[jgillespie]

I am trying to learn chemistry but have to do so outside the disciplined environment of university. I did not become interested in chemistry till I was in my thirties, and several years into family life and a non-chemistry career. 

I've managed to work through Brown Lemay and Bursten's chemistry text and Ege's organic chemistry text, as well as texts on physics and calculus.  This took me a couple of years but I have managed to stick with it and be consistent despite the sometimes extreme limitations of time and energy.

I am eager to continue but am at a loss on what approach I should take next.  Is it way too early to focus on a particular area of chemistry?  Or, given my situation, should I do nothing but zero in on a particular area of chemistry?  If so, how narrow should the scope be?  Specifically, I am interested in eventually studying some niche in biochemistry, but am willing to forgo that if it is wise to go in another direction for now. 

Can anybody suggest what steps to take next?   What would you have me do? 

[Borek]

Looks like you have omitted physics chemistry so far. IMHO GenChem, PhysChem and orgo should be a prerequisite to biochemistry.

[jgillespie]

Do you mean physical chemistry (p-chem)?

[Jorriss]

Yes, P-chem is physical chemistry.

Once you've covered general chemistry the 'generic' path is organic, followed by physical chemistry with inorganic chemistry taught before, during or after p-chem depending on how it is taught. An analytical chemistry lab is taught somewhere in there too, at my school and my previous college it was taught around the same time as organic.

Now that you've done general chemistry, organic and have the necessary physics and math background, you should move onto physical chemistry, and if time allows, inorganic chemistry.


For physical chemistry, try and get a textbook like Levine or Atkins imo, they're pretty standard but fairly good. For inorganic, I like Miessler myself.

If you want a somewhat non-standard route for physical chemistry, get McQuarrie's physical chemistry book which teaches quantum first.


You could technically specialize now but the only thing you could specialize into is organic. Before thinking of speciliazing get a taste of all the fields - organic, inorganic, physical, biochemistry and analytical.

[jgillespie]

Thank you for your help.  A coworker loaned to me McQuarrie's book. Long-term loan, fortunately. Don't know what to do for a lab though.  Should I even worry about that right now or just work through the book?

[Grundalizer]

There is a bumper sticker that says, "honk if you passed p-chem" because it is known as one of the hardest classes in the chemistry major.

This is not to discourage you, but to tell you that if you find it hard, you are not alone.

P-chem is usually broken into two sections, quantum chemistry (quantum mechanics) and thermodynamics.

Depending on what you study first, there are many easy physical chemistry labs you could do at home.

Get a spectrophotometer....go look at different light bulbs in your house, or even Neon gas signs etc you see outside of sub shops, you will see they have different wavelengths.

Calculate the energy of a particle in a box...

Make your own homemade bomb calorimeter and try to measure the energy released during combustion.

Look into Khan Academy, that is a great place for learning TONS of science and math concepts, and he is quite famous now on the internet and is supported by the bill and melinda gates foundatin.

[jgillespie]

Thank you very much for your *delete me*

[jgillespie]

Thank you very much for your *delete me*