Things to know before General Chemistry 1?

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RuralPhysician8

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Hey, I am not dead, I was just away from the social networks for awhile; however, I suppose that is a technical coma in today's world :laugh: .

I have been studying general chemistry on the side throughout the last few months. I have mostly been watching a lecture here and there online then reading a little in my textbook. My plan is not to walk into to my freshman chemistry class and automatically know everything, I am just trying to make sure I have a decent grasp on the fundamentals to perform well in the class since the course my high school put me through was not at all effective. Stoichiometry, thermodynamics, and the basics of light have been my major areas of focus. Does anyone recommend another topic to have a firm grasp on before beginning college level chemistry? I already tried finding a syllabus from my intended university; however, it is apparently unavailable to students at the moment.
Thanks.
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RuralPhysician8 said:
Hey, I am not dead, I was just away from the social networks for awhile; however, I suppose that is a technical coma in today's world :laugh: .

I have been studying general chemistry on the side throughout the last few months. I have mostly been watching a lecture here and there online then reading a little in my textbook. My plan is not to walk into to my freshman chemistry class and automatically know everything, I am just trying to make sure I have a decent grasp on the fundamentals to perform well in the class since the course my high school put me through was not at all effective. Stoichiometry, thermodynamics, and the basics of light have been my major areas of focus. Does anyone recommend another topic to have a firm grasp on before beginning college level chemistry? I already tried finding a syllabus from my intended university; however, it is apparently unavailable to students at the moment.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Periodic trends, electron configurations, nomenclature, lewis structures, molecular geometries, gas laws etc... Some first semester gen chem courses also hit kinetics.

Good luck.

EDIT: I agree with what everyone else is saying though. But no harm would be done in being over prepared if you don't already have a life.

I would also mention that the key to success in gen chem is practice problems in the book. If you understand how to do those, you will excel.
 
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no. they will teach it all at that point. if you really want to get ahead, watch a few of the topics from Khan Academy but no sense on getting crazy now. make sure you fully understand scientific notation, logs, algebra, and those type of things and you will be fine.
 
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Understand the Periodic Table...

Honestly, if I were in your shoes I would take Gen Chem without pre-studying and work hard once classes start... just to see if this is my cup of tea. There are courses along this path that make General Chemisty 1 feel like an elective class.
 
Gen chem 1 is the easiest of the pre-reqs. If you put in the time you'll be fine.
 
Stoichometry. I didn't have a good grasp on it and it caused me problems all throughout gen chem lecture and o-chem lab. Periodic trends are definitely helpful, dimensional analysis should come in handy too.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone, I will definitely take a look at periodic trends and electron configuration. I am not necessarily having trouble in chemistry, but I am moving a bit slow with it so I thought it best to expose myself a little bit before college. I am also studying a bit of pre-cal, I ended up not being able to take it this semester and am finishing high school with another algebra credit, which is actually going rather decently; I was able to find a syllabus for the pre-cal course at my intended university, so I have been glancing at a few topics here and there. Back to chemistry, I really need to start doing more practice problems. I have a textbook with about 50 questions per chapter, but I enjoy multiple sources, so if anyone has a favorite chemistry workbook I would love to know the title. Thanks again.
 
OP relax, when I was in H.S. I was failing gen chem. I never even read the book but I got A's in Gen Chem 1 and 2 in college.

Just relax and wait for College to start.

If I were you I do a CNA/HHA/PCT/EMt course to get a PT job in a med. field.
And I would start looking at a place to volunteer at non med/med.
 
maybemed2013 said:
OP relax, when I was in H.S. I was failing gen chem. I never even read the book but I got A's in Gen Chem 1 and 2 in college.

Just relax and wait for College to start.

If I were you I do a CNA/HHA/PCT/EMt course to get a PT job in a med. field.
And I would start looking at a place to volunteer at non med/med.
Click to expand...

Do not worry I am not stressed about the class, I like the subject and am just exposing myself; I am not up at 2am balancing equations. I am stressing a bit about the latter since so far the only PT job certification I can find in my area is an EMT class that just got accredited a few weeks ago and a local gym that I heard will teach personal training to all its employees. I already have a non-medical volunteer workplace, I have been into community service since my sophomore year. I do appreciate your anecdote, thank you.
 
The best thing you could do beforehand is practice unit conversion aka dimensional analysis. It's probably covered early in your textbook and is the one skill you will use over and over in some way in pretty much every chapter and you'll also use it in physics and other classes. I've been tutoring gen chem for almost two yrs now and the students who don't get a strong handle on this early really struggle. It's not so much a topic to review but a fundamental skill you'll need to employ.

Other than that, just getting familiar w/the periodic table in a more general way might be helpful and some basic bonding stuff. Everything will be introduced in class but getting a good sense of some basics beforehand can't hurt.
 
