Jumping straight back into Gen Chem II

[wdwrn]

Hi all - I have taken Gen Chem I and received an A in the course, but it has been some years since then. I would of course just like to pick up and start Gen Chem II immediately this coming spring, but I know I need some sort of refresher. My current fall schedule however is pretty packed and I don't know how much time I have to commit to relearning Gen Chem I on the side. Any advice on how to go about this, for those of you that have recently taken both classes? Should I attempt to jump back into the second part of the sequence, or should I completely put it off until next Fall? Is it possible to refresh myself on certain topics in, say, a 3 week period (also - I wouldn't know what those topics would be). Another option is taking it as a five-week summer session, but I've heard that's incredibly tough due to how heavy the math can be. Ideally, I'd take Gen Chem II this spring, so I can start Organic in the fall. However, I obviously need to do well, and that's the priority.

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[Lucca]

Ultimately, the most important factor is what you think you can handle in your Spring semester. Personally, I think you should be fine in GCII. If you received an A in GCI you should, theoretically, remember the key concepts. GCII is mostly about reactions and using math to understand how those reactions work, GCI is only a conceptual requirement but I am confident that you could jump straight into GCII and be absolutely fine.

 

[operaman]

I would go ahead and do Gen Chem II this spring and see how you do. You can always pull the ripcord and take a 'W' if things look like they aren't trending toward an 'A.' PreMeds freak out about Ws but the truth is nobody really cares because by the time anyone is looking THAT closely, you're already past the big hurdles. I had a LOT of Ws and never got asked about them once. Ever. Worst case scenario, you get asked about it in an interview and you simply tell them you gave it a try but it had been too long and you needed to redo Chem 1. Done.

But you won't really need that because you're smart and because there are a LOT of resources out there to teach yourself everything you need to know. As someone who taught himself chemistry:

1) Find out what text your school will be using. Buy used copy 1 edition old (<$10) from amazon
2) Get your hands on a copy of the gen chem 1 and gen chem 2 syllabi
3) For every topic in the gen chem 1 syllabus you don't remember, go to Khan Academy (free) and find the requisite short video
4) Watch said video
5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you remember and understand all of gen chem 1
6) Now, go through the end of chapter practice questions from the textbook you bought in step 1. Usually the odd numbers have answers in the text. Do those.
7) For every question you miss, review that section in the text book and possibly re-watch the video from khanacademy
8) Start Gen Chem 2 in the spring and whoop arse
9) [optional] go to iTunesU and download some highly rated Chem 101 videos the correspond to topics covered in the syllabus from your school

Depending on how much you remember, you can probably cover the totality of the course in 4-5 weekends. Most of gen chem 1 is simple math, unit conversions, using the periodic table, basic formulae, some very basic quantum theory, etc. Khan academy also has great math refresher videos as well in case you find there's something you don't remember.

EDIT: If you have time, you can also get a running start at Chem 2 stuff using this same method and basically guarantee yourself an A. Good luck!

 

[Strudel19]

I agree with the first guy that posted. If you think you can manage it, I would say go for it. The concepts for G-Chem 1 carry over well. The "hardest" part is probably buffers, so study hard when you get there. Good luck!