Math skills needed for an intro to chem course?

[AdventureAddict]

Alright, so math has never been my area. It's been years since I've taken any sort of math class. However, I am a very dedicated student and I'm committed to doing well in my classes. So my question is this, is it possible for me to earn an A in an introduction to chemistry course with limited math skills? I would be taking the class this fall, so I would have all summer to bring my math skills up to where they would need to be.

Which math skills are necessary to be successful in intro to chem? Do I really need to take an algebra class ahead of time or can I 'self teach' these skills? How much of an intro to chem class is actually spent using math?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice!!

[FutureNurseInfo]

Hello,

I assume that intro to chem course is similar across the states, so I will try to answer your question as thoroughly and knowledgeable as possible. In my intro to chem (not sure if it is the same as genral chem course which I took already), I dealt lot with scientific notation (micro-, macro-, deci-, milli-, centi-deka-nano- etc), conversions (kg to lb, meter to mile, mole to gram etc). Also, there were a lot of calculation questions such as "how much of carbon dioxide will be produced if 5 grams of methane was reacted"; actual/theoretical yields etc. To be short, there was a lot of math, but all of it was really basic.

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

It's very basic math, and my professor went over the calculations for those that hadn't done math in a while.

[PrereqTaker89]

You could totally get an A. Just stay on top of the material and make the top student in the class your best friend.

[pureanea]

is it possible for me to earn an A in an introduction to chemistry course with limited math skills?

Yes, just go over your basic algebra skills. Also, it may be different for some profs, but my prof explains how to do each problem step by step and explains why the problem is set up that way.

Which math skills are necessary to be successful in intro to chem?

Up to algebra 2, you should be fine.

Do I really need to take an algebra class ahead of time or can I 'self teach' these skills?

This depends on you. When you did take any math class, like algebra, in the past, did you struggle with the concepts? If so, then you'll probably need to take an algebra class. If not, then you're good.

How much of an intro to chem class is actually spent using math?

I'm actually in intro to chem right now and about a good half of it is math-related. But it's pretty simple algebra (setting up conversion factors, plugging values into a formula,etc).