Chemistry Dilemma! :(

chaoticmess

I'm seriously worried about chemistry on Tuesday.
We didn't have a very good teacher and I don't think I understand anything on the course.

Whenever I asked the teacher why you do a certain thing or why such and such a thing happens all she ever used to say was "because it might come up on your leaving cert exam" or "you don't need to know that, all you need to know is to learn this because it might be on your exam."

I don't think chemistry is a subject you can just learn. You have to have some sort of understanding to be able to remember things, and I just don't understand anything.

I need a C3 in it for my course, in the mocks I got a D1 and I haven't improved at all.

I don't know where to start to be honest. I tried just learning notes off by heart, but I only managed two pages before it gave me a headache.

I've tried looking online and I even bought a different book but neither seemed to help. I just feel like giving up because no matter how much I try I never make any progress. It's not down to lack of study, I've spent more time trying to understand chemistry than any of my other subjects, even maths.

Can anyone give me any advice on what I should do in the next two days so that I can get my C3. For someone who doesn't understand any aspect of the course!!

sarahisdeadly

Sometimes if you can get a friend to explain somethings to you it can help?
I've a good teacher but I really didn't understand anything about spectrometry or any of that before I got someone else to explain it to me.

I found the study hub eircom thing good for the experiments cuz you see the experiment being done on the video, that helped me remember those a lot.

chaoticmess

Unfortunately none of my friends do chemistry, I don't really know anyone else in the class but that would be a good idea.

I don't have eircom broadband - is it possible to access it if you aren't a customer??

I suppose what I'm wondering as well is what sort of areas should I concentrate my time on? The easier things that will probably come up.
I can do heat of reaction/neutralisation/combustion - those sort of calculations..... haha can't seem to think of anything else actually!

MaggieNF

i failed my mocks haha

but i reckon reading over notes and doin exam papers is the only way now, cos stuff repeats itself like, rather than trying to get a good grasp of it now

zam

This guy is really good: http://www.youtube.com/user/bannanaiscool
and there are plenty of other chemistry teachers who explain things simply on Youtube.

As well, I find that trying to study all of the titrations and then doing every single exam paper titration question can really help. And then correcting them with the marking schemes. They tend to be the same every year so you can start to notice a pattern which will probably appear on Tuesday. Good luck!

Mr Cawley

I find drawing pictures and visualisation is much easier to memorise compared to learning lines of theory

q1 titration Edta, imagine how you'd fill the long tube and what you used
q2 organic exper you'll have come across all of these before, fact
q3 depends on your knowledge of the course, draw them for fun!

q 4 bonding angles, a gas law etc
q5 petrol, what makes it good and bad
q6 rate/equilib rate- imagine you're mixing chemicals equilib-maths PRACTICE
q7acid/ph/water -small calc using a ph formula (practice), imagine water settling in a big tank
q8 organic (practice drawing out from formula) types of reaction, you can guess from the formula(was something added? -- an addition reaction. e.g. (c3h6 to c3h8) or taken away-eliminated?)

i would open the past marking schemes (examinations.ie) and read them for the day!
only look at your book if you don't understand the answers!
this should help
mr K

H2student

Mr Cawley pretty much said it all. I understood most of the course by looking at the marking schemes, then consulting the book if I don't understand where that answer came from. (usually only about bonds or calculations)

For some chapters, you need to understand it yes (like the beginning chapters about bonds etc.) but for chapters like Water, it's just straightforward trivia. Like, do you really need to understand filtration? It's just a process.

EuropeanSon

Practice as many Q4,5,6,7,8 as you can. They are very repetitive. Also, learn the whole "rinse the pipette with deionised water and then with the solution" thing for Q1, as it always comes up, you don't really need to know the experiments, just the procedures for using the equipment.

straight_As

I'd also recommend trying to learn the indicators and colour changes for each experiment. If you're only going for a C3, you can probably get away with not really knowing why different indicators are used for different experiments but that's no real biggy. They come up almost every year are usually worth a handy 9-12 marks.

chaoticmess

zam wrote: »

This guy is really good: http://www.youtube.com/user/bannanaiscool
and there are plenty of other chemistry teachers who explain things simply on Youtube.

Zam I think I've just fallen in love with you! haha!

Mr Cawley wrote: »

I find drawing pictures and visualisation is much easier to memorise compared to learning lines of theory

q1 titration Edta, imagine how you'd fill the long tube and what you used
q2 organic exper you'll have come across all of these before, fact
q3 depends on your knowledge of the course, draw them for fun!

q 4 bonding angles, a gas law etc
q5 petrol, what makes it good and bad
q6 rate/equilib rate- imagine you're mixing chemicals equilib-maths PRACTICE
q7acid/ph/water -small calc using a ph formula (practice), imagine water settling in a big tank
q8 organic (practice drawing out from formula) types of reaction, you can guess from the formula(was something added? -- an addition reaction. e.g. (c3h6 to c3h8) or taken away-eliminated?)

i would open the past marking schemes (examinations.ie) and read them for the day!
only look at your book if you don't understand the answers!
this should help
mr K

H2student wrote: »

Mr Cawley pretty much said it all. I understood most of the course by looking at the marking schemes, then consulting the book if I don't understand where that answer came from. (usually only about bonds or calculations)

For some chapters, you need to understand it yes (like the beginning chapters about bonds etc.) but for chapters like Water, it's just straightforward trivia. Like, do you really need to understand filtration? It's just a process.

