Why do I Rock at bio but suck at Chem?

[pmarank]

Hey guys so these past two weeks have been hell because i have had 3 tough exam. I rocked my biology exam but im pretty sure i got destroyed in gen chem II. These are both intro classes but many ppl say that the bio class i am taking now is just as tough if not tougher than gen chem II.

So why is it that i am able to do so well in bio but i cant do as well in chem? I feel like when i study for bio i am REALLY efficient because i listen to the professors lecture that i have in a recording and then i take extensive notes. After obtaining great notes i memorize everything. As far as studying for chem goes i dont feel that efficient BUT i dont know how to be efficient in that class... its not like bio where you just memorize a ton of info.

Are these two subjects really that different?

How the hell can i be super efficient in chem like i am in bio???

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[Negrodamus]

You actually have do problems for chemistry. You can't just rely on memorization like biology.

 

[Barcu]

You actually have do problems for chemistry. You can't just rely on memorization like biology.

👍

Practice, practice, practice.

 

[pmarank]

👍

Practice, practice, practice.

Its not like i dont practice for chem... it just seems like bio comes more naturally

 

[evo]

You actually have do problems for chemistry. You can't just rely on memorization like biology.

+1. No matter how confident you think you are on solving a problem, you have to actually do it in order to grasp the underlying concepts. Keep on doing those problems until you can arrive at the correct answer within 30s. This becomes especially important in ochem, biochem and pchem where each problem often requires a lot of critical thinking to arrive at the solution.

 

[evo]

Its not like i dont practice for chem... it just seems like bio comes more naturally

For bio it's like "ya i know what this pathway is about, now moving on..." and on the exam, you just write down the pathway and boom, 100%.

For chem it's like "ya i know how to solve this problem because it seems really easy and the professor just went over a similar one in class" and on the exam, you will struggle.

Everyone has their own style, there is nothing wrong with liking bio over chem. But imho to succeed in a chem class, you really have to rely on your hands/experience instead of memorization.

 

[BJJ]

You don't suck at chemistry. I think throughout the entire semester of gen chem 2 I told myself how much I suck at chemistry and how awesome I am at biology. I studied my ass off and got A's in both cell bio and gen chem 2. Now I'm taking some gen eds and 2 upper level Bios, no chemistry, and I really miss chemistry. Chances are it comes down to how hard you work and how smart you work.

 

[omgyou8myrice]

I'll get flamed for this, but oh well. Biology is stupidly easy, chemistry is actually a bit difficult to master. Why do you think so many pre-meds flock like sheep to biology?

 

[maniacmath13]

I'll get flamed for this, but oh well. Biology is stupidly easy, chemistry is actually a bit difficult to master. Why do you think so many pre-meds flock like sheep to biology?

That's pretty true. You get out what you put in when it comes to a Bio class. Chemistry, Physics, and Math classes can be frustrating because some people will get it quicker than others depending on how good of a problem solver you are.

 

[SFGuy2011]

The first time I was in school, even the mention of chemistry or physics would make me shutter, and I think that's how it is with most people. This past time around, I realized that it's all what you make of it. I tried my best to think that I actually liked chemistry and physics, and other than physics lab, I think that I was successful using that method.

I think it also helps to take Biochemistry, because it ties Chemistry and Biology together. It did for me anyway.

It's never as bad as we make it out to be. You'll get there.

 

[blehm98]

I've managed As/A-s in chem every quarter so far by just doing the hw and studying (sometimes) the night before the exam
with bio i had to put in significantly more effort to nab the same grade, and studying the only night before was a bit less effective

some people are just better at some things than others, especially when interest factors in - i found evolutionary biology to be petrifyingly dull, and statistics puts me to sleep instantly, whereas chem is just riveting

the key to chem is just keeping at it until it makes sense, and finding a way to make it interesting makes it all that much easier. many people are just not good at chemistry though, and need to put in 10x the effort to just barely scrape the B+

 

[portlandpixie]

I'm the exact opposite... I struggle more in bio than in o-chem. However, it's not really because I don't understand the material, but more of how the exams are written in biology... my prof's exams are extremely muddled and ambigious. Moreover, I think chemistry is so much more logical than biology. From my experiences, bio is more like memorizing a whole bunch of stuff that only slightly relate to each other while chem is more straight forward. I enjoyed bio when we were learning like cellular respiration, photosynthesis, dna replication, and protein synthesis but now that we are moving into like plant physiology, classification, and anatomy I am dying from it. I don't care for plants at all.

