<p>I skipped Honors Chemistry and am a current sophomore. I just can't seem to grasp any of the concepts even while reading the Princeton Review Book and listening to the teacher's lectures.</p>
<p>Is there something I'm doing wrong? Should I be reading the Zumdahl book?</p>
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<p>Skipping honors chemistry. AP chem is hard; it’s nearly impossible to do well in it without any prior experience.</p>
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How? The Honors Chemistry kids are doing Stoichiometry right now, in MARCH. What could I possibly have missed?</p>
<p>Will colleges frown upon me if I have a B- both semesters or even two Cs?</p>
<p>Every single thing in the AP chemistry curriculum assumes that you already know basic stoichiometry. So because you didn’t take chemistry before, you’ve been spending the entire year learning the basic concepts that most people in the class already learned.</p>
<p>And unfortunately, yes, a C both semesters is going to be a significant negative. AP classes are meant to be hard, but that doesn’t mean colleges don’t expect you to do well in them.</p>
<p>^
But what exactly is so hard about stoichiometry? Grams divided by molar mass…</p>
<p>Stoichiometry involves balancing chemical reactions and predicting products - it isn’t merely grams over molar mass. I was good AP Chem student (A in the class, 5 on the exam, 800 on the SAT II) and I know a year of intense honors chemistry was integral to my success in AP Chem. It looks like you may have stretched yourself beyond your limits. Take the B-'s and learn your lesson. Hopefully one bad class won’t destroy you.</p>
<p>General Chemistry is alot of Math Based. If you continue down the Bio/Chem parts in college, you’re gonna have to master it at some point. </p>
<p>All in all, don’t worry about it. Just use your Runescaping abilities :D</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-merced/642309-chance-me-gulp.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-merced/642309-chance-me-gulp.html</a></p>
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Wow, you actually took the time to find that thread?..</p>
<p>I honestly can’t see how it’s possible to take AP Chemistry without Honors Chemistry as a prerequisite. Big mistake on your part.</p>
<p>You want to go to UC Merced. I believe it’s hecka easy to get into since it’s new. (learned that from the Chance thread)</p>
<p>If you don’t understand AP Chemistry, why not try to reread the textbook or read a different one that your teacher might have. Although Honors Chemistry can be beneficial, it’s still not necessary for AP Chemistry. There has been many students who took AP Chemistry without the Honors Chem or Regular and they still aced the class and some were able to receive 5’s.</p>
<p>Btw, I assume you’re a member for Runescape since being a member doesn’t bore you. (Stupid $5 fee)</p>
<p>I found it in the UC threads lol. Someone posted on it recently.</p>
<p>How much does reading the textbook help? Were we supposed to do that, or was listening to the lectures sufficient?</p>
<p>For me, I use lecture to supplement what I have learned from the textbook to clear up some misunderstandings.</p>
<p>^
Wow. I’m stupid. I should have done that from the start.</p>
<p>I took chemistry as a freshman and got c’s… now as a senior I’m taking ap chem I don’t remember anything from freshman year, don’t read the book, mostly don’t do the homework and I’m getting close to an A… The class is not that hard… its basic math… no problem solving… just memorization</p>
<p>yea a good understanding of basic chem is needed to succeed… or at least grasp the concepts for ap chem
the class is difficult and very heavily math based, you do have to memorize and be able to utilize the theory for problems
study your textbook and practice practice practice different types of problems!</p>
<p>First time I’ve taken AP Chemistry. I sleep in class. A’s. Do the homework if needed. Understand why each answer is what it is. AP Chemistry involves a decent amount of memorization and reasoning, but neither in a large quantity.</p>