Questions about studying chemistry units at the University of Melbourne

[Sloafs]

1. I know absolutely nothing about chemistry. I don't know its definition, what an atom is and so on. Does "Fundamentals of Chemistry" start from the absolute basics? Is the prescribed textbook absolutely necessary or are the lecture notes perfect? In regards to the lecture notes - how detailed are they, do they contain many questions and how good are they?
2. Same questions for "Chemistry 1" and "Chemistry 2" - are the prescribed textbooks necessary or are the lecture notes perfect, how detailed are the lecture notes, do the lecture notes contain many questions and how good are the lecture notes?
3. I know students can do "Fundamentals of Chemistry" in semester 1 and if they do well, "Chemistry 2" in semester 2. Does this mean that "Fundamentals of Chemistry" and "Chemistry 1" cover the exact same content?

[hobbitle]

1. I know absolutely nothing about chemistry. I don't know its definition, what an atom is and so on. Does "Fundamentals of Chemistry" start from the absolute basics? Is the prescribed textbook absolutely necessary or are the lecture notes perfect? In regards to the lecture notes - how detailed are they, do they contain many questions and how good are they?
2. Same questions for "Chemistry 1" and "Chemistry 2" - are the prescribed textbooks necessary or are the lecture notes perfect, how detailed are the lecture notes, do the lecture notes contain many questions and how good are the lecture notes?
3. I know students can do "Fundamentals of Chemistry" in semester 1 and if they do well, "Chemistry 2" in semester 2. Does this mean that "Fundamentals of Chemistry" and "Chemistry 1" cover the exact same content?

Yes, Fundamentals starts from zero. No, the lecture notes are never perfect but between them, attending lectures, and taking your own notes, you do not require the textbook. That said, the textbook can be handy for practise questions which you need to do heaps of to get good at them. Lecture notes contain almost zero questions. Same applies for Chem 2 (I didn't take Chem 1) but the lecture slides are worse. I used the textbook mostly for questions and less for conceptual understanding. Fundamentals isn't hard if you put in the work. Chemistry 2 is hard even if you put in the work. No the content of Fundamentals and Chem1 isn't 100% identical but if you're bright enough to get >85 in Fundamentals then you're bright enough to self learn any of the small parts that may be missing when you encounter them in Chem 2. 

[Sloafs]

Yes, Fundamentals starts from zero. No, the lecture notes are never perfect but between them, attending lectures, and taking your own notes, you do not require the textbook. That said, the textbook can be handy for practise questions which you need to do heaps of to get good at them. Lecture notes contain almost zero questions. Same applies for Chem 2 (I didn't take Chem 1) but the lecture slides are worse. I used the textbook mostly for questions and less for conceptual understanding. Fundamentals isn't hard if you put in the work. Chemistry 2 is hard even if you put in the work. No the content of Fundamentals and Chem1 isn't 100% identical but if you're bright enough to get >85 in Fundamentals then you're bright enough to self learn any of the small parts that may be missing when you encounter them in Chem 2.

I know some students just use the lecture notes but in your opinion, is that a good idea if they're not truly understanding the content?

If I really want to understand the content, is it better to get the textbook and use it?

Also, what textbooks are used for Fundamentals, Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2?

[Whynot123]

I know some students just use the lecture notes but in your opinion, is that a good idea if they're not truly understanding the content?

If I really want to understand the content, is it better to get the textbook and use it?

Also, what textbooks are used for Fundamentals, Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2?

Lecture notes may suffice, depends on what type of learner you are.

IMO, it's probably better to get the textbook for practice questions. Fully worked solutions to the prescribed textbook questions are usually upload on the LMS. This helped to consolidate the content taught in lectures.

The textbooks should be written on the handbook link, LMS, tutorial workbook or introductory lecture. From memory, fundamentals used 'Chemistry' by Blackman and Chemistry 1 and 2 used 'Chemistry^3' (not sure who the author is). 

[hobbitle]

I know some students just use the lecture notes but in your opinion, is that a good idea if they're not truly understanding the content?

If I really want to understand the content, is it better to get the textbook and use it?

Also, what textbooks are used for Fundamentals, Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2?

You sound like you're overthinking it. It depends on the kind of learner you are.  You also have to be flexible at university.  Sometimes you get great lecture notes from the lecturers, sometimes they are absolutely awful.  This can vary between lecturers in the same subject.  As with everything, your greatest understanding is going to come from exposure to the material in lots of different forms.  But that also sucks up heaps of time.  I use lecture notes the least, to be honest, in all my subjects - they are a guiding thing for me, most of the time. I use textbooks (not just the prescribed one), YouTube, Khan Academy, Google, academic papers, etc etc etc to try and get a well rounded understanding of a topic.  But it isn't particularly time efficient. 

Nobody can tell you if the lecture notes are going to be enough.  The best starting point if you want to understand content at uni level is: pre read lecture notes, attend all lectures, take your own notes (before, during or after), attend all tutorials/workshops, do all prescribed questions.  Those things will generally get you over the line in a pass/fail sense.  To do well, and get a comprehensive understanding of everything, you will need to double or triple the amount of hours you put in.  As a general rule, UniMelb Science subjects are content heavy.  Fundamentals of Chemistry fits in almost the entire VCE 3/4 curriculum into 12 weeks AFAIK. 

[Sloafs]

Lecture notes may suffice, depends on what type of learner you are.

IMO, it's probably better to get the textbook for practice questions. Fully worked solutions to the prescribed textbook questions are usually upload on the LMS. This helped to consolidate the content taught in lectures.

The textbooks should be written on the handbook link, LMS, tutorial workbook or introductory lecture. From memory, fundamentals used 'Chemistry' by Blackman and Chemistry 1 and 2 used 'Chemistry^3' (not sure who the author is).

You sound like you're overthinking it. It depends on the kind of learner you are.  You also have to be flexible at university.  Sometimes you get great lecture notes from the lecturers, sometimes they are absolutely awful.  This can vary between lecturers in the same subject.  As with everything, your greatest understanding is going to come from exposure to the material in lots of different forms.  But that also sucks up heaps of time.  I use lecture notes the least, to be honest, in all my subjects - they are a guiding thing for me, most of the time. I use textbooks (not just the prescribed one), YouTube, Khan Academy, Google, academic papers, etc etc etc to try and get a well rounded understanding of a topic.  But it isn't particularly time efficient. 

Nobody can tell you if the lecture notes are going to be enough.  The best starting point if you want to understand content at uni level is: pre read lecture notes, attend all lectures, take your own notes (before, during or after), attend all tutorials/workshops, do all prescribed questions.  Those things will generally get you over the line in a pass/fail sense.  To do well, and get a comprehensive understanding of everything, you will need to double or triple the amount of hours you put in.  As a general rule, UniMelb Science subjects are content heavy.  Fundamentals of Chemistry fits in almost the entire VCE 3/4 curriculum into 12 weeks AFAIK.

Thank you very much!