Failing chem- HELP! (1 Viewer)

[j12onuzim]

Basically, I am failing chemistry and finding it so difficult and I only got 50% in prelims.

I can't seem to wrap my head around the concepts and calculations and have trouble with remembering the diagrams.

I also not only find remembering the dot-points difficult, I also find it hard to apply.

I don't want to drop chem since it is assumed knowledge for the courses that I am interested in at uni and I can't get a tutor either.

How can I improve? I actually want to aim for a band 6 in chem in the end if it is possible.


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[Queenroot]

1. Relax.
2. I'd like to tell you I'm bad at most of the calculations too, but I just did my HSC chem today, and I went fine.
3. Buy a past papers book

The best thing you can do, is go through the HSC past papers and try to learn the methods of solving the calculations.
Theory is all applied, and unfortunately, you just have to sit, relax and understand the concepts yourself. Once you understand somewhat, begin to apply your knowledge to past paper questions, then check the answers, see what you did wrong.

50% needs to go to 70% if you need a B6.

And look, if you can't wrap your head around all the oggly boggly calculations, make your theory top notch. At least, that's what I did.

 

[ocatal]

I was generally terrible at calculations as well. But once I got the hang of it, I actually preferred for there to be more calculation questions in exams.

Just practice doing a range of questions and you will be fine, as you'll be doing a lot of them in HSC chemistry.

 

[kvothe]

I found that chemistry is one of that subjects that will (hopefully) just 'click' for you one day. Things fall into place and you suddenly understand. This may happen for you soon, but you need to be calm and approach it with a clear head.

A few pointers:
- all chemical equations/calculations is about stoichiometry (i.e. the ratios of certain reactants and products, etc). Once you understand stoichiometry, you'll find it much easier. Look up a simple guide to improve on this.
- you need to know how conditions affect reactions in a general way. Why does increasing temperature increase the rate of reaction? It relates to the increased energy of the molecules which combine in the stoichiometric ratio of the reaction.

For remembering the content, it is a bit of a slog. Try and find memorisation techniques that work for you. I find that just writing it out by hand once usually makes it stick, and a couple of times if I need to remember really specific detail. But everyone's different.

But you won't remember anything unless you're calm! Stress reduces brain functionality and retention.

 

[someth1ng]

Chemistry is one of those subjects where you actually need to put a lot of time in to properly grasp the concepts - this is especially true at tertiary level. In high school, it's possible to get away with only a bit of work but to excel, you really need to spend like, an average of 30 minutes or so on chemistry.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Preliminary Chemistry I found was harder than HSC Chemistry.

HSC Chemistry is the application of Chemistry. Prelim is more like "what is Chemistry?".

You should be fine if you put effort into grasping the fundamentals of the course. You need to put effort into the development stage of each syllabus dot-point.

Once you have written down notes for the dot-points, you will find that you can easily remember stuff without having to read over your notes, because it can easily "click-in" once you understand the fundamentals. One read of your notes, and you can be ready to start doing practice exams.
To be anywhere near a band 6 you should do all the HSC papers from the past 10 years a few times each per topic. A good book for this would be Creelman Chemistry and such. When you have finished the course, you should do full exam papers under times conditions.

 

[strawberrye]

If you have any questions about chem-you are welcome to pm me for help
You can get a band 6 in chemistry-doing 3 things, 1)make sure you put consistent effort in this subject throughout the year-whether it is memorising, revising, understanding, practicing-do not slack off in the holidays 2)ask your teachers questions-homework, class lessons-anything you don't know, ask students who are performing really well, don't be afraid to ask if you want to succeed, you must understand all concepts-otherwise it will be a snowball effect 3)practice past HSC and trial papers for your topic as soon as possible, don't wait until the end of the year, make your own notes, and record whatever mistakes you did wrong-and do those questions again-avoid making the same mistake twice, and lastly, remember in your answers, if you can, put chemical equations or diagrams wherever appropriate-because this is a chemistry course, not an English course after all hope this helps-all the best