The marking scheme idea sounds like it could work!! I'll definitely do that too!

EuropeanSon wrote: »

Practice as many Q4,5,6,7,8 as you can. They are very repetitive. Also, learn the whole "rinse the pipette with deionised water and then with the solution" thing for Q1, as it always comes up, you don't really need to know the experiments, just the procedures for using the equipment.

That's a good point. I tried writing out all the titration experiments beside each other and I noticed that it's pretty much the same thing for all of them! The titrations are one thing I do understand and can probably answer a question on, though it did take me a year and a half! (seriously!!) haha.

straight_As wrote: »

I'd also recommend trying to learn the indicators and colour changes for each experiment. If you're only going for a C3, you can probably get away with not really knowing why different indicators are used for different experiments but that's no real biggy. They come up almost every year are usually worth a handy 9-12 marks.

Well I need a C3, obviously would be great if I got higher than that but I don't think my brain is cut out for chemistry. If only my school taught physics!
But I will learn the indicators! And hope I don't get them mixed up! haha!

cummins_ellen

I have no motivation to study for chemistry at all

The weather and the fact that almost everyone else is finished is making it so difficult ...

Is really wishing that I looked at the leaving cert timetable before picking my subjects :P

Eire-Dearg

Not a good position to be in, I'm going into tomorrow without doing one single scrap of chemistry in about 3 weeks.

Victoria.

cummins_ellen wrote: »

I have no motivation to study for chemistry at all

The weather and the fact that almost everyone else is finished is making it so difficult ...

Is really wishing that I looked at the leaving cert timetable before picking my subjects :P

If it makes you feel any better I'm in the same boat!
I've acted like I got my hols on thursday ever since.
I'm wrecked after the french, history, biology marathon.:(
Starting today though hopefully.

cummins_ellen

Thursday night will be an amazing night out I'm going to drink my weight in alcohol

uncle-mofo

cummins_ellen wrote: »

Thursday night will be an amazing night out I'm going to drink my weight in alcohol

I'm also going to be ingesting copious amounts of the primary alcohol, C2H5OH.

EuropeanSon

uncle-mofo wrote: »

I'm also going to be ingesting copious amounts of the primary alcohol, C2H5OH.

My liver will be producing vast quantities of CH3C0H from the aforementioned primary alcohol. 8)

FordieMUFC

EuropeanSon wrote: »

My liver will be producing vast quantities of CH3C0H from the aforementioned primary alcohol. 8)

Some C2H5OH on tuesday night with some chips, salt and CH3COOH.

zam

I haven't learnt electrochemistry. Do you think there's any point at this stage? I'm scared it might come up in Question 2 or something like they put chromatography with Organic experiment in 2008.

H2student

They don't have an experiment for electrochemistry I think. Anyway, you'll probably get 0 like most of the country and they'll alter the marking scheme "fingers crossed".

aine92

I have left out all electrochemistry...So fingers crossed! :rolleyes:

wayhey

H2student wrote: »

They don't have an experiment for electrochemistry I think. Anyway, you'll probably get 0 like most of the country and they'll alter the marking scheme "fingers crossed".

There is a few experiments on Electrochemistry but they're not mandatory so don't panic bout them coming up in Section A. If you're alright on everything else I'd cover it but otherwise leave it alone. The experiments are okay because they all follow the same format, liquid, electrodes in them, etc. but the results are different and there's one (copper sulfate I think) that's a bit different. For Higher you need to know equations for the electrodes so if you're good at them maybe go for it... to be honest I'm focusing on "bigger" questions and sections between now and the exam, but yeah, the electrochem questions themselves on past papers aren't that bad so if you're a good crammer maybe they're a good option

MaggieNF

electrochemistry is only ever in an optional question i believe


i however have not done any organic and am completely ****ED !!!!!

H2student

@Electrochemistry.

I think it has only come up 3 times, ever in the chemistry paper (since 2002). Once as a short question, and twice as half a question. (2005 & 2009) All instances, you could easily skip it. This year might be the year they put tons of stuff about it but I doubt it.

The elctrochemistry is also an option, but we're talking about Electrochemistry I, a small chapter that we were all supposed to do (but my class haven't).

zam

H2student wrote: »

@Electrochemistry.

I think it has only come up 3 times, ever in the chemistry paper (since 2002). Once as a short question, and twice as half a question. (2005 & 2009) All instances, you could easily skip it. This year might be the year they put tons of stuff about it but I doubt it.

The elctrochemistry is also an option, but we're talking about Electrochemistry I, a small chapter that we were all supposed to do (but my class haven't).

I think it was on in 2009 as well if I'm not mistaken so hopefully they'll be nice and leave it out for us!

zoom!

Eire-Dearg wrote: »

Not a good position to be in, I'm going into tomorrow without doing one single scrap of chemistry in about 3 weeks.

Same here. I'm fine for chemistry though.

roll on summer 10!

Exam questions are the key, just practice loads!!!