Good resources for chemistry

[clovvy]

Hi,
I have been relying purely on passpapers for my sciences and I notice I can't do most of the questions in them blindly which mean I do not have enough knowlegde or understanding of the content (nowhere neat a band 6)... I have Jacaranda chem and Jake's atar notes (I bought it but some explanations on certain dotpoints such as addition of polymers are not very clear, no offense).... Do I have enough to just read through and do passpapers once I am comfortable with them?

[kauac]

Hi,
I have been relying purely on passpapers for my sciences and I notice I can't do most of the questions in them blindly which mean I do not have enough knowlegde or understanding of the content (nowhere neat a band 6)... I have Jacaranda chem and Jake's atar notes (I bought it but some explanations on certain dotpoints such as addition of polymers are not very clear, no offense).... Do I have enough to just read through and do passpapers once I am comfortable with them?

Hi...

I understand the struggle - trying to get a good grasp on chem content can be tricky! Doing HSC chem last year, I found that the best way to get a better understanding of concepts was by referring to heaps of different resources. So, you are on the right track! So I suggest you keep using your ATAR Notes summary book, use your text book, try and find some notes from past students - there is a whole section on Chemistry notes right here on ATAR Notes.

If you are stuck on particular points of the syllabus, there is some great online tutorials and helpful websites on the internet (e.g. Easy Chem, Dux College, Khan Academy)... And remember, this forum is a great method of asking questions and discussing ideas to consolidate your knowledge! Hope this is helpful! 

[clovvy]

Thanks for the advice man, true I can use this forum anytime for chem questions haha

[arii]

I use the following textbooks (in this order):
• HSC Excel Chemistry
• Chemistry 2 HSC Course (Jacaranda)
• Spotlight Chemistry HSC
• Surfing (Topic Name, i.e. Production of Materials)

Other:
• Google the syllabus dot point you need help with. There tends to be some ex-student resources that come up, along with some video demonstrations if it's a practical (first-hand investigation).
• Khan Academy (as the kauac mentioned). My only issue is that Khan Academy is based on the American syllabus. It does have stuff we need but it's in bits and pieces, sometimes across multiple videos.

I tend to start with Excel, only because it gives you the basic fundamental stuff you need to know. The other textbooks build on from this knowledge. I admit I don't have time to go through all these textbooks in depth so I do sometimes use the forums on here to aid me with my studies. Good luck.

[annn1e]

i would really recommend easy chem above everything. Studied that solely throughout yr 12, did about 7 past papers for the whole course and still got an 88.

[clovvy]

i would really recommend easy chem above everything. Studied that solely throughout yr 12, did about 7 past papers for the whole course and still got an 88.

Well true, but I want >90