I Hate P-chem!!

[jv00927]

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This is the first time I'm going to vent out my p-chem II frustrations in SDN. I really just hate the class. I hate the professor even more. I have a p-chem II final tomorrow and I'm really scared but also very ready to get the whole thing over with. It's by far the only class the makes me regret being a chem major. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand p-chem. Anyway, I'm just glad that tomorrow's test would be the last p-chem test I will have to take in my life (I hope 🙁 ). I'm sure having p-chem will help me in medical school...(yea, I wish).

 

[kirexhana]

This is the first time I'm going to vent out my p-chem II frustrations in SDN. I really just hate the class. I hate the professor even more. I have a p-chem II final tomorrow and I'm really scared but also very ready to get the whole thing over with. It's by far the only class the makes me regret being a chem major. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand p-chem. Anyway, I'm just glad that tomorrow's test would be the last p-chem test I will have to take in my life (I hope 🙁 ). I'm sure having p-chem will help me in medical school...(yea, I wish).

yea, i was like that last quarter too. but my current class trumps pchemII in uselessness in med school. it is called writing for chemistry. x_x

 

[MDGuy07]

yea, i was like that last quarter too. but my current class trumps pchemII in uselessness in med school. it is called writing for chemistry. x_x

Physical Chemistry (Quantum Mechanics and Thermodynamics) were my 2 favorite classes of my entire college education. 🙂

 

[kirexhana]

Physical Chemistry (Quantum Mechanics and Thermodynamics) were my 2 favorite classes of my entire college education. 🙂

i had thermodynamics and kinetics. i think they trained me to be a better thinker and analyzer, but aside from that, i retained no substantial knowledge.

 

[njbmd]

This is the first time I'm going to vent out my p-chem II frustrations in SDN. I really just hate the class. I hate the professor even more. I have a p-chem II final tomorrow and I'm really scared but also very ready to get the whole thing over with. It's by far the only class the makes me regret being a chem major. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand p-chem. Anyway, I'm just glad that tomorrow's test would be the last p-chem test I will have to take in my life (I hope 🙁 ). I'm sure having p-chem will help me in medical school...(yea, I wish).

Hey there,
Good luck on your test tomorrow. Since you are a pre-med chemistry major, you will not have to face this again after tomorrow. Physical chemistry has always been the Chemistry major pre-med hurdle. You probably understand more than you think so kick some B--T and get on with your medical career.

Be fearless and relax.

njbmd 🙂

 

[MDGuy07]

i had thermodynamics and kinetics. i think they trained me to be a better thinker and analyzer, but aside from that, i retained no substantial knowledge.

I am taking an advanced kinetics course next year in my program. I'm a Chemistry major, and for us that is done in our third year. 🙂

Physical Chemistry is unlike any premed course out there. You can not memorize your way to a 4.0 in it, you have to understand the concepts and how things work in order to do well.

 

[herrf]

lol, do i feel your pain. i'm biochem so i only had to take pchem 1 and i hated it too. who cares how many ice phases water has? stay strong!

 

[LifetimeDoc]

PChem single-handedly killed my GPA. I regretted being a chem major after that, but it was too late. It resulted in a 11 year delay in applying to medical school. If you are pre-med, remember you don't have to be a science major to get in. In fact, it's sometimes easier to get in if you aren't. Good luck on your finals.

 

[novawildcat]

I <3 p chem. Pchem actually maks you think instead of memorizing 1000s of inane facts and simply spewing them out on your test.

 

[jackieMD2007]

Good Luck! 😀

If I can do it, you can do it!
I promise.

 

[MDGuy07]

I <3 p chem. Pchem actually maks you think instead of memorizing 1000s of inane facts and simply spewing them out on your test.

Exactly. This is why I think Physical Chemistry should be a mandated course for any medical school 😉

 

[kirexhana]

Exactly. This is why I think Physical Chemistry should be a mandated course for any medical school 😉

-_o...

 

[91Bravo]

P-Chem blows.

 

[austinap]

I have that final tomorrow too. Luckily, if your prof curves to the national average, the curve is huge. Something like a 75% raw score is in the 99th percentile. I don't mind p-chem per se, but I absolutely hate our professor. She's insane. Literally. She is completely off the wall. No matter what the hell you ask her, she response by telling you to think about the 'essence' of it. Good luck anyhow.

