Nervous about chemistry, what resources did you use to study?

apeter · Feb 17, 2015

So far for me, old fashioned flash cards have been my best study resource. I also take advantage of the app Study Blue to see other flashcards from the same courses. My teacher has been great with her instruction so everything seems to be sticking pretty well with me. Considering the fact that it's an accelerated class - General, Organic and Bio Chem all crammed into 5 hour long classes, 3 times per week for 5 weeks. We start week 4 tomorrow and so far I have a 96 overall in the class.

akg713, CNA · Feb 17, 2015

Im currently taking chemistry right now and so far i've only used flash cards, no youtube videos nor have i logged in to khan academy for study 'time' ... also i review my notes and practice the formulas over and over ... old fashion way too.. so far i've done ok.. i didn't study for my first exam, i just did flash cards for the elements and didn't go over the math portion .. i got a B... honestly I feel that chemistry is not as hard as I thought it would be .. but then again we are in week 6 of the semester lol ..

apeter · Feb 17, 2015

I studied for my first exam and got a 98 + 2 extra credit, so a 100. I didn't study as hard for my 2nd exam which was a mistake because I got an 84.

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 18, 2015

Use KhanAcademy! It's free and it's wonderful. I got through both Gen Chem and Organic Chem with a 4.0 because of that site. I highly recommend it :)

Also, if your school offers supplemental instruction or tutoring, go to those sessions. I found the supplemental instruction really helped in Gen Chem when we had difficult chapters. Organic Chem, I simply used Khan.

rnchem · Feb 19, 2015

Thanks for the suggestions -- I hadn't really considered flash cards, although it seems so obvious now that you mention it!

Do any of you have kids? How do you fit in all this study time? I've heard that you should study three hours for every hour spent in class!

akg713, CNA · Feb 19, 2015

I have a 19 month old and I take advantage when my daughter is napping during the day or when it's her bedtime. .. i have her in daycare from 9am till 3 pm .. and my school hours are from 930am till 12pm I really take advantage of the extra 3 hrs that my daughter is in daycare ...

studentbear, CNA · Feb 19, 2015

Beyond the assigned homework and the study guides the prof gives us, I do flash cards on Quizlet. I also recently purchased "Chemistry for the Utterly Confused." It's helpful because it explains things a little differently and it's easy to locate topics within the book.

neon puppy · Feb 20, 2015

Khan Academy was very helpful for me to supplement the classes/book, especially for some of the more tricky concepts. But people learn differently! I really took my time with the assigned homework, too, and that helped - I got an A in both chem classes.

As far as your question about how much time to spend studying, I've heard that studying for 30 minute spurts is a good technique - especially when you have little ones. Good luck!

umbot, BSN · Feb 20, 2015

Some Khan Academy videos are better than others. The ones that have a guest instructor (rather than Sal Khan) are a little better organized, but there aren't as many of them. For things where I had conceptual trouble, I also looked at ChemGuide and HyperPhysics - HyperPhysics is on the more technical side, but it has a lot of good information.

HTCC · Feb 21, 2015

I'm in it right now. I'm taking it online, but the professor records lectures which really helps me since I learn best if I hear it. I've also started watching a ton of Ben's Chem Videos on YouTube. His videos tend to cover exactly what we are learning in class and I get his way of explaining things. I would definitely recommend checking out either khan or YouTube. Try a few videos and find the ones you can understand best.