Chemistry Question

[ERmed3eb]

I feel like I am doomed when it comes to chemistry. I was not very serious in high school and I did not listen and cannot remember anything from chemistry class. In college I decided that I wanted to be premed and here I am now. I am taking chemistry I next quarter in college and I am worried that I won't do good in it. Does it matter that I dont know anything prior to the class from high school? Thanks in advance

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[Chris127]

No it doesnt matter. Just pay attention in class, stay on top of your readings/study sessions, and you should be fine.

 

[Apparition]

Don't worry about it! No prior knowledge is needed in general chemistry. A little algebra would be helfpul. The material, if you put in time to read and to practice problems, is fairly basic. Just don't fall behind.

 

[madonna]

it does not matter. they teach you from start. some cc offer prep general chemistry. but honestly if you pay attention, its not that difficult. its my worst subject so ifeel your pain. good luck

 

[ERmed3eb]

Thanks a lot for the replies...i feel relieved now

 

[CoverMe]

Thanks a lot for the replies...i feel relieved now

There are TONS of "chem for dummies" types of books out there on amazon (i don't rec. any of them... i don't know any of them specifically) if you want to be flipping thru something and getting your anxiety under control by doing something. I understand your feelings, I lacked confidence COMPLETELY when it came to starting chem... somehow, it was just more intimidating than bio.

The books you might look at would cover some really really basic quantum concepts... how an atom is put together, using the periodic table and what it tells you, how to determine a "mol" of something, the idea behind "balancing" equations etc... might make you feel more confident going into basic chem.

best of luck.

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

Chemistry isn't always intuitive. If you work at it, get help, get other perspectives, it WILL click. It is too sensible (most of it) to not.

 

[gdbaby]

I feel like I am doomed when it comes to chemistry. I was not very serious in high school and I did not listen and cannot remember anything from chemistry class. In college I decided that I wanted to be premed and here I am now. I am taking chemistry I next quarter in college and I am worried that I won't do good in it. Does it matter that I dont know anything prior to the class from high school? Thanks in advance

I took Gen Chem 15 YEARS after high school. You'll be fine. Do a little bit every day.

 

[BMW M3]

I feel like I am doomed when it comes to chemistry. I was not very serious in high school and I did not listen and cannot remember anything from chemistry class. In college I decided that I wanted to be premed and here I am now. I am taking chemistry I next quarter in college and I am worried that I won't do good in it. Does it matter that I dont know anything prior to the class from high school? Thanks in advance

Hahaha... i got C's in high school chemistry and calc. Needless to say, I had to start from scratch. You are NOT doomed, your returns will be proportional to the amount of effort you put in.

Take a deep breath and relax; there are scarier things in life.

 

[Senor Fish]

I am a non-traditional student, and I hadn't seen chemistry in 15 years when I walked into gen chem at college. The TA told me if you don't know what stoichiometry is, you better get out of this class and go to the 'dummy' class.

I had no idea what stoichiometry was. I was totally intimiated. But, I worked hard, went to all the classes, and most important did ALL of the practice problems. Really important. I got 100's on most of the tests that semester.

So, let your fear be a motivating factor, but don't let it hold you back. Work hard and you'll be fine.

 

[cosmo]

The key to chemistry is to do every single problem you can get your hands on. There are a lot of websites that are really good for problems Here's one Another one Yet another
as well as clarifying ideas. These three websites did a lot of good for me. I had the same fears as you, and it was needless. The biggest help for me in chemistry was using the web for every drop of info out there. It's not as hard as people make it out to be...the ones who complained and failed (and most of my class did) were the ones who expected to do well by only studying an hour or so. You can't do that. But if you put in the work, you are certain to do well.

 

[Dave_D]

I wouldn't let it get to you either. From what I remember of high school chem it was mostly "memorize this".(I mean literally we had to memorize elements and no periodic table.) Get used to the periodic table, try to understand the concepts.(Which high school chem tended to gloss over.) It's amazing how many concepts can be figured out once you know trends and such.

 

[Noeljan]

I NEVER even took chemistry in high school....so don't worry you are have more knowledge coming in that a lot of people.....
but after being intimidated, I ended up loving all chemistry....so don't worry about high school chem bc some people have not even had that.
good luck.