Edit: However, if you remember a bit of organic, physics, most of p-chem, and some of quantitative analysis, a 15 on the PS section of the MCAT shouldn't be much of a reach!

 

[akinf]

Physical Chem and all of chemistry is awesome. However, I am a biochemistry major. I do enjoy microbiology as well, but my school doesn't have "double major" programs in place, so I figured I could take the best of both worlds.

 

[MDGuy07]

-_o...

I want to take that Writing for Chemistry course you got to take! 🙂

We don't have anything like that in my program, we are kind of expected to "pick it up as we go along". Oh well 😀

 

[Slide]

PChem is kinda fun, in the fact that you have to think your way through questions and realize that it's about applying what you've learned, not memorizing (a big help on the MCAT), but the time invested in that class is not too much worth it, nor the knowledge immediately gained from it. I seriously doubt knowing the dynamics of a 3d particle in a box or stat mech will really apply in med school.

Oh yeah, if you're a chem major, the real hurting begins with PChem lab. Have fun analyzing the B constants for an HCl IR graph.

 

[jv00927]

PChem is kinda fun, in the fact that you have to think your way through questions and realize that it's about applying what you've learned, not memorizing (a big help on the MCAT), but the time invested in that class is not too much worth it, nor the knowledge immediately gained from it. I seriously doubt knowing the dynamics of a 3d particle in a box or stat mech will really apply in med school.

Oh yeah, if you're a chem major, the real hurting begins with PChem lab. Have fun analyzing the B constants for an HCl IR graph.

Haha, I've actually done that already. I thought that was pretty simple. Thanks to the magical powers of excel. I haven't gotten my grade back though (but I know I got those constants calculated correctly coz I compared them to the tabulated values). I just got done reviewing statistical thermodynamics, off to kinetics. This is going to be a looooooong night.

 

[Gentle]

lol, do i feel your pain. i'm biochem so i only had to take pchem 1 and i hated it too. who cares how many ice phases water has? stay strong!

I'm a Biochem major but in my school, we still have to do PCHEM I and II just as Chem majors. The only difference is that, we have an obtion of choosing wether to do Physical Biochemistry in for PCHEM II or take PCHEMII with Chem majors. But...yeah, it's not my favorite class neither.

Goodluck on your Exam tomorrow!

-Gentle-

 

[Gentle]

Exactly. This is why I think Physical Chemistry should be a mandated course for any medical school 😉

No way!

 

[Gentle]

PChem is kinda fun, in the fact that you have to think your way through questions and realize that it's about applying what you've learned, not memorizing (a big help on the MCAT), but the time invested in that class is not too much worth it, nor the knowledge immediately gained from it. I seriously doubt knowing the dynamics of a 3d particle in a box or stat mech will really apply in med school.

Oh yeah, if you're a chem major, the real hurting begins with PChem lab. Have fun analyzing the B constants for an HCl IR graph.

The Pchem lab is not that bad. My strategy is to start with the lab reports early so that I have enough time to analyze the data, calculate all the uncertainties and crap like that.

-Gentle-

 

[novawildcat]

Anyone who gets 2 solid A's in Pchem I and II should get automatic admission to med school.

 

[BobBarker]

What book do/did you guys use for P-Chem? My General Chem I professor wrote this book..

He walks around campus stroking his beard and talking to himself loudly in a tone very similar to as if he was lecturing or giving a speech.

 

[novawildcat]

What book do/did you guys use for P-Chem? My General Chem I professor wrote this book..

He walks around campus stroking his beard and talking to himself loudly in a tone very similar to as if he was lecturing or giving a speech.

I used the silbey and alberty text. It was horrible (but what else do you expect from 2 MIT professors?). I only used my notes for pchem.

 

[undercovmed22]

pchem ay? well, i need some help with some gen chem tonite...http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=280448 🙂 please help me!

 

[MDGuy07]

Anyone who gets 2 solid A's in Pchem I and II should get automatic admission to med school.

