Doing Chem without 1/2?

[Ajsguns]

Just wondering if it will be easy to pick up without 1/2? ive already finished school and got a pretty decent enter however to get into the degree i want i need to have done Chemistry 3/4 with at least a 35+ raw  (already achieved the enter) i havn't done chem since year 10 (all of which ive forgotten) so about 3-4 years ago. Just wondering how plausable it would be to pick it up straight from 3/4 obviously have 2 months to jump straight into 3/4 before school starts or self teach myself the foundations. ATM i have no/little chem knowledge and would be required to attain a 35+ SS.

[stonecold]

If you start NOW then yeah, you should be able to do it.  Will require a big effort though!

[Ajsguns]

Would you suggest i jump straight into 3/4 if i can wrap my head around it? i plan to start in a week or two just waiting for my textbooks although ive browsed some educational websites. I do have very very basic knowledge of chem i know what an atom/proton/neutron/electron are and electronic configuration outer/sub shells and basic ionization however i have no idea how to balance equations (seems like a foreign language) etc. The only science in year 12 i did was Biology but it was more or less just memory based.

I need to get at least a 35 (will be aiming for a 37-38 so straight A's) otherwise ive basically wasted the year will be working part time and doing this 1 subject @ RMIT (not sure how thats gonna effect my cohort if it will be strong/weak hopefully i dont have a whole bunch of people who quit school in year 9 coming back and doing year 12 chem lol)

[mtmiket]

I wouldn't recommend you pick up Chem unless you are really dedicated.

[stonecold]

Would you suggest i jump straight into 3/4 if i can wrap my head around it? i plan to start in a week or two just waiting for my textbooks although ive browsed some educational websites. I do have very very basic knowledge of chem i know what an atom/proton/neutron/electron are and electronic configuration outer/sub shells and basic ionization however i have no idea how to balance equations (seems like a foreign language) etc. The only science in year 12 i did was Biology but it was more or less just memory based.

I need to get at least a 35 (will be aiming for a 37-38 so straight A's) otherwise ive basically wasted the year will be working part time and doing this 1 subject @ RMIT (not sure how thats gonna effect my cohort if it will be strong/weak hopefully i dont have a whole bunch of people who quit school in year 9 coming back and doing year 12 chem lol)

No.  You need to go through pretty much the whole of 1/2 in the two months before school starts.  It will be almost impossible to 'jump' straight into 3/4, as you need to know the basics such as stoichiometry (basically chemistry maths) acid/base and redox reactions at the very least.  A good foundation in organic chemistry and molecule naming will also help.

[jimmy999]

If Chemistry is the only subject you're doing, then you'll be fine as you'll have more time to dedicate to it.

However isn't there some kind of alternative uni pathway you could do that can get you into your course without VCE Chemistry?

What course are you planning to do anyway?

[Ajsguns]

If Chemistry is the only subject you're doing, then you'll be fine as you'll have more time to dedicate to it.

However isn't there some kind of alternative uni pathway you could do that can get you into your course without VCE Chemistry?

What course are you planning to do anyway?

Will most likely only do Chemistry considering doing Legal studies since i barely made the cutoff (atar wise) so if the cutoff is higher in 2012 ill prob just miss out. Hopefully a bachaelor of medicine and surgery so there is no way around it.

[Greatness]

It will be very hard to pick up chem 3/4 w/o 1/2.
It's definitely possible. if you get a tutor or self learn most of the 1/2 course you shold be fine. Unit 1/2 provides a solid foudation for 3/4 so you are going to have to learn the essentials of 1/2 first

[8039]

I did 3/4 without 1/2 and didn't even study anything from year 11. I did pretty well overall, averaging out 95% for SACs. I didn't even begin to study hard until after mid-year exam. So if you're a good student you should be able to handle it, only thing you REALLY need from year 11 is ability to calculate moles and do gravimetric analysis... which you do again in year 12 anyway.

Just don't make the same mistake as me in not studying hard from the start... I don't think you need year 11 all that much but it wouldn't hurt. And make sure to do practice exams that's how I learned most my stuff.

[chansthename]

For anyone outside of your circumstances I wouldn't recommend it.

The stuff from 1/2 is very useful, the knowledge and understanding from 1/2 has even helped me with unfamiliar questions in 3/4, the base knowledge helped me deduce what couldn't be an answer and what appears possible.

But if you absolutely must do 3/4 without 1/2, then the areas that you must have a solid understanding are:
Organic chem, especially naming etc.
Stoichiometric pathways
the concept of the mole
calculations using the mole, relative atomic masses etc.
Gases (especially pv=nrt)

perhaps there are topics that I have forgotten that someone else can put down.

All of thee topics are used in 3/4 and were started in 1/2. they are assumed knowledge although organic chem was taught from the start again (in my class anyway)

Good luck

[dptjandra]

I think it would be very, very difficult without a great deal of dedication.  It also depends on your natural affinity/talent in the field.  I would strongly recommend doing Unit 1/2 first, or at least doing classes/tuition on 1/2 over the summer.  2 - 3 months is enough time to learn the important parts of Unit 1/2, which will be reinforced and repeated in Unit 3/4.  Chemistry Unit 3/4 has a number of tricky concepts and quite a lot of material (though it doesn't seem it from the outset).  A lot of that material is covered in Unit 1/2, making it much easier to grapple with in Unit 3/4.  That said, if you are willing to dedicate a lot of time to it, it is possible to do well without Unit 1/2, I reckon...but yeh, probably try and get through Unit 1/2 in the summer (and find someone who has done those two units or possibly all four units who can make sure you have grasped the right ideas - very easy to think you have got it when you don't, in my experience at least).

[Ajsguns]

Thanks for all the replys guys, seems the general consensus is to not do it or really dedicate myself, i shall be choosing the latter =)
thanks alot for the areas of study to learn chansthename ill defo make sure i grasp all of those concepts/aspects would going to a TSFX summer school workshop for chemistry help aid me? 3 lessons of 3hours and 30mins. They seem to be about a month away i wont be getting my texts for another 2 weeks so ill only get in about 2 weeks of studying units 1/2 before the workshop so im a bit wary that it wuld all just go over my head.

[iNerd]

This is the last set of Chemistry I did at Year 10.
See if you know it all, or master it now.

[Ajsguns]

This is the last set of Chemistry I did at Year 10.
See if you know it all, or master it now.

Will check it out after dinner cheers for the file really appreciated -) will let u know how much of it i remember.

[dptjandra]

I found TSFX summer course dreadful - I did it in the summer before Yr 11 and learnt very little.  Never did it again.