Looking for encouragement. I currently have a 4.0 at my 4 year university I’m attending. That’s going to change this semester now that I’m taking college algebra. I start chemistry this spring and I want to hear from others who are bad at math and on this journey! How did being bad at math affect you? Thank you
Obviously it is repetition, so work hard and you will wonder why that scared you. Also, you are in 2nd year, so it will be demanding to keep a high GPA with a weak entrance Math. Med-School is little math so no worries. I would pay attention to Algebra since that is the important level to know. You can buy a book anywhere and just follow the principles or motions already in any Coll. Algebra text. Chemistry is taught better now than in the past, but it is rough for many students who have not been exposed to it before.
Khan Academy is good to fill in some gaps.
I agree, Khan academy is great. Watch the videos there and do the problems along with it. I have never been a natural with math, but what I can tell you is you shouldn’t approach it by simply trying to memorize how you did problem a, problem b, etc. You can’t study for chem like you would biology. As the math intensifies later in the course, the key is to understand the relationships between the variables. Understand the concept and the math becomes significantly easier. I went through my chem 1 and 2 using Nivaldo Tro’s book - the questions at the end of each chapter were great for me to gauge my understanding of the material, and i treated the as a test. Also, if by chance you are taking the ACS final for your class, the ACS general chemistry official guide is a must - and covers chem 1 and 2. If you find yourself still struggling, reach out to your professor before a test and ask if you can take a ‘practice test’ beforehand and have him or her grade it. The added bonus is when you get the A, your teacher will see first hand how hard you had to work for it.