G Chem gen'l sigh

I love chemistry, always have always will. I love sitting in lecture and relearning things I knew 29 years ago. Love it (there is NO sarcasm there whatsoever).


I’m excited to take my first test and see how much I have learned/retained. Can’t wait to get into thermo and organic… but…


Lab is kicking my butt. Thank God I have an awesome TA willing to help (he understands where I want to go, how long it has been for me since I had basic chemistry, and how much I’m willing to do to be very successful). Tonight, my lab partner and I were struggling with a redox equation … he saw mine and asked questions on why I had written as I had (which clued me in, it was wrong :D)… then worked with me to understand some very basic chem.


I point blank asked him if I should have dropped down a class to the lower chem, and he emphatically said no (phewwww!!!) but said that I was doing everything right in trying to “catch up” to where my classroom peers are.


He’s awesome! I love chem! I am getting my butt kicked in lab.


That’s all - hope all of you are having a great day!

Hey me too! Well ok my butt kicking stems from being clueless with excell and having to do all our calculations on the god forsaken program.


Good luck! You’ll get it. It should all just suddenly click and you’ll be like I was with the hand smack to forehead over the M1V1=M2V2 problem.

Gawd, I hope so. Our first major exam is next week - I’d like to get a 100% on it; I’ve printed off prior semesters’ exams for practice, gone through many questions at end of chapters (and done well), am going to memorize the solubles and insolubles, plus the cations and anions, and thinking two days before the exam, I’m going to take the on-line one for kicks.


After that comes spectrometry, thermo; then organic (YEAH!!! - LOVE Ochem)…


Our lab is 20% of final grade and to me, it’s easy points. Just need to improve to where my TA spends less time teaching me basic chem principles, and more time answering the more theoretical questions I generally have (once he’s taught me basic chem, that is).


Posting this here? Leaves me accountable to all of you (which pushes me to do even better).


So for that, thank you!

We should form an online chem study group and meet in a chat room to shoot problems at each other.

That’d be a great idea if I could do it during lab. The lecture component I readily get as well as the associated math but the lab and lecture don’t coincide with each other i.e. I’m learning stuff in lab that I won’t get until two chapters from now… Almost like I’m pre-learning lecture material by being in the lab.


Seems odd to me. But I ‘will’ get it

Sounds good, guys . It’s not about being perfect with it on your first go. It’s about being able to learn things that don’t come intuitively. You can do it!

Thanks, Adam!


I’m missing easy lab points which is irritating me (I’m at a 92% now because of them which is still a solid A but, I’m not happy about it). BUT I’m forcing myself to learn “why” something was wrong rather than “it just was” so that I 1) don’t repeat the mistake and 2) can proactively think through what my expected result is (oooh, that hypothesis thing!) and see if my products concur.


I love this, really, really love this just hate missing points. Freaks me out a little. What a change 25+ years makes!

Over 70% of chem class failed our exam.


Of the 350+ students in the lecture hall taking exam, exactly 7 left before time was up.


When time was called, roughly 300 students remained scrambling to get their answer sheets filled in.


In lab, I’m around 98% and solidly getting 100% on the quizzes.


Test was brutal.


(PS: yes, I realize the math doesn’t work, but I counted those who left before time called and am guessing how many were scrambling vs those just reviewing)

Finally got the answer key today which contained the test and the answer key. I reviewed it to see just “how hard” it was with rested eyes and non-throbbing head (my littlest and oldest pup passed away the night before to my complete and utter shock and dismay).


It wasn’t. It was a standard test.



That’s a sigh of relief.


How’d you do?

Glad to hear about the chem. Sorry to hear about your pup. You have my empathy, jkp.

Thank you for thoughts about Abby… she deserved better than to suffer… for that, I’m completely dismayed.

Ohhh! I am so sorry to hear about your little pup! That is so sad. Coming from a mommy of 4 cats I offer my sincere wishes and deepest sympathy.


Mehgan

Keep after the chem class. I know exactlly how exceiting going back to school and learning new things or re-learning new things can be. I am discovering how much I have enjoyed going back to school. I only wish that I had considered taking Pre-Med classes rather than the Associates iN Criminal Justice.


I’m sorry to hear about your pup. I had to watch one of my wolf pups suffer from distemper and I had to pur her down. She was only three months old. Toughest thing that I had to go through so far. On the other hand I suspect that it set me up to deal with losing a patient latter in life.