Gen Chem 2 is driving me BONKERS

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Iwanttopulloutteeth

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Maybe it's because I'm new to the sciences but the way this class is structured doesn't make any sense to me. I just left the 2nd exam (kinetics/equilibrium) shaking my head. At most, 5% of the lectured material and 0% of the recitation material was on the exam. I studied what I thought were the big concepts like experimental rate equations, LeChatelier, half-life, equilibrium math, integrated raw law equations, etc. Then on the exam there was just ONE question with a given concentration/rate and you had to find the rate law, ONE question of LeChatelier, no half-life questions, one equilibrium math question...The overall order, value of K, initial rate of [X] at a certain M, weren't even asked. I probably would get the same grade if I didn't even study beforehand lol. Even when I took bio I/II if I knew everything in the book for the exam chapters then I knew I would be getting a good grade. Sigh



God, do I miss being a psychology major at times
 
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its gen chem is you cant handle it you cant be a dentist handling peoples physical lives
 
I would suggest finding out exactly what will be on test, and then use YouTube and Khan Academy as resources. Those two resources helped tremendously.
 
tombradyschin said:
its gen chem is you cant handle it you cant be a dentist handling peoples physical lives
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This is about how confusing questions on the exam look. The material isn't even that hard tbh, but the wording is just so damn abstruse. It's like I'm reading LSAT passages or something.
Oh well, I think I still have an A in physics lecture and lab.
 
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Iwanttopulloutteeth said:
Maybe it's because I'm new to the sciences but the way this class is structured doesn't make any sense to me. I just left the 2nd exam (kinetics/equilibrium) shaking my head. At most, 5% of the lectured material and 0% of the recitation material was on the exam. I studied what I thought were the big concepts like experimental rate equations, LeChatelier, half-life, equilibrium math, integrated raw law equations, etc. Then on the exam there was just ONE question with a given concentration/rate and you had to find the rate law, ONE question of LeChatelier, no half-life questions, one equilibrium math question...The overall order, value of K, initial rate of [X] at a certain M, weren't even asked. I probably would get the same grade if I didn't even study beforehand lol. Even when I took bio I/II if I knew everything in the book for the exam chapters then I knew I would be getting a good grade. Sigh



God, do I miss being a psychology major at times
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lol; feel free to DM me if you need help understanding the material or working through some problems and I will try to help. Can I ask what the bulk of the material covered on the exam was?
 
Frank22 said:
lol; feel free to DM me if you need help understanding the material or working through some problems and I will try to help. Can I ask what the bulk of the material covered on the exam was?
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I appreciate it man. I can send you a message once I get the exam on Wednesday or Monday, just so I can make sure I'm not misremembering anything.
 
jmcunnin said:
What is p chemistry? Is that the same as organic?
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P.Chem is Physical Chemistry. Its completely different from Organic. Its extremely heavy on calculus and it is absolutely killing me right now. O.Chem IMO was a lot easier than this :bang:
 
Toothbrush Brother said:
P.Chem is Physical Chemistry. Its completely different from Organic. Its extremely heavy on calculus and it is absolutely killing me right now. O.Chem IMO was a lot easier than this :bang:
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Ha! I minored in chem and had to choose between P Chem, A chem. A chem was tough as nails but would've had my acceptance revoked had I chosen P chem.
 
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Toothbrush Brother said:
P.Chem is Physical Chemistry. Its completely different from Organic. Its extremely heavy on calculus and it is absolutely killing me right now. O.Chem IMO was a lot easier than this :bang:
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I see. Is that just a class required for your degree? I was just curious since I hadn't seen it listed as a prereq...
 
jmcunnin said:
I see. Is that just a class required for your degree? I was just curious since I hadn't seen it listed as a prereq...
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No way is P Chem required for Dental School, but it is required for a Chemistry Major, and plenty of Dental Students are Chem Majors. Luckily for the rest of us, you don't have to be great at Math to be a good Dentist.
 
Pro-Dentite19 said:
No way is P Chem required for Dental School, but it is required for a Chemistry Major, and plenty of Dental Students are Chem Majors. Luckily for the rest of us, you don't have to be great at Math to be a good Dentist.
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Thank God... My girlfriend is a chem grad student and here I am pulling make a fool of myself in gen chem. Opposites attract or something, right...?
 
Maybe visit the professor? Maybe attend supplemental sessions offered by the department if you haven't started doing so? The easiest thing to do is to take note of how you need to test for this type of class.

I had trouble in the beginning with classes like this, but as soon as I learned HOW to study for different professors, it became easier to rack up on As.
 
Sorry guys, didn't mean to offend anyone with my comment about chem. Was just trying to give OP some cold hard mean motivation!!
 
tombradyschin said:
Sorry guys, didn't mean to offend anyone with my comment about chem. Was just trying to give OP some cold hard mean motivation!!
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lol I think OP is a hard-worker given his past degree in psychology and willingness to return to school to pursue dentistry. I agree that some students expect everything to be handed to them on a silver-platter, but be more careful in distinguishing the two in the future.
 
Gen Chem 2 was harder for me than Orgo and Biochem lmao

Damn you Le Chatlier! Damn you!
 
I ended up getting a 90, so I definitely got lucky with more than a few educated guesses... The average was a 70, which is where I felt I should have been. I also got a subscription to Chad's gen chem videos last week, so I'll keep using those lectures and quizzes for the rest of the semester since they seem great for exposure and general review.
 
Iwanttopulloutteeth said:
I ended up getting a 90, so I definitely got lucky with more than a few educated guesses... The average was a 70, which is where I felt I should have been. I also got a subscription to Chad's gen chem videos last week, so I'll keep using those lectures and quizzes for the rest of the semester since they seem great for exposure and general review.
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Great job!
 
Iwanttopulloutteeth said:
I ended up getting a 90, so I definitely got lucky with more than a few educated guesses... The average was a 70, which is where I felt I should have been. I also got a subscription to Chad's gen chem videos last week, so I'll keep using those lectures and quizzes for the rest of the semester since they seem great for exposure and general review.
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Man you sound like me. My friends hated me because I would come out of tests moping... "Yeah guys I think I failed" and end up getting 20 points above average. Maybe we both suffer from being hypercritical!! You just thought you did bad because you didn't know ALL of the answers 😀

CONGRATS
 
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