General chemistry

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi all,

So I'm finishing up my last couple of pre reqs for the nursing program at my school but I just have chemistry left to take and maybe organic chem too. I'm super nervous about chemistry because I'm not that good in math, so I'm taking it in 16 weeks by itself next spring. So I need some advice about what I'm about to get myself into. I'm feeling like chemistry is the enemy and I don't want to feel that way because I want to have a positive outlook and maybe it will help me do better. So what am I looking at when I take chemistry? Any study methods? Study groups? Tutoring is definitely a MUST! And what about taking other classes along with it. Just an easy class that I know I'll do well in. All advice is welcomed. THANKS!

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If you study the material in Chemistry (especially General Chemistry), you should get an easy B. Organic is a little different and may take many more hours of studying. I took General Chemistry while taking three other classes. It's always good to know the professors that will help if you need it. The Chemistry professors get the bad press sometimes because they are "not willing to help." I have taken four Chemistry classes now and as long as I have asked for the help, I have gotten it. Don't stress over it. As long as you put the effort in, you'll do well.

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Check out if your school offers tutoring in the learning commons. That helped for me. Good luck.

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If your textbook has a practice workout or solutions manual, purchase it. It will provide extra problems for you to practice, as well as answers for the end of chapter questions.

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Specializes in Public Health.

dont bug out. I took chem while taking 15 other credits and working full time and got an easy B, I couldve gotten an A if I had studied harder.

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Specializes in ICU.

Practice, practice, practice! Te solutions manual mentioned by PP is great advice. The more you practice working out the problems, the easier it gets!

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I just finished Chemistry over this summer and what helped me was doing all of the practice questions for each chapter and highlighting the book. The practice questions really helped me to understand the material so well that I'd get in the lab and was able to help other classmates. I had a rough patch and really fell off for half the semester and still made a B. but I was worried about the math and formulas as well. I think by taking the class by itself, you can easily get an A. Good luck!!

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Thanks for all the feedback guys!

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

If your school offers Supplemental Instruction for Chemistry, definitely take advantage of it! It helped me immensely. I missed getting a 4.0 in Chem I by 4 points last spring (got a 3.5), but I did manage to get an A in lab. I took Chem II over the summer and ended up getting an A, so I'm pretty thrilled about that. It's a challenge, especially if you're math phobic.

Once you get the hang of dimensional analysis, you'll be well on your way to a good grade in Chem. I would also recommend watching videos on Khan Academy or YouTube. Best of luck to you :D

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Chemistry is a tough subject, but it is fascinating! I am not good at math either, but really worked hard. The key is to re-read the chapters over and over again and to do the home work problems more than once--over and over again. Get a solutions guide to make sure you understand the process of how the answers were derived. Some books also come with a study guide to keep you focused on the main points to help you get through the chapters. keep repeating and review the main concepts of the lectures and the text book. It is a lot of work with a lot new concepts. there are many tutorials on youtube, so if you don't understand a concept, look at how other people explain the concept on youtube. I was saved many times by youtube!

If you are not good at math, you will have to review your algebra, especially when it comes to gasses and simple dilutions. Know how to use your calculator, especially exponents, square roots and such. You will be taught scientific notation and significant figures. There are a lot of conversions but after a while it becomes pretty easy. Are you taking the easy chem--Chem 30 A and B? I made the mistake of taking the harder chem, chem 1A and B. I regretted taking 1B and wound up dropping it. I originally wanted to be a PA that's why I took it. I was also afraid I wouldn't get a 'B' because the prof. Didn't give "mercy" grades! So, I dropped it. Bummer. I may take the harder organic chem if I get wait-listed for nursing school so I can try to be a PA.

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I've taken upper level gen chem and organic chem and I was a chem tutor for almost two years here are my Pro tips for doing EXCELLENT in chemistry:

1. Review college algebra immediately! Preferably 2 weeks before class begins. Make sure know how to cross out units and convert. This is crucial to passing. If you go in without the basic math skills you WILL do bad.

2. Always stay 1 chapter ahead of the class. This way you can ask specific questions for your prof during lecture, office hours, etc. To do this read the chapter, underline important concepts and any math problems that are relevant to proving the concepts. (ex. like Boyle's law equation to prove the inverse relationship of pressure + volume). Go on youtube and watch videos with people showing how to solve problems from that chapter/unit.

3. See a tutor from class day 3. Even if you are doing exceptionally well, still go see a tutor. They are there to help you get ahead! If you don't get something when you are trying to study ahead have a tutor explain and show it to you. They are basically your "pre-professor" in a way before your actual instructor goes over the lesson. Don't make the mistake of under utilizing this valuable resource.

4. Do NOT memorize concepts or the math involved. Truly understand what is happening, why it's happening, what causes said reaction/effect and how does the math fit with what we are trying to prove/understand. If you do this you will find that chemistry has a lot of underlying patterns and you will be able to predict reactions/products right off the bat. This especially valuable if you are taking organic chemistry. Those patterns are important and those who see it early on in the class do very well.

5. Go to instructor office hours if you have a difficult question that you can't get an answer for right away. Never fall behind.

6. Realize that alot of the first part of gen chem is conversions. If you can cross units out quickly and know how to manipulate stoichiometry problems you will do well.

7. Do EVERY practice problem in the book. Stuck? Go see your instructor or tutor right away. Having a model kit also helps for visualizing shapes of molecules if you're not really good at visualizing in 3D.

With that being said: study, study, study! A lot of the chemistry ways of thinking comes with practice. Pretty soon you'll be an expert, look back and say "that wasn't hard at all!". :up:

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