Introduction Chemistry or General Chemistry?

College Life
1

<p>I don't know which class to choose, so I'll write my situation and hope your suggestions will help me decide:</p>

<p>I'm a biology major who needs to take General Chemistry I and II. I haven't taken chemistry since my sophomore year of high school and pretty much forgot everything. I'm taking a Gen. ED. biology class now and we did cover over some of the basic chemirstry things but none of the mathematical stuff involved with chemistry. I can take Introduction to Chemistry but I'd be behind a semester and I don't want that. I also don't want to go into General Chemistry not knowing what I'm doing and the professor expecting the people in the class to know a lot of the information already... Here are my options:</p>

<p>Plan A: I can take Introduction to Chemistry and get a brief overview to help with General Chemistry I, but I'd be behind a semester and this is something I'd rather avoid. </p>

<p>Here's the course description for the Introduction Chemistry course from my school website:</p>

<p>This course will provide beginning students with certain basic knowledge and skills, which will enable them to be successful in the first semester of General Chemistry I, CHM 1045. The students will learn elementary principles of modern chemistry, including basic measurements, chemical bonding, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, concentration of solutions, and chemical nomenclature. Prerequisite MAT 1033. (3 hr. lecture)</p>

<p>Plan B: I can go straight into General Chemistry I, but I don't want to be lost with the material and feel overwhelmed. I am the type of person who is willing to put time into the course and learn things in depth, but I'd be going into the course not remembering anything from the high school chemistry class I took.</p>

<p>Here's the course description for the General Chemistry course from my school website: </p>

<p>First half of the CHM 1045-1046 sequence for science, premedical science and engineering majors. Students in programs requiring both courses must complete the CHM 1045-1046 sequence prior to transfer to a senior institution. Major topics in modern chemistry include: stoichiometry, atomic structure,bonding, thermochemistry, acids and bases, solutions and gas laws. Prerequisite: CHM 1025 or high school chemistry with a grade of "C" or better; corequisites: CHM 1045L, MAC 1105. Special fee. (3 hr. lecture)</p>

<p>Please help me decide! Thanks :)</p>

2

<p>I am just a high skool senior so im sorry if im not v. knowledgeable in this stuff but why dont u take intro to chem now and then take general chem 1 during the summer??</p>

3

<p>I was going to do that, but I plan on taking Calculus in the summer, and it’s one of those classes that I wanted to dedicate the entire 12-week semester to entirely.</p>

4

<p>I can’t make the decision for you, but here are some thoughts to consider.</p>

<p>A lot of General Chem students don’t remember anything from sophomore chem in high school and are just as nervous as you are.</p>

<p>It sounds like the first semester of General Chem is mostly conceptual, as it is at most colleges. The second semester will get into equilibrium, thermodynamics, and possibly kinetics, and there will be more calculations then (all of it algebra).</p>

<p>The biggest stumbling blocks General Chem students typically have are understanding significant digits, balancing reactions, and doing stoichiometry calculations. If you can get a good grasp on these, you will be in much better shape for learning the rest.</p>

<p>Going to your professor’s or TA’s office hours is a good thing! You can also take advantage of the web – if you don’t understand something, Google it, and click through the hits until one makes sense. I love Mark Bishop’s online chemistry textbook: [An</a> Introduction to Chemistry - Bishop](<a href=“http://preparatorychemistry.com/]An”>http://preparatorychemistry.com/)</p>

<p>Good luck whatever you decide!</p>

5

<p>It’s not a big deal. I to didn’t take chemistry since my sophomore year and I still did fine. I thought intro and gen would be the same thing btw but I guess not. it’s probably a better idea to just take the Gen chem with the gen bio. I’m also a bio major on a pre med road and that’s what most people do.</p>

6

<p>I would say that General Chemistry is hard to jump into if you didn’t take chem in high school. I struggled with it. It was very fast-paced, but it was review for about 95% of the people in the lecture/lab I took.</p>