I'm falling behind in Chemistry (1 Viewer)

[makemearedcape]

I had my parent/teacher/student interviews at the end of last term, and as I had predicted, I'm not doing so well in Chemistry.

Does anyone have any tips/help specifically related to studying Chemistry that they could offer? Anything really...like something that has possibly helped you understand a concept...or something like that? I really don't like falling behind and not understanding the topics.

 

[undalay]

Chemistry is alot like maths, you'll need to know the foundations before learning the harder topics.

Make sure you know all of the assumed knowledge from the stages below prelim. (Found in the syllabus)

In The Chemical Earth the most important past ( in my opinion) is the different types of bonding eg. Ionic, Covalent Molecular, Covalent network, & Metallic bonding. If you know that in thoroughly, you can just work out some of the other stuff. Eg why Ionic compounds have high melting points.

Chemistry is a subject that can easily leave you behind, alot of the work is intertwined, just like math.

edit: previous concepts make new concepts easier to understand.

 

[kathrynso]

Like what the above member said, you must understand the basic concepts before learning the harder stuff although there are some that you can get away with. But I do think that you should see your teacher about helping you understand the things youre not confident in, they have the knowledge and understanding more then you, just keep asking them to explain in different ways. I remember I explained a concept to my friend using associations to Green Day I can't remember what it was but it worked lol.
You can also read your textbook, it is very helpful especially with doing questions and stuff and ask your teacher if you don't understand it.

Don't worry, you will be fine. Just post on here if you have any more questions on specific concepts/topics. good luck!

 

[z600]

Personally i like chemistry but i hate to remeber all the valencies etc. If you are struggling with getting the concepts in chemistry, I suggest you drop it at the end of the year. If you want to continue makes sure you UNDERSTAND the concepts, ask lots of question and pratice with differnt questions to test your understanding.

 

[jest]

you could ask someone to tutor you or get a bunch of kids in your class for study groups and such

 

[jest]

I had my parent/teacher/student interviews at the end of last term, and as I had predicted, I'm not doing so well in Chemistry.

Does anyone have any tips/help specifically related to studying Chemistry that they could offer? Anything really...like something that has possibly helped you understand a concept...or something like that? I really don't like falling behind and not understanding the topics.

who's your chem teacher? woods?

 

[steban]

i thought i was falling behind as well, but im actually more in the middle of the class.

Just do dot point study, read a dot point, and if you dont have any class notes to cover it, refer to a text book (our school issued Chemistry Contexts and it aint bad, id recommend it), and if that dosent help, you could seek a tutor

 

[cccclaire]

i thought i was falling behind as well, but im actually more in the middle of the class.

Just do dot point study, read a dot point, and if you dont have any class notes to cover it, refer to a text book (our school issued Chemistry Contexts and it aint bad, id recommend it), and if that dosent help, you could seek a tutor

chemistry contexts is so bad.
it always contradicts itself, doesn't explain things properly and has a huge habbit of saying "covalent bonds (which are discussed later on in this topic)" which really pisses me off for some reason and the diagrams are pretty shocking too.

 

[steban]

...and has a huge habbit of saying "covalent bonds (which are discussed later on in this topic)" which really pisses me off for some reason and the diagrams are pretty shocking too.

aha, ill agree to the 'discussed later..' and the pics, but then the info IS there, just a matter of reading and spotting it then jotting down notes.

well it works for me, but there are other text books out there, that help.

theres a book you can use to test yourself as well called 'Dot Point', its basically just questions based on each dot point in the syllabus, answers at the back.

 

[sle3pe3bumz]

aha, ill agree to the 'discussed later..' and the pics, but then the info IS there, just a matter of reading and spotting it then jotting down notes.

well it works for me, but there are other text books out there, that help.

theres a book you can use to test yourself as well called 'Dot Point', its basically just questions based on each dot point in the syllabus, answers at the back.

I got that book. For physics only though. I've breezed through it a little. No time to actually go through it atm. ><"

 

[pLuvia]

Don't worry I failed preliminary and with some luck came 9th in the grade at the end of the HSC

 

[makemearedcape]

Ahhh, thank you guys, for all your tips and support. I have the textbook "Conquering Chemistry" which is pretty good indeed.

It's official. I AM going pretty badly. I got results of my first assessment task back today...I'm second last in the grade/class (we only have one class of 23 in the grade). But I won't let it bring me down. I realise now that I could be putting in more effort...and once I've been to the bottom, I can only get better right?
Well, at least that's the optimism I'm holding onto right now.

But for now, I've got to just keep revising I suppose. I didn't think so many people would reply, so thank you. It helped me out.

 

[sle3pe3bumz]

more interesting ? yays ! lol ..

if you need any help, dont be shy to post ! any Q's will try to be answered and we'll try help you to grasp the concepts. =]

 

[Kujah]

Just remember attitude and effort :uhhuh:

 

[makemearedcape]

Yah...this topic...gahhh . It goes over A LOT of things, but doesn't actually go into many things in depth...the teacher always has to say "we'll do this properly in a later topic" so that adds to the whole confusion as well.
Has anyone else had this problem as well?

 

[samih91]

I HATE CHEMISTRY! Im also falling behind in chemistry and i have an assignment due in about a week. Ive been oblivious in chemistry from the start of the year and im getting very worried.

 

[sle3pe3bumz]

chemistry rocks ! =] its rewarding if you know your stuff !

 

[van.tango]

I love Chemistry but I performed very badly in my first assessment despite the fact I was coming first in the class on the basis of weekly assignments and write-ups. I think it was a combination of not revising the concepts throughly enough and the fact the second and third parts handed in were in fact my drafts and not the final copies.
I think the key to doing well is noting everything down - including all the random bits of information teachers tell you - and to set definite time aside to work on it. I don't do that with any other subject except Chem, because I'm awful and lazy. Oh, and avoid stupid mistakes like mine!

 

[sle3pe3bumz]

I love Chemistry but I performed very badly in my first assessment despite the fact I was coming first in the class on the basis of weekly assignments and write-ups. I think it was a combination of not revising the concepts throughly enough and the fact the second and third parts handed in were in fact my drafts and not the final copies.
I think the key to doing well is noting everything down - including all the random bits of information teachers tell you - and to set definite time aside to work on it. I don't do that with any other subject except Chem, because I'm awful and lazy. Oh, and avoid stupid mistakes like mine!

lol gosh ! i note down everything my teacher says ! ahahah .. & chem is also the subject i really bother with lol .. thats scary .. ^^"

 

[Fish Sauce]

Howdy. I've been managing to hold on in Chemistry for a while now, with decent marks (no idea how), but with an exam coming up (tomorrow) I've gone back and tried to make sure I actually understand what's going on. At this point I've now finally worked out different reactions and why they occur, which is more than I could do before.

Just keep working away at it. For equations, try the practice questions in the book. Make sure you understand things before moving on, or the next thing you learn won't make any sense.

Take it easy, you have plenty of time (a lot more than me, at least), and you can keep getting better for the whole year. By the time the HSC comes around you'll be okay.