Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change

[masterMood]

Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change

this is the book we use in our gen chem class. I'm sure many other kids here use this as well. Is it me or does this book do a really bad job explaining chemistry? The information and knoweldge just doesn't seem to be relayed effectively by the author, and he goes way off subject sometimes. I mean i spend like 4-5 hours dissecting the chapter, then getting a really good understanding of the chapter, but this is because of the poor organizatino of the book. But then i end up forgetting most of it the next day. I know concepts are stressed over memorization, but i feel like all the concepts are for the most part easy just ridiculously tedious.

anyways, going back to chem reading. woo woo

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[tkdusb]

Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change

this is the book we use in our gen chem class. I'm sure many other kids here use this as well. Is it me or does this book do a really bad job explaining chemistry? The information and knoweldge just doesn't seem to be relayed effectively by the author, and he goes way off subject sometimes. I mean i spend like 4-5 hours dissecting the chapter, then getting a really good understanding of the chapter, but this is because of the poor organizatino of the book. But then i end up forgetting most of it the next day. I know concepts are stressed over memorization, but i feel like all the concepts are for the most part easy just ridiculously tedious.

anyways, going back to chem reading. woo woo

Is this Silberberg's text? If so, I agree - the book is garbage. I didn't use it at all for class, and I think if I had, it would have hurt more than helped.

 

[Karim]

I have that too! I think it's horrible!!!!! I only use it for the Sample Questions that are there because my HORRIBLE teacher goes over the exact same questions in lecture, so they will naturally be stressed on tests. I'm thinking of using another book for learning/practice purposes. Which book do you guys recommend for General Chemistry I?

 

[thesauce]

Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change

this is the book we use in our gen chem class. I'm sure many other kids here use this as well. Is it me or does this book do a really bad job explaining chemistry? The information and knoweldge just doesn't seem to be relayed effectively by the author, and he goes way off subject sometimes. I mean i spend like 4-5 hours dissecting the chapter, then getting a really good understanding of the chapter, but this is because of the poor organizatino of the book. But then i end up forgetting most of it the next day. I know concepts are stressed over memorization, but i feel like all the concepts are for the most part easy just ridiculously tedious.

anyways, going back to chem reading. woo woo

It's hilarious hearing this feedback about Silberberg because I had that same book for GenChem 4 years ago and I absolutely loved it! Everyone learns differently, of course, but I took GenChem without having had chemistry in high school (which was a prerequisite for the class) and got the highest score out of 600+ students all because of that book.

Here was my strategy: I woke up at 7am every Saturday morning (it's amazing what you can get done when you don't sleep in) and I read through one chapter of the book, doing all of the in-chapter problems and follow-up problems. I didn't memorize anything and I didn't take any notes. Then I put the book down and didn't look at it until the next Saturday. I then went to lecture and they explained what was important to focus on. I used the same strategy for O-Chem and P-chem, too.

Some chapters took an hour to read and other took 7 hours, you just have to force yourself to do it. Anyway, good luck with Silberberg.

 

[DrBowtie]

I used it alone and got A's in both semesters. I don't really have too many complaints about it.

 

[swifteagle43]

Got flat Aces in Chem I and II. As a general rule of thumb if you are memorizing a lot then you are memorizing too much. You can probably count the concpts on one hand that you need for a test. You just have to know how to apply them. Don't focus on the micropicture like other kids do. Thing of the bigger picture and how the particular thing you are doing fits into it.

P1/V2 = P2/V1 V1/T1= V2/T2 both stem from the equation of PV=NRT...what makes this equation work? Because the numbers of moles is constant meaning (PV)/(R*T) will always equal N(the number of mols). Since R is a constant we now know P1*V1/T1= P2*V2/T2. from that equation you can derive both of the equations above.

Did you see how the bigger picture(PV=NRT) shows us the smaller pictures P1/V2 = P2/V1 and V1/T1 = V2/T2? If you think of chemistry in the bigger terms you will be fine.

 

[Hausdaddy24]

They make you buy a book for gen chem??? nah just kiddin but seriously
i never cracked my gen chem book and got A's both semesters. Best way to do well in chemistry- go to class every day and pay attention. As someone else has already mentioned the concepts aren't hard to understand but you do need to know how to apply those concepts. Look at the big picture (this seems like the advice that is always given no matter what subject we are talking about... weird). Well anyways good luck to you

 

[Moto]

Read slower, maybe you're rushing through too fast. I used the same book and loved it, got A in both semesters. I think you can still do well if you adjust you're study habits.

 

[LabMonster]

Just an aside... Does anyone else think there should be some kind of a pre-lab for any science course? I'm talking secondary school BTW. I like to do something first, read and learn about it, then do it again, but more advanced in lab - then I not only learn it, I seem to KNOW it.

Example, in advanced chem Freshman year of high school, I knew what was going on, but upon taking more advanced classes I actually understood what was happening rather than just memorizing (ie "learning") it.

To conclude this post third shift nonsense I'll say this: our structure of lectures + labs is wrong. We should be studying both, within the same class, with expanded time frames.

Struck a chord sorry.