Tips to do well in and prepare for chemistry?

mommyrocks
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 13:39:23 +0000

My daughter has said that Chemistry as taught at her university is very different than the way it was taught in high school, so you may want to start with the Introductory Chemistry to ease into it.

My daughter aced AP Chemistry in high school and made a 5 on the exam, and it was all easy for her, yet in college she struggled in her Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry classes. I recently asked her why, and one thing she said was that her Org Chem professor had assigned “optional” homework that would not be graded. Since she was very busy with classes and a part-time job in a lab, she skipped the optional assignments. By the time she figured out that working through those “optional” problems was necessary to grasp the material and make an A in the class, it was too late and she made a B-. In Biochem, she had an A/B throughout the semester, but did so poorly on the final exam that it brought her grade down to a C. She is still mystified how that happened, but clearly the final counted toward a lot of that grade.

I recommend doing any and all optional homework you can, and stay on top of the material as it is presented. Also attend any tutoring classes offered to get extra explanations and practice (this is another thing my daughter could have done but didn’t do, as her university offered weekly tutoring). Although her experience was with chemistry classes at a higher level, the principles are the same. Chemistry builds on itself, and once you get behind in understanding it can be hard to catch up. Do whatever it takes to grasp the material as you go. Make sure you understand the material thoroughly and are well-prepared for the final exam. Pay attention to what counts most toward the grade in a particular class – whether homework, midterm exams or the final exam.