ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE Science => VCE Mathematics/Science/Technology => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Chemistry => Topic started by: kenhung123 on December 08, 2009, 05:50:05 pm
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How important is it for your teacher? Or is a teacher mainly just to teach the basics and you study the rest at home?
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I don't think any textbook can fully encapsulate the chemistry course.
Chemistry is a weird subject because there will always be stuff that won't really make sense unless you ask someone else. It's important to have a good teacher who can explain things when you have questions.
If I could repeat year 12 I would learn every lesson from the textbook before I learn it in class, so I can have questions prepared
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I think a good teacher is very important. For me chemistry is only a subject that can be made fun if your teacher makes it.
Your teacher needs to have the right methods to teach you in a way that is quick and precise. The bad ones will take for ever and you still wont understand.
Doing all of this and also making it enjoyable is the key otherwise there is no motivation.
thats what i think anyway :P
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I think some students would do better without a teacher or the classroom interaction. This goes not only for chemistry but with most other subjects. These sorts of students tend to find classroom discussions confusing, they get muddled up by what's said and just lose confidence. They are not stupid but rather they do not fit in well and are unable to play active roles in classroom activities. In such cases, they would be much better off spending that time reading their textbooks and doing other work.
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I learn 95% of my stuff purely from the textbook. But I like learning from the textbook in class, not at home. If I try to sit down and study a textbook at home I get bored because there's no-one to talk to. Classtime is 50% self-learning and 50% chatting/mucking about.
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I learn 95% of my stuff purely from the textbook. But I like learning from the textbook in class, not at home. If I try to sit down and study a textbook at home I get bored because there's no-one to talk to. Classtime is 50% self-learning and 50% chatting/mucking about.
Really? No teacher teaching?
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Chem teacher was crap, textbook was crap. Arguing with friends in class was how I learned.
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I learn 95% of my stuff purely from the textbook. But I like learning from the textbook in class, not at home. If I try to sit down and study a textbook at home I get bored because there's no-one to talk to. Classtime is 50% self-learning and 50% chatting/mucking about.
Really? No teacher teaching?
Not that there's no teacher teaching, but such is the life when you go to a boys school - mucking around & talking about chicks ftw. :P lol
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Crap as in they don't know their stuff?
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I learn 95% of my stuff purely from the textbook. But I like learning from the textbook in class, not at home. If I try to sit down and study a textbook at home I get bored because there's no-one to talk to. Classtime is 50% self-learning and 50% chatting/mucking about.
Really? No teacher teaching?
Not that there's no teacher teaching, but such is the life when you go to a boys school - mucking around & talking about chicks ftw. :P lol
XD I know exactly what you're talking about.
And to kenhung, the teacher teached but I never really listened. I'm the type who tends to do his own stuff rather than listen to the teacher, no matter how good the teacher is. If you ask any of my teachers (excluding English) they'll agree.
For example my Physics teacher is an exam marker, and apparently he's a really good teacher as well. But he said to me once "We've already established that you don't need a teacher." Actually I do but not in the "normal" way, if that makes sense (very vague, I know).
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thats good that you can learn it all by yourself.
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Just quietly, kyzoo is a very special case - he used to turn up to year 10 top set streamed maths half an hour late, fall asleep in class and still get top marks. :p
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I think teachers can be quite an underappreciated and underused resource. They are just as good a resource as VN, and most decent teachers should be willing to help you when you have problems.
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Just quietly, kyzoo is a very special case - he used to turn up to year 10 top set streamed maths half an hour late, fall asleep in class and still get top marks. :p
I don't deny it (class behaviour) but that's only because I already learned that stuff a long time ago. But it's not the same this year; most of the stuff I've had to deal with I've never even seen before.
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Well, I mainly self taught the Chem course but I think it's important to have a teacher who really likes to answer Chem questions and is good at helping out. My teacher was really helpful in answering one-on-one questions.
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So chem teachers are not all that useful for teaching theory but just answering your questions encountered during personal study?
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I think that's pretty much it. I know that I usually read each chapter before class but sometimes when I didn't, I still found going home and reading the chapter myself helpful and asking my teacher for assistance the best way.
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It really depends on yourself, your teacher and your course. About a quarter of the stuff our school covered in Chem Unit 1 wasn't in the textbook at all so we had to rely on the teacher.
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Chemistry is a course that requires WORK, as in completing questions.
The fundamental logic is that, the more type of questions that you complete, the more you are prepared for various exam/SAC questions. I could guarantee you, that your mark will reflect the amount of work you have put in.
So, to answer you question, a teacher is there to answer your queries, to explain concepts you may find difficult exploring on your own that lies behind the query.
However, when you are capable of self-studying, as in being able to solve problems on your own and grasping all the knowledge that involves, a teacher may nolonger be necessary for you.
But it certainly benefits you when you have a teacher who is excellent at explaining Chemistry in class, who doesn't want to have their knowledge re-inforced by a pro? =P
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Oh definitely, you need to do the work. There's actually A LOT of questions that can be done as practice for Chem and you won't regret doing them. The midyear this year was insane.
Checkpoints has a large stock of questions - I strongly advise doing them before each SAC because I know I'd freak out if I had to do all of them two weeks before the exam. They take time, especially the short answer questions, especially if you're a perfectionist and would ideally like to do every question.