But, to get good at chemistry, I suggest practicing like everyone has been saying. Really keep on top of lectures and read before class. Or atleast skim the pages. It really makes a difference in the amount of information I retain if I already know a little bit about what is being lectured on. It also allows you to identify concepts that you don't understand earlier so that you have sufficient time to figure it out/ask for help.

 

[raltima07]

Its not like i dont practice for chem... it just seems like bio comes more naturally

For some reason, I thought of the Salena Gomez song.....

 

[45408]

I'll get flamed for this, but oh well. Biology is stupidly easy, chemistry is actually a bit difficult to master. Why do you think so many pre-meds flock like sheep to biology?

It's not as easy as a lot of other majors, like marketing or communications, but it's easier than chemistry. I was a bio major, chem minor, and a chemistry major would have been more difficult for sure.

 

[BJJ]

It's not as easy as a lot of other majors, like marketing or communications, but it's easier than chemistry. I was a bio major, chem minor, and a chemistry major would have been more difficult for sure.

I really really really really think it depends on the type of student you are. I have met chemistry majors who had an extremely tough time with biology. I am better in biology than chem, but I really like them both so interest isn't a factor.

 

[Danlee07]

I remember I made a C on my first exam in Gen Chem and made some changes. It took me around 7-10 hrs to prep for the tests + actually doing the homework.

But, classes like that, it was some intense studying of looking at problems, why they were solved that way. It's not even about practice. If you're practicing more than other people but still not making the top score, then you're doing it wrong. It's only somewhat about your intelligence. Once you do that, you'll be golden. Same is applied to physics.

 

[HawaiiHereICome]

I'll get flamed for this, but oh well. Biology is stupidly easy, chemistry is actually a bit difficult to master. Why do you think so many pre-meds flock like sheep to biology?

Pretty much.

You can get an A in chemistry by memorizing how to solve specific problem types but this is time consuming. Instead take the time to truly understand what you are doing and you will get an A with the same amount of time required for an A in biology. If you suck at critical thinking this understanding becomes difficult. So learn how to think critically. Most students I've met don't actually THINK deeply about the material they cover opting instead for a superficial understanding of how to solve specific problem types.

 

[deleted357625]

for chemistry depending on a certain question you have to to know how to set up a problem to find an answer, there is minor memorization in gen chem.

As in bio it's you know it or you don't..

 

[Frazier]

Same as what everyone else said -- regurgitating it verbatim for good measure.

 

[Adaggiote]

Why don't you just spend more time with the material instead of claiming you 'suck' at it. Practice makes perfect. If you go home and practice a bunch of problems and apply your mathematical skills to those needed chemistry concepts, you will see a sharp improvement in your grade...

 

[juliedi]

I think that the two subjects are just different. Why are some people good at calculus but not as good at English, or good at history but not so great at statistics? Obviously chem and bio are easier to group together because they're both science, but I just think that they require different skill sets (as other posters have mentioned), and certain people may naturally find one easier than the other.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Try this.
Read the chapter before coming to class and do all the recommended hwk problems.

 

[hiyaman]

I'll get flamed for this, but oh well. Biology is stupidly easy, chemistry is actually a bit difficult to master. Why do you think so many pre-meds flock like sheep to biology?

I thought it was because the bio major fits well within pre-med pre reqs. Unlike some other science majors where you might get barred from signing up early for other science classes. I always had trouble signing up for bio classes when I was a chem major only.


Also to OP

what's troubling you in gchem? are you struggling with concepts or with calculation type problems? it might be both.
Gchem usually this is what I did

Read notes, do problems rinse and repeat.

 

[45408]

Try this.
Read the chapter before coming to class and do all the recommended hwk problems.

Interestingly enough, I never ever read the material in advance for college or med school, but I did do a ton of chemistry/physics/calculus homework problems.

 

[gettheleadout]

I'll get flamed for this, but oh well. Biology is stupidly easy, chemistry is actually a bit difficult to master. Why do you think so many pre-meds flock like sheep to biology?

Hiyaman is right, premeds don't "flock like sheep to biology" because its the easiest major in college, it's because half your major requirements are also required for med school.

 

[miabullitt]

Because your good at memorization but lack critical thinking

 

[circulus vitios]

Bio is memorization and gen chem is a few concepts and a lot of simple math.

 

[SFGuy2011]

Because your good at memorization but lack critical thinking

Ouch!

 

[Reaction]

Just work on questions constantly.. The difference is Chemistry seems to be more applied and mathematical whereas Bio is much more memorization(although you do need to understand concepts etc).

 

[afugazzi]

I think it's a bit more complicated than "chem is harder than bio." I sucked at gen chem, and was great at bio, ochem, and physics. Gen chem is a weird beast.

