<p>Im concerned about the Gen Chem lab and have a few questions about the course. I would truly appreciate any and all feedback. Honestly, it has been a while since I was in chem and my current knowledge of chem is limited. Im afraid this might be a major issue. To be clear, I am prepared to work very hard in the course so that I understand and can do wellbut am afraid that this wont be enough.</p>
<p>---Is it assumed that students in Gen Chem lab have a lot of prior knowledge about the subject? </p>
<p>---Would it be impossible to do well in the class without a prior strong chem background? </p>
<p>---Is it hard to get the labs done in the allotted time?</p>
<p>---Does the professor expect that you know how to write lab reports or is a format for the reports given? </p>
<p>---How difficult is it to get additional assistance from the professor, TAs, etc if needed?</p>
<p>---Any additional tips for doing well in the class? </p>
<p>Thanks so much for taking the time to respond!</p>
<p>I did fine in the class, with my prior chem class in sophmore year of high school. There’s a lecture before every lab, but its most helpful to just go through the lab manual and talk to other people in the class.</p>
<p>Lab length will vary. Last year, first semester labs were every two weeks, so the labs themselves contained approximately twice as much material. Second semester had labs every week, and they definitely got out much sooner. I was never rushed for time, though.</p>
<p>The labs require three components: A prelab you turn in at the beginning, lab pages where you take down your data, and a lab write-up that is essentially a worksheet. Its very easy to pick up.</p>
<p>Your TA is available during lab, though some are more helpful/intelligible than others. They won’t give you answers for the most part, but they can be very helpful. Kit Mao has office hours and extra lectures, too.</p>
<p>To do well, just don’t screw up the labs, and do realllllllly well on the exams. The websites should show grade distributions, how many points was an a, etc…</p>
<p>AP-level chem will help A LOT with 112, but not so much with 111. Just for reference, I took chemistry in 10th grade, then my school’s version of AP in 12th grade (which probably would have prepared me for a 3 if I’d taken the test).</p>
<p>First few weeks of 111, I started feeling completely lost; I had no idea at all what was going on. And it didn’t help when someone on my floor tried to explain the concepts to me in 5 dimensions (fyi, don’t let people do this to you).</p>
<p>I stated going to at least one help section per week, staying the entire time, and often staying after the lecture just to listen to questions other people were asking. I joined a PLTL, went to it every week and did all the readings and problem sets. And I got the grade I wanted.</p>
<p>My advice:
Join PLTL
Go to a help session each week. PLEASE. They will explain new types of problems that <em>miraculously</em> will turn up on the test.
Skim the readings and do problem sets
Don’t let yourself get psyched out. People who act like they understand quantum mechanics in 5-dimensional space-time are full of ****</p>
<p>If you put in the time, you should be very happy with your result.</p>
<p>Your advice is good for gen chem (111 and 112); however, the OP was asking about the lab sections (151 and 152).</p>
<p>@stargazer3840</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Yes, there is a fair amount of knowledge that they assume you already know. It might help to review molarity/molality, the basics of redox, and sig figs.</p></li>
<li><p>I only took honors chem in sophomore year of high school so I found the lab course particularly challenging. I ended up with a B+ both semesters but if you put in a fair amount of time studying for the exams, you could most definitely get the grade you want.</p></li>
<li><p>Not usually.</p></li>
<li><p>The lab reports are in a worksheet format so that’s not really an issue. Be very detail-oriented in your lab notebook pages and you should be fine on that.</p></li>
<li><p>Kit Mao has office hours 4 times a week and there are TA office hours which I’ve heard are extremely helpful. You just have to find the right TA…</p></li>
<li><p>In my case, I did very well on the lab reports and labs themselves but absolutely bombed the exams. This doesn’t necessarily destroy your grade, but may prevent you from getting the grade you want. Make sure you thoroughly understand the concepts that you are applying in the actual labs. This will allow you to do well on the exams.</p></li>
</ol>
I took the only chem available to me in high school, junior year. We did not even cover redox reactions.
The fact that I didn’t know how to balance redox equations was a bit of an issue- even though there are review sessions for particular topics, they go far too fast for someone who has never even seen the material before.</p>
<p>However, so long as you’ve seen the basic material before, refreshing won’t be an issue.</p>
<p>1) You’re welcome for the advice you didn’t ask for.</p>
<p>2) 10th grade chem is good enough for 151, it’s not so bad (like 152 gets at times)–especially if they have it every other week.</p>
<p>3) COLLABORATE ON PRE-LABS. It’s not cheating, Kit Mao wants you to. I know people who’ve seen their lab grades rise by more than 15% by comparing pre-labs and looking into discrepancies.</p>
<p>4) Take all the practice exams and study the questions you did wrong. As much as things change, you should be able to get around the mean by memorizing how to do the old problems.</p>
<p>5) Don’t be afraid to ask your lab TA questions. If you get lucky and have a good TA, they can really help you figure out what you’re doing when you get confused.</p>
<p>6) Skim tutorials, but don’t stress about them too much; the questions about them on the tests are often too impossible to study for.</p>