For many of us, it has been years since we have been taught chemistry; I know that I do not remember much.
I want to really understand Biology. I am truly excited about really comprehending it. However, I am learning that I may be putting myself in a bad spot with my lack of chemistry knowledge.
Did you take a chemistry class before enrolling in your biology class? Did you wind up taking your college bio and chem together even with weak chemistry knowledge?
I hate to delay the process, but even more than that, I hate to just ‘get by’ and not fully comprehend the fundamentals.
I went through the chem for bio majors book and various online videos. I do not have adequate knowledge in chemistry; the question is, is that the kiss of death for understanding biology? What did you do?
I believe that I will withdraw from the biology course and try to find a basic chem course, but I’d like to know how others approached this. I work and have a degree in an entirely unrelated field to bio, chem, or any premed sciences.
Thanks for your responses!
I’m going to take biology before chemistry but for a scheduling reason. I did take intro to chem before and a few classes as nursing prereqs that would be related to bio in some ways. But I really don’t know I might overestimate myself again as did with precalc. ( I thought it would be a piece of cake). But from what I did take before I dont remember much chem in it, just basics. Could be wrong though.
I’m taking an intro to chem course, like a pre-gen chem course. It’s a half semester and it’s for people with lacking chem skills. So the plan is to take that, then take bio, and then gen chem.
Edited - this class does not satisfy the chem requirement. I’m just taking it to get me back in the game.
I did not have any science in my K-12 education. When I went straight into biology for scientists (my schools bio 1 for B.S. seekers) it was my first and only intro to chem and all things science.
I read the book carefully and really listened to the professor, got help when needed and I did well. I think that you are fine without taking chem first, the bio book should spend sometime on intro chem. Just make sure to address any confusing concepts as they arrive.
Feel free to ask any questions you might have, and good luck!
Thanks for the replies! I looked at the dot diagrams, bond drawings, and read the professor’s warning about the intensity of the chemistry that I would encounter in the biology class. I got lost in the subshells and polarization areas. I had so many questions.
I watched a MIT Opencourseware video, and wanted to have the kind of enthusiasm and understanding for chemistry that the final speaker described. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemistry/5-1 11-princip…
I decided to take an intro to chem class like Chimichanga is doing (hey…mine is full semester…I like your shortened schedule!).
It was a letdown because I was SO excited to dig into biology, but I think going in prepared might allow me to really love the pre-med level chem course and to be able to focus on the biology concepts without getting lost in the chem detail.
In searching for video instruction, I came across one fellow on Youtube who is a fantastic teacher-- I mean the guy has a GIFT; he is a standout instructor. He is very clear and engaging. There is no monotone and no wasted time. His enthusiasm is obvious; he’s really fantastic.
If you’re working through this basic chem level or want to remember what you learned ‘way back when’, check him out (Tyler DeWitt). He is on several sites, including Youtube. You can find him here: http://www.knowmia.com/search?teacherId=5060
Veeone,
In most cases, for an undergraduate General Biology course little to no Chemistry knowledge is necessary, however, it certainly stands to reason that familiarity with chemistry subjects relevant to biological topics will help in comprehending new material. I took my biology course without any previous academic experience in chemistry and did just fine. However, I took General Chemistry I and II before taking Microbiology and I can definitely say that having that background helped reinforce some of the overlapping concepts.
To answer your question, though, I would say that being weak in Chemistry won’t spell death for you in Biology. However, you should do whatever you feel most comfortable doing.
Thanks for posting the links. I would have just taken Bio/Chem concurrently if you schedule allows it. Also, depending on how your instructor teaches Bio, in-depth Chem knowledge might not be necessary. I did some research on different schools in my area and the consensus seems to be concurrent enrollment is okay.
You are welcome! I hardly link to stuff unless I get really excited about something, and I truly think these videos are excellent for chemistry. A better way to access him is through his Youtube page; he has many more videos there: http://www.youtube.com/user/tdewitt451/video s
Thank you for the added advice. A few people are doing the courses simultaneously, so I will ask them later in the course what they think about their choice.
I guess we integrate a lot of chem in our bio courses. We did get a warning from the professors that chem must be understood because it would be used throughout. They said something to the effect that many students had historically struggled because their chem knowledge was just a ‘surface’ type of knowledge, and that we needed to be able to understand and apply it. I looked at the bio classes at other schools, and they did not seem to have the same chem emphasis, so it must vary.
I took Bio before Gen Chem this past year, having not taken any sciences in years, and it worked out okay. I was lucky to have a Bio professor who took some time to explain the relevant chemistry building blocks of Bio. My Chem professor was so terrible, that I think I would have fared much worse without my Bio professor’s intro to the topics! I think if you are willing to put a little extra time/energy into clarifying any confusing topics for yourself, you should be fine. (Which really applies to any coursework on this path I guess!!)