 

[Immutef]

I'll get flamed for this, but oh well. Biology is stupidly easy, chemistry is actually a bit difficult to master. Why do you think so many pre-meds flock like sheep to biology?

Alot more people are failing my Bio II class than my Chem II class. ,

I feel in many ways chem is sometimes easier as you can learn concepts and their applications as opposed to biology it seems that their is much more memorization with few shortcuts. In Chem you can often "think really hard" and solve a problem, and really not know a whole lot

OP-When studying for chem, it helps to do alot of practice problems (I don't actually do the problems, but just look at lots of solved problems). Alot of our chem tests are math based with a few conceptual/essay type questions.

 

[Ignatius M.D.]

It depends on your prof, school, and math talents. I'm weak in math so I get B-/C+ in Gen Chem/Calc even with hard work, but I get A's in Orgo/Bio. I'm willing to bet you will like orgo better. Many that struggle with gen chem like orgo more. This can obviously vary though.

 

[Yadster101]

Yea to be honest i probably do suck at critical thinking but it's not like critical thinking is something you can easily acquire. From the ap psych class i took in hs I would think that my critical thinking probably cant even improve much since it develops at a young age (i mite be wrong--just saying its from high school ap psych)...

I do spend a lot of time with the material but it just takes a while to get to the practice problems because I have to first understand by reading all the material/notes.

On a side note I would say chem is probably a more difficult major just because of the level of critical thinking required. Most ppl (at least most college students) are smart enough to be able to do well in bio IF they spend enough time with the material, whereas in chem you can spend all of your time with the material and still get stumped on a test when you encounter a problem the professor has never shown before that requires you to think critically about what you have learned and how you could apply it to the problem.

 

[Yadster101]

Lol i was just kinda hoping someone on this thread would be able to tell me the magical secret to studying for chem... I know read/do prac. problems, but isnt there something im not doing?? Is there any special sequence of reading/prac problms/ doing some secret type of note taking in lecture?? Haha i guess i just gotta spend EVEN MORE time with the material... good bye friends/family/sanity

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Yea to be honest i probably do suck at critical thinking but it's not like critical thinking is something you can easily acquire. From the ap psych class i took in hs I would think that my critical thinking probably cant even improve much since it develops at a young age (i mite be wrong--just saying its from high school ap psych)...

I do spend a lot of time with the material but it just takes a while to get to the practice problems because I have to first understand by reading all the material/notes.

On a side note I would say chem is probably a more difficult major just because of the level of critical thinking required. Most ppl (at least most college students) are smart enough to be able to do well in bio IF they spend enough time with the material, whereas in chem you can spend all of your time with the material and still get stumped on a test when you encounter a problem the professor has never shown before that requires you to think critically about what you have learned and how you could apply it to the problem.

Critical thinking capacity/skill is required but, unless you're a genius it alone will not get you very far. For the rest of us we create methods and refine cognitive pathways to maximize and optimize ( I.e creating a method of studying that works for you). So no excuses 😉.

Not to mention critical thinking skills and cognitive pathways are always changing. They aren't exactly the same thing as IQ.

 

[circulus vitios]

Lol i was just kinda hoping someone on this thread would be able to tell me the magical secret to studying for chem... I know read/do prac. problems, but isnt there something im not doing?? Is there any special sequence of reading/prac problms/ doing some secret type of note taking in lecture?? Haha i guess i just gotta spend EVEN MORE time with the material... good bye friends/family/sanity

If you're having trouble with a chapter try googling some lecture notes from other colleges.

 

[gravitywave]

gen bio = learn a few concepts, memorize lots of factoids, no problem sets

gen chem = learn a bunch of concepts, memorize a few factoids, many problem sets

the only concepts i ever really had to "understand" for gen bio were evolution and genetic equilibrium. the rest was just stuff to regurgitate on the exam. gen chem required being able to manipulate several systems for any given exam. you could get by with good algebra, but to do well you had to know what the equations represented.

 

[budda10000]

I'll get flamed for this, but oh well. Biology is stupidly easy, chemistry is actually a bit difficult to master. Why do you think so many pre-meds flock like sheep to biology?

My theory is
Lots of people are good at biology and despise chem/math/physics
Few are REALLY good at chem/math/physics and completely suck at general biology
Even fewer people are good at both.(I have never met someone like this)
Numbers and patterns people hate memorizing things and fact memorizers hate dealing with numbers and patterns. Fortunately med schools take both kinds of people Just major in what your good at and take as few classes in what your not good at as possible to maximize your gpa.
Math people also have terrible grammar so pardon my english.