<p>I go to a really good small private school where I got and am getting an excellent science and math education. But, my chemistry class was a total waste. There was a new teacher, who the school fired, and his replacement wasn't much better. I ended up getting great grades but learning very little.</p>
<p>Now, I'm trying to figure out the best way to prepare for MIT. (I got in EA) I don't have much time during the school year since I'm busy with sports and classes. So I have to do something this summer. What would be best?</p>
<p>a. I could just study myself, but I might be missing stuff from not having labs.
b. I could go to a local vocational college and take a class, but I'm not sure how advanced the class would be.
c. I could fork out the $$ and go to some program to take AP Chemistry or maybe a better college class. I would rather not do this since I work (unglamorous job -- Target) and could use the money, but I would do this if it would make a difference in my life freshman year.</p>
<p>Well, I believe the introductory chemistry courses assume you have no knowledge of chemistry. Many students take the MSE "Solid State Chemistry" class (3.091) to fulfil their chemistry requirement.</p>
<p>No credit is given for AP Chemistry, so entering a program would be a bit of a waste (of money, at least). If you want to try to test out of the chemistry GIR, I would recommend going to OCW and working it out ahead of time. I have been told, however, that you can count the number of people who successfully pass out of the class each year on one hand, and most of the time, on your ears. Apparantly the course 3/5 profs are very reluctant about giving credit to anyone.</p>
<p>(Actually, Timur, it's just the course 5 profs who care about letting people out of intro chem. The course 5 department as a whole is a little, shall we say, eviler than most MIT departments.)
EDIT: I should disclose that I am currently studying for a final tomorrow in a chemistry class, and am JUST A LITTLE anti-chemistry at the moment. :)</p>
<p>The real question is what you plan to major in. There are two basic tracks for intro chemistry, 3.091 (the materials science/engineering dept's version), and 5.111/5.112 (the chemistry department's versions). If you're planning to major in anything for which you'll need further chemistry courses (biology, chemistry, chemical engineering, bioengineering, plus premeds), you'll probably do better taking 5.111 (the chemistry department class for people with only one year of HS chemistry).</p>
<p>If you're planning to do anything other than the majors I just named, do not pass Go, do not collect $200. 3.091 is the easier version of chem, so you'll be fine taking it even with a crappy high school background.</p>
<p>If you do plan to do bio, chem, etc... you'll want to take 5.111, and I would advise doing some sort of chemistry self-study before you get here. I was in the same boat freshman year, and took 5.111 with a bad HS background, and it was not a pretty picture. (Of course, don't forget that first term is pass/no record, so A = B = C = C-. :) )</p>
<p>It will be okay if you choose an option without labs -- intro chemistry doesn't have a lab component at MIT. Personally, I would just advise doing something to make yourself familiar with the concepts before they're thrown at you at top speed -- a class at a vocational school or self-study would probably be okay so long as you pick up a basic familiarity with the material.</p>
<p>Honestly if your motivated you can learn it yourself pretty easily.</p>
<p>The stuff (even for AP Chemistry) is still VERY basic and doesnt require much conceptual knowledge to know but more knowing different equations and facts. </p>
<p>You can prolly just check a book out somewhere tho without paying full price, and ya itll be boring w/o a teacher but shouldnt be THAT difficult. </p>
<p>My advice to you tho would be to do some independent studying tho, if you have to do some of the HS chemistry stuff in college you're going to be bored imo.</p>
<p>3.091 is unbelievably easy. It's almost hilarious. </p>
<p>Advice: If you really want to learn chemistry, and you give a crap about it (which is not true for the vast majority of kids in 3.091-myself included), I recommend 5.112. If you want to satisfy the GIR and let that be the end of your relationship with chemistry, and move onto the REAL sciences for god's sake (PHYSICS!), take 3.091. It's a breeze, there are no mandatory p-sets, and the class basically drops out of your life except for the day before each exam and a few days before the final. You get a 50+, nail that P, and you're done for good. You most definitely do not need a strong chem background entering this class- in fact, it felt a little extraneous. :(</p>
<p>Thanks all, particularly MollieB. Does anybody know what book(s) 5.111 uses and what the correspondance between the information taught in class is? If the class corresponds at least somewhat to material in some book, I'm thinking of trying to buy a used version of that book and then figuring out how much I don't know before proceeding further.</p>
<p>From the 5.111 website (which I don't know why I can access, because it's supposed to be accessible to only the current class, but whatever):</p>
<p>
[quote]
Atkins, Peter and Loretta Jones. Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight. Third Edition. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 2004. ISBN: 071675701X.</p>
<p>Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight/Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual. Third Edition. ISBN: 0716707403</p>
<p>(Bundled set. ISBN: 0716762544.)
[/quote]
As I recall, the class follows the book fairly closely -- at least, most of the problem set problems were from the book. They have changed books since I've taken it, though.</p>
<p>(Sidenote: Pebbles, you don't think 5.112 would be too hard for someone who didn't take AP Chem in high school?)</p>
<p>my son was one of those "on one hand" folks who actually tested out of 5.111 after arriving at MIT. He didn't take a high school course at all (although he did have a very basic lab). He used a text by Zumdahl, which he liked a lot. The explanations are very clear, and there are summaries at the end of every chapter which make it easy to review. That feature could also be to get a broad overview before taking the course.</p>
<p>Hmm... my approach to pass-no record semester was something like sink-or-swim: that you pull out the lifelines and go into the hardest courses that you can get into and use those courses to learn how to learn. You'll swallow some water at first, but you'll damn well either run smack into your limits or find out that you're capable of much more than you ever thought possible. What better time than pass-no record to explore your possibilities?</p>
<p>It's really the best advice I can give any potential freshman. Unless you really DON'T NEED IT (as is the case with engineers and 5.111/5.112) go for the harder classes and push your limits. Especially when you've never taken the course before (how would you know?). Sure, you may fall flat on your face and rethink your major, but you may also be pleasantly surprised :)</p>
<p>Thanks -- particularly to Mollie B, Texas 137 and asdf123; now I will find these texts and see how prepared or unprepared I am, so I can decide whether to try to learn the material myself or to try to find a summer course. </p>
<p>I always forget that I really didn't work as hard first term freshman year as I remember working -- I was still dating my high school boyfriend, and I was on the phone for upwards of two hours a night, plus sitting in the hallway talking to friends for probably about the same amount of time. And then I'd start psets at midnight the night before they were due and wonder why I never got any sleep.</p>
<p>So I'm always like "oh, my grades were so bad freshman year!" but I forget that I actually did not spend that much concentrated time on school.</p>