Tips on getting an A in Chem/Physics?

[MD_Odyssey]

Please help. I'm doing so poorly in Chemistry-the lab and lecture. I just feel so hopeless.

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[deleted877060]

Gen Chem or Orgo?
Everyone learns differently but for me doing practice problems helped me more than reading notes from the lecture.
With regards to the lab -- it helps to know about your instructor's expectations and grading manners.

 

[663697]

Make sure you understand the fundamental concepts first. Once you have these down, head to doing as many practice problems as you can, keeping the concepts in mind. Don't just do problems for the sake of doing them -- use your errors as learning resources to understand the misconceptions you may have about a particular concept.

Also don't try to memorize your way around the problems. I see this too often, and you get lost if your prof decides to change one key part of the question.

 

[MD_Odyssey]

Gen Chem or Orgo?
Everyone learns differently but for me doing practice problems helped me more than reading notes from the lecture.
With regards to the lab -- it helps to know about your instructor's expectations and grading manners.

Gen Chem II

I'll do more practice problems.

 

[altblue]

+essentially all the above advice.

Start well in advance. Like a week before each exam.
Don't look at an answer key. Instead have someone demo the process to get to the answer like a tutor.

 

[MareNostrummm]

Do all of the assigned practice problems TIMED. Start off by giving yourself 2 minutes per problem. Then reduce the time down to 1 minute. If you can solve a problem fast and logically then come time for taking the midterm you'll crush it and be one of the first to finish (go back and check your answers!).

 

[altblue]

Do all of the assigned practice problems TIMED. Start off by giving yourself 2 minutes per problem. Then reduce the time down to 1 minute. If you can solve a problem fast and logically then come time for taking the midterm you'll crush it and be one of the first to finish (go back and check your answers!).

Keep in mind that the amount of time per problem probably differs with how the class is taught. Getting the physics problems at my school right in a minute on average is some genius level ****... i was at about 4 minutes a problem and easily cleared an A+. if anyone can do a minute average that they should probably do a physics phd instead lol

 

[DameJulie]

If you grab a random gen chem problem and show it to your professor/TA, they will solve it and you'll mistakenly say "Wow! They're really smart! They did this entire problem through without even looking at the answer key!".

I had a few TA crushes because of this. They just seemed so effortless.

 

[DameJulie]

Practice problem is usually key to doing well in chem/phys, especially calculation ones. By doing them you will get a feeling of how your prof will ask on exams.

So just spend your nights and weekends doing assigned problems over and over again, and it should become natural during exam.

 

[DBC03]

One thing that didn't exist when I was taking chemistry is Khan Academy. I took chemistry 20 years ago, but had to relearn most of the concepts for the MCAT. Now, granted, I HAD taken it before, but watching a ton of Khan Academy videos and doing as much practice as possible helped me to get caught back up again. Some of the concepts seem really tricky at first, but you will (I hope) eventually have that "aha!" moment. One thing I'm doing in Physical Chemistry this semester is reading the book and doing practice problems before I get to class. I felt really lost just last week (professor said that was normal and it appears that the rest of the class is even more lost than me). But I have found that by looking over the material and attempting it before class, I have more of those "aha!" moments during class when the professor is explaining the material. Then I go back and redo some of the problems and start to see how the concepts and the numbers and the calculations all fit together. It takes a while and involves a lot of effort, but it seems worth it. So you might want to try getting a little ahead and reading up before class so that you're reinforcing what you learned while you are in class (and supplementing with Khan Academy videos as well).

 

[Gurby]

Get a private tutor BEFORE you tank your grade.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Totally unrelated, but I had to do a triple take reading the thread's title. I read it as chem/phys, which was a course we had in high school. I was thinking to myself, "Wow! Someone from high school is already applying to medical school?!" I feel really old now. 🙁

 

[altblue]

Totally unrelated, but I had to do a triple take reading the thread's title. I read it as chem/phys, which was a course we had in high school. I was thinking to myself, "Wow! Someone from high school is already applying to medical school?!" I feel really old now. 🙁

I thought they were talking about the MCAT C/P and was like why tf do they think they get letter grades?

 

[Turkishking]

I don't think you need to spend money on tutor if you are able to go to your prof's office hours. You can get help directly from them, they will explain it in a way that he wants you to learn, and you will be better prepared for his quizzes/exams. A private tutor will not be as specific and might bring in new ideas that confuse you. So do ALL HW problems three times each, go to office hours to have him check them/go over the ones you don't understood.

I agree. Although I have a friend of my parent who has his PhD in physics help me, tutors found on my campus charge 40 dollars a hour. Which is absurd!

 

[DBC03]

Some schools provide free tutors through the library or other places on campus, so definitely look into that option as well!

 

[CbasCoC2016]

What @DBC03 said is true. I might not be the brightest student but having on campus tutoring has really helpful. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have gotten A's on my chem/calc classes