General Chemistry 1 doesn't seem that intuitive

[FallsZero]

I find gen chem 1 pretty easy, but like it doesn't seem that intuitive. I'm doing well right now because I'm just thinking of everything in terms of mathematical relationships, I assume this is what you do?

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[stickgirl390]

I find gen chem 1 pretty easy, but like it doesn't seem that intuitive. I'm doing well right now because I'm just thinking of everything in terms of mathematical relationships, I assume this is what you do?

You’ll excel in gen chem 2, which is all math.

Chemistry tends to be a math class disguised as science.

 

[deleted804295]

Just think of it as math in gen chem. They throw all these laws at you that have no relation to each other. They only become useful when you apply them using physics biology or high level chemistry.

 

[dr_kateb]

Well if you think about it chemistry is the study of interactions between atoms and molecules, and those interactions are really the result of physics. Physics is just applied mathematics. There's a lot of crossing over between the sciences but classes like general chemistry are taught as a weed out class, and of your university teaches it "right," a third of your class should drop out by the end of the semester.

 

[Osminog]

Gen Chem = memorization + algebra-based puzzles. Orgo Chem = memorization + remembering simple rules and imagining things in 3D.

 

[FallsZero]

Just think of it as math in gen chem. They throw all these laws at you that have no relation to each other. They only become useful when you apply them using physics biology or high level chemistry.

Thats what I thought dude, I'm just treating it as learning a new language and not trying to figure out the intuition behind everything

 

[Dagrimsta1]

Just make it to Ochem. Waaayyy better than gen chem math

 

[timephone]

I find gen chem 1 pretty easy, but like it doesn't seem that intuitive. I'm doing well right now because I'm just thinking of everything in terms of mathematical relationships, I assume this is what you do?

Lol as long as you're doing well it really doesn't matter. The problem is Gen Chem 1/2 lectures tend to be as you describe them, and the focus of the labs is on boring stuff like solubility and titrations, boring stuff that doesn't put you in danger of blowing yourself up. (I mean, I find titrations boring but if you're one of the 1% that love them then more power to you)

You really don't develop a love of chemistry until Organic Chem lab or Inorganic Chem. That's real chemistry. Gen Chem is all about establishing the ground rules, and the upper-level classes are where you learn why that stuff works the way it does. And then there's Biochem too, and there's so much depth in all of these different subfields!

I help lead a Gen Chem discussion class and I have lots of students who get frustrated that we "just want them to memorize stuff". For example, gas-forming reactions. Student was having difficulty, and I told him he just needed to memorize the cases. But then I showed him the mechanism by which, e.g. a carbonate or bicarb reacts with a strong acid to produce water + carbon dioxide + salt. He loved the visual explanation, but of course he didn't fully understand it b/c he doesn't yet have a strong grasp on solubility, or covalent bonding, or thermodynamics, or equilibria, or nucleophilicity/electrophilicity.

So trust your instructors in that you have to slog through the hodge podge of introductory stuff before you get to the interesting material. Just feel satisfied that you're doing well, Gen Chem can be a real struggle for many smart students.