Question about Gen Chem I--

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>For those who have been there, or those who are presently in Gen Chem I, I have a question: how much of the textbook are you supposed to be reading? </p>

<p>My background: Intro to Chem with Lab 5 credit hours, 4.0. Now I am in Gen Chem I at another school and--get this--there is NO LAB. It is lecture only, 3x a week, with one of those three classes the prof in front, doing an experiment for all of us (50 in the room) to watch. The remaining two classes the prof puts Power Point notes on the whiteboard. The assignment after that is to read the chapter (usually 30 to 40 pages) then answer the questions at the end of the chapter.</p>

<p>This isn't working for me. I think we are going too fast, and it seems to take me forever to read through all the pages and grasp ALL the concepts. I want to learn everything the correct way, the first time, so I take copious notes on every page of the book, there is so much material to learn. But when I showed how I am learning all this to my boyfriend--who has a B.S. Chem--he looked at me like I am insane and said "what? why are you reading the text if there's no exam? You just look at the power point notes the night before the exam!" He said he never read the text and nobody he knew did, either. </p>

<p>Not believing him, I asked another student at a different college and he told me that he has an online component that the class uses, and the text is only used as a reference guide. He said his studying takes him about 3 hours a week, and the same for writing up his labs (he has labs). </p>

<p>And yet I come to class and see students around me who plunk themselves down in their seats, open their textbooks, and start doing the (due that day) homework right then and there. How can they do it without having read the text? </p>

<p>Me? It's taking me 3+ hours a night, at least, to wade through the textbook, look at the graphs, examine the tables, the photos, etc. etc. I have no online component or workbook; the textbook is it. </p>

<p>Is this normal? How do other students do it, do they actually read every word in each chapter, like I am doing? I had an SAT Verbal score of 750, so my comprehension is pretty darn good! So--is it me, or is it the method of instruction at this particular school?</p>

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<p>I never read the textbook when I took Gen. Chem at community college. My professor’s lecture notes were more than enough to help me understand whatever concepts we covered in class that day (she was a really good professor–I miss being in her class, even if she was a tough grader. Then for the second half of Gen. Chem, I had a professor who literally lectured from the book, although the book used apparently changed by the time I got to take the second portion of the class), and I only glanced at the textbook to look at example Chem problems. </p>

<p>Also, how do you know those students didn’t read the text the night before? And there are people who take notes in class and just understand it immediately.</p>

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<p>I can’t imagine there are people who wade through 30 or 40 pages in one night and are able to absorb all the material and master all the concepts, vocab, laws, and math problems. </p>

<p>My dad was a chem professor (!) way back in the 1970’s at a STEM school, and he tells me that everyone studied massively, it was nothing to do 3 or 4 hours a day in each subject–and he says those kids were dedicated, hard-working (and primarily from Asia, no less). He says students even brought their sleeping bags into the lab! </p>

<p>Now, 40 years later my boyfriend says nobody works that hard, all you gotta do is focus on the instructor’s notes. </p>

<p>So, who is right?</p>

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<p>protip: you do not need to memorize all the vocabulary used. In fact, many professors will tell you to pay attention only to the concepts in the book that were covered in class. And once again, there are people who JUST get it. For example, I have a friend who can easily grasp concepts in Physics that takes ages for others to grasp because she easily gets it–the concept apparently comes naturally to her since she loves the subject, as well as Astronomy, so much. Also, you should have learned the concepts, laws, and how to do the math problems IN CLASS. The textbook is there to supplement your learning, or help clarify points that you didn’t grasp in class. When I learned about the molecular orbital theory, I had trouble grasping it in lecture whereas my peers understood it immediately (we had a worksheet assigned and due that same day during lab that covered what we learned that day), I had classmates turning in their assignments an hour into the lab…and they got As on their worksheet without asking for help.</p>

<p>Again, it depends on how students study. NEITHER your dad or your boyfriend is right.</p>

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<p>I read what the professor recommends. I don’t find it that hard. However, my textbook (Chang 10e) is quite readable and gets to the point.</p>

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<p>Okay, so, my question then becomes: do you all read the entire chapter of a book, word for word? If not, how do you know all the minutae that is being discussed in the text? </p>

<p>I’m just curious to know if all Gen Chem classes are like mine: no lab, and only 2 classes a week (45 mins each) where the instructor shows power point notes, then says, “go home and read the chapter”,–are students actually reading the entire chapter, word for word? Honestly? And if not, how do you know what to read, out of the assigned chapter? </p>

<p>I’ve was able to look over a Harvard Gen Chem I syllabus and it seemed way easier than our class. First, they are told in advance what will be on the exams. Second, theyare allowed to take a sheet with the formulas into the exams. Third, they are working with an extremely easy text (it’s on Kindle) and it reads like like a Dummies Guide. Honestly, I loved it! And after every 3 chapters the class took a week to review, prior to exams. </p>

<p>I did discover that we [an all-honors school] are going much faster than classes at other schools; our book has 20 chapters and we are already on 12, headed for 14. Other schools using the same text seem to be going up to 10, if that.</p>

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<p>My Gen Chem classes, both first semester and second semester, both had labs and were held 3 times a week for an hour and 30 minutes (this was at a community college, btw). I don’t read the entire chapter unless the syllabus says so, and again, my professor from first semester Gen Chem was so good at lecturing (she preferred to write things down on the board rather than use Powerpoint) that I didn’t need to read the book for her class, and during second semester, my professor (he was new at teaching) actually taught from the book itself. </p>

<p>Nobody here can tell you whether those students are actually reading the chapters word for word (and btw, some people can read chapters in Chem textbooks quickly and comprehend what they’re reading, especially the students who have taken Chemistry in high school, especially AP Chem, and this is just review for them, hence why they can seemingly do problems the morning their homework is due. The same can be true for any other classes) or just briefly looking at them, since we’re not them. </p>

<p>When you read an assigned chapter (assuming you’re to read each assigned chapter before each class meeting), you only lightly read it to get the basic concepts of it so that when you go to lecture, you’re not sitting there in class confused.</p>

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<p>I’m sure he was spending 16 hours a day on his schoolwork. :rolleyes:</p>