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Lets face it, for most people, chemistry is kind of a dry boring subject. I wasnt a big fan but i didnt totally hate it ... for one reason.. i had an awesome teacher who made it fun and told jokes.. i actually kind of liked the class because of that. He's gone now..got a different teacher... dont know how im going to do.
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Lets face it, for most people, chemistry is kind of a dry boring subject. I wasnt a big fan but i didnt totally hate it ... for one reason.. i had an awesome teacher who made it fun and told jokes.. i actually kind of liked the class because of that. He's gone now..got a different teacher... dont know how im going to do.
Chemistry is fun! I imagine molecules floating around in space in my mind and it helps me understand things like melting points, solubilities, etc.
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LOL, was it just me or were the electrolysis questions really enjoyable??
I also enjoyed the calculation parts of Chem. I hated spectroscopy.
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LOL, was it just me or were the electrolysis questions really enjoyable??
I also enjoyed the calculation parts of Chem. I hated spectroscopy.
Siff hate spectroscopy. I loved those questions where you get an NMR, IR and mass spectrum and it's like, go draw the molecule given this information. It actually felt like you were doing something real, if you know what I mean. I spent time looking for more of those to do them, although the one on the unit 3 exam ended up being straightforward
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Hey guys, what chem topics were most tricky this year? I want to get my head around it over the holidays to avoid falling into the trap.
Thanks
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Hey guys, what chem topics were most tricky this year? I want to get my head around it over the holidays to avoid falling into the trap.
Thanks
Try understanding NMR by yourself without a teacher helping you. :) That'll keep your brain exercised these holidays.
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Is that something quite a few found challenging?
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Is that something quite a few found challenging?
You just need a lot of practice. Just try to have fun with spectroscopy (includes NMR, IR spectroscopy, UV-visible etc.) and you'll be fine.
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And rote learn chemical pathways
It's the only way
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Chemistry is one my most enjoyable subjects when i really get into it. Really satisfying when your given a complexly worded equation and you manage to correctly balance it, and do a number of calculations based on it.
I'm currently trying to teach myself Unit 3 over these holidays. Currently up to Chapter 5 of Chemistry Dimensions which is spectroscopy. Probs start it on monday, but everything so far i've found is just built upon yr 11 stoic, just a bit more complex and extended, but just as fun :P
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And rote learn chemical pathways
It's the only way
And rote learn chemical pathways
It's the only way
Is year 12 chemistry and physics rote learning or more practise questions? I'm unsure because in previous years I got away with just learning theory with little to no question practise.
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And rote learn chemical pathways
It's the only way
And rote learn chemical pathways
It's the only way
Is year 12 chemistry and physics rote learning or more practise questions? I'm unsure because in previous years I got away with just learning theory with little to no question practise.
There's quite a few parts where you must rote learn. Like biochemical fuels etc
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What do you do to practise for Physics SACs and the exams?
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umm practice exams?
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Practice SACs work too!
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What do you do to practise for Physics SACs and the exams?
or even better, checkpoints!
they are in order of the topics so they are good for pre-sac (:
(i should have used them for psych this year ><)
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Heinemann is like most detailed chem book ?
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I used Heinemann :) it was great for questions.
Definitely need to rote learn Organic chemical pathways and biofuels. Also should rote learn how to balance redox equations by KOHES method.
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I used Heinemann :) it was great for questions.
Definitely need to rote learn Organic chemical pathways and biofuels. Also should rote learn how to balance redox equations by KOHES method.
So that means chemical analysis just needs more question practice?
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I think so. Definitely do heaps of practice for Spectroscopy questions!
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Hey is chromotography hard? Should I learn that too?
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I'm pretty sure it's in the study design so you should.
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Hey is chromotography hard? Should I learn that too?
chromatography is actually pretty easy. learn it and try and few questions, it shouldn't be that difficult, if you have any problems post up here:)
is spectroscopy which is a little more challenging, but after practice (which i have yet to do) it won't be too hard!
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Finished the chem unit 3 today (YAY), and i'd have to say:
Biochemistry was alright thanks to bio this year; as is all the stoic stuff (Redox, acid/base etc.)
Chromatrography is alright, i just think of Gel electrophoresis as the molecules are seperated by size and dispersion forces.
Spectroscopy, i found most of the questions regarding the graphs etc. alright, but i struggled a little bit with the actual theory behind it, like WHY each method is used as opposed to the other and HOW each method works. i'll probs review this stuff again
Organic chem is alright as well, really just extension from yr 11, (which i sucked at) so ill probs review it as well before the holidays finish.
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^ holy wtf so early, i haven't even started
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^ holy wtf so early, i haven't even started
omg, me neither. there's just so much to be done. when are you planning to start?
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^ greggler, for NMR technique in spectroscopy we don't have to know exactly how it works apparently, since its a bit too complicated. just know how to interpret data and such.
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^ greggler, for NMR technique in spectroscopy we don't have to know exactly how it works apparently, since its a bit too complicated. just know how to interpret data and such.
Correct.
However understanding how it works does help you understand how to interpret the data although you won't be tested on the technicalities of the process.
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Vex, where did you hear that?
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Vex, where did you hear that?
well TT just confirmed it, but originally from Collin Li:)
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Thanks