chimistry

mystiq_e SG

me is j2 student taking h2 chem.

i wud say that chem is the weakest subject for me , ive been failing chem tests/exams many many times... I just find chimistry concepts confusing and difficult to apply.. oso, my memory seriously cmi. so memorising so many chem content is v difficult. I enjoy other subjects like math and physics but chem.. i just have no interest?? am dam worried about the coming a lvl arrrr.. any chem experts can give advice how to improve my chem?? or is it too late nw??

dkcx SG

First start by learning to how spell chEmistry even if its chim to u, the spelling still won't change.

If u don't say specific topics u have problems with, how u expect us to help? We can't be reviewing the entire chem syllabus.

mystiq_e SG

First start by learning to how spell chEmistry even if its chim to u, the spelling still won't change.

If u don't say specific topics u have problems with, how u expect us to help? We can't be reviewing the entire chem syllabus.

u see my memory is dam poor, thus organic chem is headache, physical chem is still alrite except for questions that require explanations..

dkcx SG

u see my memory is dam poor, thus organic chem is headache, physical chem is still alrite except for questions that require explanations..

I hate physical cos its too physics and i hate physics.

Organic needs alot of practice, keep drawing. Most of the reactions have logical mechanism u can draw out to see whether it works.

Hows ur inorganic and analytical chemistry?

lavastar SG

first of all, there is no shortcut for organic chem. u need to find ur own way to memorise and know the reactions/mechanisms at the back of your mind. what i did last time was to draw mindmaps and link up all the reactions on an a3 size paper. once i know the reactions, i just practised until the reactions comes naturally to me.

As for chemistry as a whole, understanding of the subject is very important. Maybe u can find examples in real life to help u understand chemistry better ( thats what i did ). I will give u an example. As u learnt in atomic structure, u learned that the attraction of the electrons by the positive nucleus gets weaker as the quantum shell increases, and also, when effective nuclear charge increases, atomic radius decreases. This can all be explained through a game of tug-of-war. Imagine u and another person is playing it, when the person pull, u will experience lesser force when ur further, compared to when ur closer. Also, when he pull harder, u will come nearer, which is the case of electrons and nucleus, isn't it?

There is also a lot of linkage between physical chemistry topics, which will be good if u can draw the link. For example, solubility of a substance ( covered in chemical bonding, a topic which links lots of topics in chem) can be linked to its solubility product , and its enthalphy change of solution in thermochem ( positive - insouble, negative - soluble). Also, Ionic bonding covered in chemical bonding can be linked to its lattice energy in thermochem( stronger the ionic bonding, more exothermic the LE)

having said all, i believe to do well in chemistry is to make sure u understand ur concepts and see how one idea link to another. The way to improve this is none other than practising, try doing questions and see if the ans match what u thought. For memorising topics like organic and inorganic chem, there is no easy way. U just need to find ur own ways to memorise.

Lastly, while practising, do look out for important KEY WORDS for particular questions which u cannot miss out as u need to write in a systematic way to score all points in chemistry. For eg to explain thermal stability of carbonates, u need to write about ionic radius, charge density, polarising power, distortion of electron cloud, weakening of C-O bond etc.

Good luck.