College Chemistry

markd, I feel your pain. I got my B.S. in biochemistry and am finishing up my M.S. in chemistry. It really is a different beast.
It sounds like you are in a freshman level course. For most people, the difficulty here is not the chemistry but rather the math that goes along with it. I am not sure if this is the case for you. Each topic has certain types of problems that traditionally go along with it. Work as many of these problems as you can until you can recognize their pattern. Usually it is a matter of finding the right equation to use and plugging in the numbers. Your text should have practice problems to work on. You can also pick up Schaum's outline series. This is simply a book full of practice problems that are traditionally asked in each subject area. It usually runs $15 or so and is worth its weight in gold if you have the time to put into doing the problems.

Remember, if you aren't a chem major then this class is simply one of the hoops that you must jump through to get your degree. It is no more than that. Don't let it get you down. All you need to do is pass. Ten years from now no one will care if you had to repeat freshman chem. For what it is worth, I had to withdraw from physics three times before I made it through.

On the plus side, if you do have to repeat try it with a different teacher. Sometines this can make all the difference in the world.

Good luck and keep your powder dry (I just made this topic gun related!)

TJ
 
I loathe chemistry. After this quarter (second organic), hopefully, I will never have to think about atoms again. I may take my notebooks to the range, hang them up, and blow them to shreds with my 16 gauge.
 
Got 100%+ (clss average was in the low 60s)in inorganic (solubility, acids, bases, electrochemistry, thermodynamics, chemical kinetics etc). I got more than 100% because I always got the challenge questions my professor occasionally threw in. Anything mathematical comes easy to me so inorganic chemistry was a cinch. I should mention that I also graduated head of my class and was on the National Dean's list, Member of the Golden Key Society,All American Scholar and a few other low-key organizations (so I may not be a good person to compare with). Enough boasting. My biggest suggestion would be to THINK about the problems rather than try to memorize everything presented. If you go through the problems slowly and understand the logic behind them, you will be able to reason your way through almost anything your prof can throw at you.
I used to have fellow students aproach me all the time for help. What I usually found was that they grossly underestimated the amount of time that was needed to think their way through the text book. You cannot simply read the material and expect to understand it. You must go through each example problem and dissect it. Once you fully understand the reasoning, problems on the same topic will all appear similar (and easy). Good luck and remember two things:1) Even the most complex problem can be solved by a series of very simple steps; 2) Vagueness is the bain of science; so make sure you fully understand the material before you walk into an exam.
 
Or if all else fails find a good spud gun to shoot your chem books with :D

I love my books, but I make an exception for certain text books, I still toy with the idea of having a "text book bonfire" :cool:
 
I kept my textbooks for a long time after I graduated, for "future reference."

But I used my Chem and Physics books to hold up mt TV stand when two of the legs broke off! :)
 
Well I had the test today and went in after the class to see the test key. Did not do so hot. After talking to my Prof he said that there is still a chance of me pulling through. I am a engineering major so the next chem class is not so hard. In fact he said I should do much better. I think it is just me and not so much my Prof. Oh well if I have to take it over again next semester than that's what I will do. I am not giving up on this semester though, I plan to ride it out for the rest of the 3 weeks. I have all my GE classes done except my upper division math and these chem classes. All the other classes I took were a piece of cake compaired to this one. Thanks for all the positive support, nice to know that others have gone through the hell I have been through.

markd
 
Danger Dave - anyone who gets the sheepskin from Ma Tech gets kudos - GPA isn't the issue; you obviously knew a lot to get that in ChE, fergeddabout the GPA!

And markd: Sorry dude, two quarters of engineering school chemistry including labs, sailed thru. But I had 2 years of chem in HS, with good labs (content, not physical plant), which helped a lot.

JimR, GT BME C/O HH '82; MSME '85
 
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