I would also support this rule. 😀 😀 😀 😀

 

[KAI1927]

This is the first time I'm going to vent out my p-chem II frustrations in SDN. I really just hate the class. I hate the professor even more. I have a p-chem II final tomorrow and I'm really scared but also very ready to get the whole thing over with. It's by far the only class the makes me regret being a chem major. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand p-chem. Anyway, I'm just glad that tomorrow's test would be the last p-chem test I will have to take in my life (I hope 🙁 ). I'm sure having p-chem will help me in medical school...(yea, I wish).

Yeah I was a chem major too, I always thought that orgo was supposed to be the rough chemsitry course, but I ended up loving organic, so I thought the worst was over. Then there came P-Chem, my least favorite course in college; maybe it was me, my professor, or a combination, but that class was the biggest chore of my undergrad career. All the more power to the people who liked it, but even if you don't, you can still do great on the MCAT without being a master of p-chem. And once its over, no other course will seem so bad.

 

[Slide]

Yeah thank god for excel, it would have taken 50 pages of paperwork to do all of the constants for my sample. For my class it's just that the lab reports take forever to write, because for some reason pchem lab reports have to be formal reports.

I do think, though, that PChem helps you on the MCAT, because it really sharpens your math skills and integrating concepts with the math and applying it. I know that some passages are kinda based on PChem lab experiments, like neon lasers.

And yeah I agree, getting A's in all of your PChem classes deserves automatic admission into med school. That class makes people cry.

 

[austinap]

Yeah thank god for excel, it would have taken 50 pages of paperwork to do all of the constants for my sample. For my class it's just that the lab reports take forever to write, because for some reason pchem lab reports have to be formal reports.

I do think, though, that PChem helps you on the MCAT, because it really sharpens your math skills and integrating concepts with the math and applying it. I know that some passages are kinda based on PChem lab experiments, like neon lasers.

And yeah I agree, getting A's in all of your PChem classes deserves automatic admission into med school. That class makes people cry.

I second the automatic med-school admission to people with A's in p-chem. Great idea, now lets just get it ratified!

I actually didn't mind p-chem. It was definately a chore, but I felt I learned more in these two classes than any others I've had. It really is just a thinking class. The labs were a ton of work though. They were separate 1 credit classes from the lecture (since not everyone needs the lab), and they were a ridiculous amount of work. They were interesting, but I probably put 15-20 hours a week into that lab, when I didn't put nearly that much time into the 4 credit lecture! Ridiculous.. We did get to do some pretty interesting things, and we had to do experiments such as designing and doing our own kinetics experiment, etc. Anyways, speaking of the devil, I'm going to go take the p-chem final now. Wish me luck! I didn't study...

 

[PomPom]

Physical Chemistry (Quantum Mechanics and Thermodynamics) were my 2 favorite classes of my entire college education. 🙂

The only way to really learn quantum is through the physics dept.

 

[MDGuy07]

The only way to really learn quantum is through the physics dept.

At our school, the quantum mechanics the chemistry department offers and the course the physics department offers are antirequisites.

While I acknowledge that there may be different things stressed, the material and the skills tested have to be very similar, or else they wouldn't be antirequisites.

 

[austinap]

I just aced my p-chem final. w00t! 😀

So now, about that all pre-meds with A's in physical chemistry thing....

 

[kupono3]

the only logical step after finishing physical chemistry is taking biophysics... much more fun

 

[PomPom]

the only logical step after finishing physical chemistry is taking biophysics... much more fun

biophysics = slacker class (when compared to upper level p-chem)
😴

 

[MDGuy07]

I just aced my p-chem final. w00t! 😀

So now, about that all pre-meds with A's in physical chemistry thing....

Congrats.

I would really like this A in phyical chemistry guaranteed admissions. 🙂

Then I wouldn't have to worry about anything 😀

 

[kupono3]

biophysics = slacker class (when compared to upper level p-chem)
😴

no, i agree, i just thought it was more fun

 

[ShyRem]

I hate to say this, but I really liked PChem.

Still need to get my bumper sticker: "Honk if you passed P-Chem!"

 

[MDGuy07]

I hate to say this, but I really liked PChem.

Still need to get my bumper sticker: "Honk if you passed P-Chem!"

Where can I buy that bumper sticker? I like it lol

 

[kirexhana]

I want to take that Writing for Chemistry course you got to take! 🙂

We don't have anything like that in my program, we are kind of expected to "pick it up as we go along". Oh well 😀

... ... no.... no you don't.

