- Joined
- Jun 25, 2004
- Messages
- 1,758
- Reaction score
- 23
to begin, i enjoy chemistry and its application-based orientation (more practical science).
now my professor gives us an outline powerpoint presentation of each chapter he wants us to read, and 95 percent of the time, the outline powerpoint presentation and the professor going over the outline in lecture is enough to answer questions on his test. The reason why I say 95 percent of the time is that, there's always some ambiguity when everything is condensed and me being a perfectionist, when i read the chapter, i can spend way too much time overanalyzing things (it's my nature), and a chapter that should take an hour or two can take like 5-6 hours oftentimes with mebeing more confused from the textbook than from the professor's in-class notes.
Most kids don't read the textbook so far but we've only gone through kinetic molecular theory, and the gas laws. Yet the textbook goes into way too much detail for explaining these laws, when all you need to know is for example PV=nRT.
I feel like if i only pay attention to the professor's notes, i will not adequately be prepared for chemistry in future classes, and when i take the mcats i won't have a deep understanding of chemistry. I also realize that chemistry is like math, and most of the time you don't really need to think in-depth like biology to get the answer (you just do it). however, the textbook can make something that is extremely easy such as gas laws into something very hard (bad textbook in general). yet, i fear that when chemistry gets tougher (when we get into chemistry topics that i DON'T know yet [so far everything we've done is review, like the stuff we do in chemistry regents]), that i will need to resort to the chemistry textbook when i'm in doubt. so i figure it's better to start out now and get used to it, instead of later when everything gets harder.
i feel like if i don't understand chemistry deeply then i will lose when i take the mcats, and when i need to use it in med. school and as a physician.
now my professor gives us an outline powerpoint presentation of each chapter he wants us to read, and 95 percent of the time, the outline powerpoint presentation and the professor going over the outline in lecture is enough to answer questions on his test. The reason why I say 95 percent of the time is that, there's always some ambiguity when everything is condensed and me being a perfectionist, when i read the chapter, i can spend way too much time overanalyzing things (it's my nature), and a chapter that should take an hour or two can take like 5-6 hours oftentimes with mebeing more confused from the textbook than from the professor's in-class notes.
Most kids don't read the textbook so far but we've only gone through kinetic molecular theory, and the gas laws. Yet the textbook goes into way too much detail for explaining these laws, when all you need to know is for example PV=nRT.
I feel like if i only pay attention to the professor's notes, i will not adequately be prepared for chemistry in future classes, and when i take the mcats i won't have a deep understanding of chemistry. I also realize that chemistry is like math, and most of the time you don't really need to think in-depth like biology to get the answer (you just do it). however, the textbook can make something that is extremely easy such as gas laws into something very hard (bad textbook in general). yet, i fear that when chemistry gets tougher (when we get into chemistry topics that i DON'T know yet [so far everything we've done is review, like the stuff we do in chemistry regents]), that i will need to resort to the chemistry textbook when i'm in doubt. so i figure it's better to start out now and get used to it, instead of later when everything gets harder.
i feel like if i don't understand chemistry deeply then i will lose when i take the mcats, and when i need to use it in med. school and as a physician.
