Study Skills: How to Ace First Year Chemistry
First Year “Killer Chemistry” — that’s what they call it at the university I attend. Here are some tips that I hope will help you do well:
- Learn significant figures. If you do not learn significant figures, you will lose marks. Contrary to what most people think, learning how significant figures work is not actually very difficult. Make sure you learn the difference between the use of significant figures in multiplication/division operations versus addition/subtraction operations.
- Practise, practise, practise. Chemistry may seem hard at first, but the nice thing about it is that if you practise chemistry problems enough, you will find that there are a limited number of types of questions that can be asked. All they can do is change the numbers, but the problems are the same.
- Double check all your calculations. I know from TAing first year chemistry that the majority of mistakes are a result of “stupid mistakes.” Often a wrong number is inserted into a calculation or a step is missed and these little mistakes carry through all calculations and result in the wrong answer at the end of the question.
- Get help if you need it. If you are having problems get help from someone-go ask your TA, go to the help room or ask a friend. If you are having serious problems you will recognize it early and it might be necessary to hire a tutor.
- Study in advance. Don’t assume you can just learn it the night before. You cannot memorize chemistry; it is a very conceptual discipline and can be very difficult to learn the night before.
- Get old exams. If you know someone in second year or if there is a source on campus where you can obtain exams from previous years, get a hold of these and study from them and use them as practise.Old exams will give you an idea of what types of questions will be asked and also how hard it might be. They may also help you to learn how to study for particular examination formats such as multiple choice (particularly multiple choice since it is so widely used in first and second year courses).
- Talk to your professor. Most professors are human just like you and want to help you to learn. Drop in for a visit if you are having problems and often they will give you useful tips.
- Enjoy chemistry. If you think something is boring you will likely not be motivated to learn it. I can honestly say that for every university course I took that I enjoyed I also did well in.
Chemistry is really quite an incredible discipline of which applications span from drug synthesis to DNA purification to nuclear physics. Chemistry has changed the world and the actions of molecules are how God has chosen to let this world function.
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Actually Mina, there are great chemists who saw an inseparable link between their work as scientists and their relationship with God. Louis Pasteur began his career as a chemist and was the one credited with the explanation of the differences between the structure of tartrate and paratartrate crystals. He declared that he “looked upon them as direct evidence of the artistic expression of God the Creator.” (as quoted in J.H. Tiner, Louis Pasteur—Founder of Modern Medicine, Mott Media, Milford, Michigan, USA, 1990, p. 18.) Now M. Pasteur became much more renowned for his study in microbiology but he never lost his curiosity for how God revealed Himself in what He had created, whether it be the chemistry or microbiology of this world. He said, “Posterity will one day laugh at the foolishness of modern materialistic philosophers. The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. I pray while I am engaged at my work in the laboratory.” (as quoted in The Literary Digest, 18 October 1902)
Let me challenge you in your studies to be open to seeing God reveal Himself in the formulas and elements of chemistry. You might be surprised by what you find.
oh…nevermind. Just realized what site I was on…sorry about that. Ill go to a scientific site…
I dont see how God plays into tips on Chemistry classes, but other than that unnecessary comment, the tips were helpful.
Thank you so much for these tips! I’m currently struggling with first year chem but i love it too much to drop it.
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