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Topic: How to study correctly for chemistry?  (Read 4751 times)

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Offline mememehere

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How to study correctly for chemistry?
« on: November 28, 2009, 10:27:58 PM »
Eg; you have a summarised chunk of info in front of you, extracted from a chemistry guidebook, how are you going to remember them well and apply them in answering questions?

I mean these infos are like mainly for your understanding...do you expect yourself to memorise? Cuz i do grasp the concept of these infos, is that i find it hard to explain accurately in words, and after which i will only have a vague memory of these infos, the fact that there are so many chapters to study...

But the main thing is that how am i going to study? This is my study method. I will compile alll the mistakes i have made in exam ( by looking through my sch chemistry file) and for the weaker topic refer back to tutition notes, guidebook and textbook and i will TRY to memorise them... And then do lots of practices on them.

But most of the time, i have so many weak topics in which i only have vague memory of them, depsite understanding them when i study that topic, and i tell myself that i got to commit to my memory...however there isn't enough time, and after a while, i will lose my interest..

I mean my exam isn't coming...i just want to be consistent...however, i will feel bored after a while when memorising chemistry and the worst thing is that, that may not solve the problem of having a weak concept of a certain. Please don't give me suggestion. Tell me where my faults lie and the better study method, step-by-step, pls...
Oh.. and writing notes doesn't help either...i will still have a vague memory of what i had written.

Offline renge ishyo

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Re: How to study correctly for chemistry?
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2009, 01:34:50 AM »
The short answer is that in the beginning you have to memorize and learn things as isolated facts. Everyone does; there is no way around it. Nobody pops out of their mothers womb saying, "Oh yes, I see the electron is flipping its spin when it interacts with light. *nod nod*" Nobody. A lot of the theories are disconnected from one another at first and before you can begin to study their connections you first have to "expose" yourself to the various ideas under study. This is the stage you are at, so don't worry about understanding everything right off the bat. In time, after many many years of looking and re-looking at these same ideas over and over (and OVER! I am still doing this!) again, you begin to make connections between the various facts and "build" an overall feel for the subject. That's when you start understanding the subject. Both chemistry and physics work this way; you start in a bubble of confusion not really getting what it is you are studying, and then as you do more and more you slowly begin to put it together piece by piece. For physics this is especially so, and you need to know physics to truly understand chemistry...

Unfortunately I do not think there is a shortcut to true knowledge in chemistry or physics that I can offer you. Euclid once told a prince, who was complaining that geometry was hard, that "there is no royal road to geometry," and let me assure you that there is no royal road to a true understanding of chemistry and physics either. Even the truly great books in the fields, such as the Feynman Lectures on Physics and Linus Pauling's The Nature of the Chemical Bond, require that you have at least gone through and exposed yourself to most of the basic ideas about either subject before you tackle them (and even after that, they are STILL hard!). This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The fact that you HAVE to study your butt off for many years to really understand what is going on is one of the big things that gives either of these subjects their value.

Offline mememehere

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Re: How to study correctly for chemistry?
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2009, 01:13:18 AM »
Actually I am give a short time about 2 years to study for chemistry well...but i wanna get good results...I am taking the O levels.

But there are so many chapters to study and overtime, some of these concepts and information are so vague in my mind. And, i have other 8-9 more subjects to study.. so how can i ensure that i remember all these infos very well? I need to have a studying method which is effective and efficient..But before that, what do ya'll think of my studying method? Please do comment about it.:)

Offline JGK

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Re: How to study correctly for chemistry?
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2009, 11:45:37 AM »
There is no one answer to studying, if there was everybody would be taught it on the first day of school. You have to find what works for you which is a process of trial and error. On a personal note for me , this meant rewriting my class notes over and over till it sank in.

As for the time element everybody I know has 2 years to study for O Levels (I did when I took them).
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Offline mememehere

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Re: How to study correctly for chemistry?
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2009, 10:51:55 AM »
Then how to know whether you have a grasp a concept well in a each topic? I mean how are you going to know?
Also, i look around this website and i saw posts saying that write out main points on note. What does it meant by main points? Is it the concepts, written in word form? The note suppose to allow you to recap info fast i presume?

Then, what's the difference btwn inflammable and flammable? Please give examples:)

Offline DrCMS

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Re: How to study correctly for chemistry?
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2009, 12:04:55 PM »
Then, what's the difference btwn inflammable and flammable? Please give examples:)

In this case the letters in are the only difference; both mean the same. 

For other English word such as direct and indirect the "in" bit means not.

Offline mememehere

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Re: How to study correctly for chemistry?
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2009, 02:43:34 AM »
Ok...then how about my study qns? Why isn't anyone anwering?

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