I wouldn't sweat Gen Chem 1... Try to really understand concepts... 2 is where you will have to really apply it, even then it's probably not as hard as you think. Try to enjoy Gen Chem more than anything.. Do the hard problems you're not required to, have fun in lab, make friends. Trust me it will help
 
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ComfortCreature said:
Know what a logarithm is.

This and make sure your algebra skills are sharp. They'll help you quickly understand things like reaction kinetics, equilibrium, and thermochemistry.
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I could not agree more. Logs are one of those concepts that somehow dont become solidified even with a strong knowledge of algebraic identities etc. Often it can be too late. I didnt truly understand pKa or pH until grad school pharmacology. It took me one afternoon and a really caring professor to sit down and teach the class the basics from scratch. Knowing the underlying Logarithmic/exponential concepts will be the foundation for Acid/Base Chem and Kinetics.

Honestly, maybe I've just been unlucky, but I've noticed some of my professors along the way making concepts more complicated than they really are. And then other professors would come along and simply lay down definitions/paradigms logically and with clarity. So my own contribution towards advice is cast a wide net and be sure to seek out your TA along with professor's office hours and maybe even youtube videos/mcat prep books as supplement to just your textbook/lecture.
 
I hated quantum numbers more than a anything, but I guess that falls under electron configuration. Chem 2 is coming much easier to me. Math and macroscale properties appeal to me more.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
FCMike11 said:
I hated quantum numbers more than a anything, but I guess that falls under electron configuration. Chem 2 is coming much easier to me. Math and macroscale properties appeal to me more.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

This, I actually had a discrete on the MCAT about quantum numbers!
 
This was said before, but unit analysis/dimensional analysis/unit converting is key.

Stoicheometry is another foundational skill that will serve you well. I hear that Kahn academy is good for this. But really, stoicheometry is applied balancing equations mixed with dimensional analysis.

Someone also said that gen chem 1 is the easiest of the pre-reques. That was not true for me. Intro bio was easiest, gen chem next, then physics and the king of pre-med killer classes was Organic.

Enjoy the ride.

dsoz
 
dsoz said:
This was said before, but unit analysis/dimensional analysis/unit converting is key.

Stoicheometry is another foundational skill that will serve you well. I hear that Kahn academy is good for this. But really, stoicheometry is applied balancing equations mixed with dimensional analysis.

Someone also said that gen chem 1 is the easiest of the pre-reques. That was not true for me. Intro bio was easiest, gen chem next, then physics and the king of pre-med killer classes was Organic.

Enjoy the ride.

dsoz
Click to expand...

I will definitely be hitting stoichiometry pretty hard. Understanding periodic table and the concepts behind will be another branch of studies. I am mostly concerned about chemistry because it is the science I have the least exposure to, as well as physics; however, I will worry about the latter after pre-cal. My main strengths are in my memory and my reasoning skills are not that bad either so my strongest subjects have always been biology and most social sciences; mathematics (I always manage at least a B, but I have to study much harder) are my weakest and chemistry will probably be in between. Thanks a ton everyone.

One last question though, say I was considering a one semester certificate program with my freshman year. Considering the program is three night a week, would you say it is feasible with a schedule of...
- BIO 1
- CHEM 1
- foreign language
- Pre-cal

Sorry if I am moving off topic, I just do not feel the need to make another thread for just this question. Thanks.
 
I thought Gen Chem was the hardest class out of all my pre-med requirements. My teacher was a monster and she purposely stayed up at night to make the test more "comprehensive" (ridiculously hard). I spent 6 hours a day in the library, 7 days a week and got a C. However, this class taught me how to study and gave me good study ethics.
 
dsoz said:
Someone also said that gen chem 1 is the easiest of the pre-reques. That was not true for me. Intro bio was easiest, gen chem next, then physics and the king of pre-med killer classes was Organic.
Click to expand...

👍

Biology and Physics were both easier. Chemistry (of any kind) makes me want to jump out of a building...over and over again. +pissed+

OP: My advice would be to work on stoichiometry and review your logs!..That'll get you started in the right direction. You can learn everything else in the course.
 
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RuralPhysician8 said:
Considering the program is three night a week, would you say it is feasible with a schedule of...
- BIO 1
- CHEM 1
- foreign language
- Pre-cal

Sorry if I am moving off topic, I just do not feel the need to make another thread for just this question. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Just a thought: If you're not planning on taking Calculus, you could take Statistics in lieu of Precalc. I didn't find precalc incredibly helpful for anything.
 
That it is harder than it seems and gets used as a weed-out course... and it can be really fun if you have a cool prof and lab partner, or it can really suck if you have the opposite...
 
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