He even told us yesterday that he does not want to hear "I'm just not good at math" from anyone:) My dad is a CPA and now officially my tutor. The way he explains it really makes sense. Also I bought "The Complete Idiots Guide to Chemistry" and "Chemistry Made Easy". I really want to get that A and I think I am going to have to work my tail off for it:)
Thanks again for all of the great responses!
Tracy

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2005

Tracy, glad to hear you made a B after all that freaking out.

I struggled through my first exam too. I'm awaiting my grade. It definately is a struggle. Best wishes for continued success. :)

nursemat · Feb 21, 2005

great job !!!!! I am no brain or anything but i have always gotten A's in science classes because i study my but off... it's not that hard you just have to put the time in. whatever time it takes if it takes 4 hours a night thats what you have to do.

When I took calc II i worked on a single problem once for 7 hours what an awesome feeling when I finialy got it right

now if i could just learn to spell

Mat

NurseFirst · Feb 22, 2005

That's an effort worth framing!!! I have never had a class I couldn't ace if I applied myself; then, Calculus came along...

NurseFirst

great job !!!!! I am no brain or anything but i have always gotten A's in science classes because i study my but off... it's not that hard you just have to put the time in. whatever time it takes if it takes 4 hours a night thats what you have to do.
When I took calc II i worked on a single problem once for 7 hours what an awesome feeling when I finialy got it right
now if i could just learn to spell
Mat

hospitalstaph · Apr 23, 2005

Hi all!

Well, just another update! We have now had 4 exams. I have had 3 B's and 1 C. The last date to drop the class passed a few weeks ago and our original class of 60 is down to 21. As the class has gotten smaller, I am so sad to see some of the students give up on their dream and drop out. One student was pregnant and sooo sweet. She decided that she couldn't do it and dropped. I am so proud to still be in the class with a reasonable grade (B) and three happy kids and a wonderful husband. What can I say except: Life is good and I AM going to be a nurse one day!

Tracy

Sis123 · Apr 24, 2005

That's great! So glad for you (and me too!) I was in exactly the same boat as you at the beginning of winter quarter. Lots of students dropped our class too, but I kept seeing the prof. anytime I needed more clarification, and that was at least once a week. As I studied, and sat in lecture, if something didn't make sense to me, I wrote myself a little note or circled that part in red pen, then went to the prof. to ask him about those things.

What really surprised me was that the math part was pretty straightforward. It was the concepts that toyed with my brain.

I worked at studying diligently and passed with a B. Surprised the heck out of me. :chuckle

Unfortunately we are covering organic chem concepts in Cell biology (cellular respiration right now), and I am studying diligently again. It's not easy, but it's do-able.

I really hated to see some nice and smart people drop the class and give up on their dreams, too.

smrtipntz · Apr 25, 2005

I am in my third term of Chem. and I am feeling your pain!! I swear the whole first term just sped by and I felt like I didn't learn anything. The conversions will come eventually. Just do tons of them in small steps and talk your way through them. It makes more sense when you can see the pattern. There were some other posts that said they had found kids Chem sites that were good. I don't have the website but there are tons out there. I like the ones geared for elementary kids, they seemed to be right at my level!!!