 

[austinap]

the only logical step after finishing physical chemistry is taking biophysics... much more fun

Actually my biophysics class was insanely hard. It was the first time they offered it here, but one of our take home tests took me around 40 hours to do over a weekend, and I'm usually a fast test taker! It took me just over an hour of the 2.5 allotted for the p-chem final. I loved the class and I definately feel I'm smarter for it, but damn was it a lot of work.

 

[austinap]

... ... no.... no you don't.

I agree... sounds like a ridiculous class. I do enough 'science writing' the way it is, with a few formal lab reports a week, etc. I can't imagine an entire class of just write-ups. If I ever take another writing class, it's going to be creative writing.

 

[MDGuy07]

Physical Chemistry requies you to THINK and PROBLEM SOLVE, which unfortunately, is not something premeds do.

Part of that is the system's fault, because how else can you eliminate the 90% of freshman premeds. Memorize and regurgitate is how.

 

[austinap]

Physical Chemistry requies you to THINK and PROBLEM SOLVE, which unfortunately, is not something premeds do.

Part of that is the system's fault, because how else can you eliminate the 90% of freshman premeds. Memorize and regurgitate is how.

I'd have to agree. I've had very few biology classes where there's really much 'thinking' involved. I guess it really depends on the professor. I personally liked p-chem and enjoy thinking classes.

On the other hand, I think rigorous thinking classes would weed out freshie pre-meds just as quickly as the memorize and regurgiate system that we have now. Actually, I think most students seem to be worse at thinking than they are at memorizing.

 

[MDGuy07]

I'd have to agree. I've had very few biology classes where there's really much 'thinking' involved. I guess it really depends on the professor. I personally liked p-chem and enjoy thinking classes.

On the other hand, I think rigorous thinking classes would weed out freshie pre-meds just as quickly as the memorize and regurgiate system that we have now. Actually, I think most students seem to be worse at thinking than they are at memorizing.

I agree with everything you said.

Let's be honest with each other. Most people here, myself included, don't give a rats ass about the material that is on the MCAT. We just do it because we want to get those two letters after our name. So, we spend 3 months MEMORIZING physics, chemistry, biology AND FORGET MOST OF IT BY THE TIME WE START MEDICAL SCHOOL.

Why do we forget it? Because..... just like premed courses, the MCAT is memorize, regurgitate and repetition.

And just like we've been doing our whole lives, we memorize and regurgitate ourselves through med school, get our MD. Then, we step out onto the job the first day and realize we don't know anything.

 

[PomPom]

I agree with everything you said.

Let's be honest with each other. Most people here, myself included, don't give a rats ass about the material that is on the MCAT. We just do it because we want to get those two letters after our name. So, we spend 3 months MEMORIZING physics, chemistry, biology AND FORGET MOST OF IT BY THE TIME WE START MEDICAL SCHOOL.

Why do we forget it? Because..... just like premed courses, the MCAT is memorize, regurgitate and repetition.

And just like we've been doing our whole lives, we memorize and regurgitate ourselves through med school, get our MD. Then, we step out onto the job the first day and realize we don't know anything.

For the same reason, I didn't do too hot on the bio section.

 

[novawildcat]

It is ashamed people hate pchem and find it more of a chore rather than admire how much human effort went into developing thermodynamics and quantum theory. You really have to have a good instructor and be good at basic algebra to like pchem. I couldn't believe some of the simple algebra and calculus my fellow chem majors couldn't understand. Pchem really is the class that actually EXPLAINS chemistry, not describes what is going on like gen chem and orgo do.

 

[LJDHC05]

It is ashamed people hate pchem and find it more of a chore rather than admire how much human effort went into developing thermodynamics and quantum theory. You really have to have a good instructor and be good at basic algebra to like pchem. I couldn't believe some of the simple algebra and calculus my fellow chem majors couldn't understand. Pchem really is the class that actually EXPLAINS chemistry, not describes what is going on like gen chem and orgo do.

um actually I enjoyed it, not very much though. It was interesting to see the little tricks that the old school pchemists were flipping that made data fit their model. The quantum mechanics concepts are a trip to think about philosophically though.