What are some tips do well in Chemistry?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgia State University
1

What are some good tips to get an A in principals of chemistry and the lab?

2

Do you really have a Chem course called that?

3

Ya its called Principals of Chemistry 1211

4

General Chemistry I?

5

Id assume its comparable to that. I took pre-calc last semester and this semester Im taking my first college chemistry class with a lab and also calculus 1. I was wondering what some tips would be to get A’s in both of those technical classes. I got an A in pre calc

6

At Georgia State Univ., Chem 1211 is called “General Chemistry I” in the online departmental course catalog.

7

Ah, I see it’s “Principles of Chemistry I” in the undergraduate catalog.

8

Class:

  1. Go to every lecture.
  2. Do every problem you can get your hands on. If things don’t go well on even one, enlist another student to work through it or go see the TA about it.
  3. If the professor offers old exams for study, do every problem on them.
  4. Thoroughly review what you learned about precision and rounding.

Lab:

  1. Read through every lab the night before.
  2. Arrive on time to the lab.
  3. Do not leave the lab until you have arrived at the answer with your data.
  4. Write it up EXACTLY as shown, legibly and completely.
9

The book for this chemistry is close to $250. Is that normal? Can it be used for other chemistry classes?

10

Science textbooks can be pricey. A lot of work goes into the problem sections and there are new editions…

Well, I’m sure you can refer to some items in it in the future. Maybe the second term of general Chemistry uses the same textbook.

Maybe there is a rental option, but the other materials in the package will be necessary, too.

11

Hey, I was a joint enrollment student who took CHEM 1212 over the summer (got my 1211 credit from AP). I also found the material to be relatively easy and got an A+

Tips:
Always go lecture, take good notes, and understand the examples made by the professor. The college makes the exams, and usually textbooks don’t have problems that represent test questions. Lecture examples will represent test questions.

Use the study guides and practices exams because those practice questions are very similar to midterm and finals questions.

For lab, take good notes during lecture because a lot of your points come from quizzes/lab finals. Make sure you always write down your measurements and know how to do calculations. Most people are willing to help or explain cause there is usually downtime during experiments.

Invest time into your lab report and ask your lab professor for help and tips about how to write a good one. LAB IS YOUR CHANCE TO BRING UP YOUR GRADE AN ENTIRE LETTER.

Lastly, make friends or people to study with. I was a shy high school kid, but making even a couple friends made lecture and lab way more enjoyable and I could ask for help or reminders for due dates and stuff. Good luck!