Hey there,
So I totally know how you feel, I was exactly the same in 1/2 last year! I really liked Chem in Year 10 and was so sad to realise how different VCE Chem is to what I thought it would be. My advice to you is - if a month on from when you posted this you're still struggling - do as much practice as you can, but seriously don't get too bogged down in all the formulas now. By 3/4 it will all be second nature to you, it's like going back and looking at a maths exam from the year before and wondering why you found it so hard when it's all so easy in comparison to the harder stuff you're doing now. You use mole a lot, so so so much that in Year 12 you'll just use it without even really thinking about what you're doing, you're so used to it. I even remember my teacher saying last year that everyone struggles with the mole concept at first but by Year 12 you'll have been exposed to it so much, it won't be an issue. Here's a story. My problem was, I got too bogged down in it all and thought I couldn't do it, that it was too hard, and I started to resent Chem. Like absolutely hate it. I DESPISED IT. I would wake up and look at my timetable, see Chem first period, and I wanted to vomit. I hoped that the school would burn down. Not kidding. My first Unit 1 sac was okay but the second sac got me thinking, "should I really be doing chem?" It wasn't even that bad. 69%. And my school makes hard sacs. But then the Unit 1 Exam rolled around, which I hardly studied for because I didn't think Chem was for me. It's like I needed the 56% as a reassurance that I should drop Chem. So I did. I made the decision to drop it and all the way through Unit 2 I was cruising through, knowing that my marks didn't matter because thank god, I would finally be rid of chem. 40%, 40% and 60% on Unit 2 sacs. I'm not joking. I didn't care anymore. I actually felt really bad because when I got the last sac back my teacher told me "well done, that's an improvement from the last two" and I felt SO BAD that I told myself I had to study for the Unit 2 exam because I didn't want to let him down. That guilt and also the fact that I had mandatory chapter questions to hand in forced me to study for Chem and I found myself actually... enjoying studying chem? because I'd already hit rock bottom, right? I did so much study for Chem it wasn't funny, about 7 practice exams which was ridiculous because I had 6 other exams to study for... and then... 57% on the exam. Well, it was an improvement from Unit 1, right? But in the holidays I started regretting dropping it. Apparently 3/4 was so different to 1/2, it was more practical and that a lot of people found it easier. So Day 1 of Year 12 I marched to the careers counselor and demanded to do Chem 3/4. She laughed at me, hounded me with questions about how I did in 1/2 (which I may have lied about... but she couldn't stop me from doing it anyway) and yelled at me for making my decision this late before giving me a form and then I was *magically* placed into a class. Now I'm averaging high 80s on sacs/tests and Chem is... my favourite subject? Yes. Yes, it is. I actually look forward to class now. Because I work really hard for it and it pays off! The moral of the story is: don't let this happen to you! Do as much practice as you can and you'll familiarise yourself with all of the different formulas and how to use them. I can't stress that enough, practice. I thought I was above that, and I didn't do it, then I was all like "blah chem isn't for me blah blah I'm so bad at it" when all I had to do was PRACTICE. Do textbook questions. Checkpoints. Exam papers. Trust me, you'll get it. Anyone can be good at chem, all you have to do is work hard and you'll get there. And maybe you'll actually start to love it in the process. But honestly, sticking through 1/2 chem is worth it. And everyone bitches about unit 2. Just get through it. 3/4 is amazing, at least that's how I'm finding it so far. And it's totally doable as well. So don't lose hope! Try your hardest, practice as much as you can, and you'll understand it better. Trust me. I wish I'd done that in Year 11. And if you don't get the results you want? That's okay too. But don't give up! Just work even harder. Hard work pays off. Chem is an amazing subject, and it's worth it all in the end. Good luck!
Home
Help
Search
Login
