scolae: HOW TO CHEMISTRY 101  aighty so i had huge chemistry problems. my teacher and i didn&r

scolae:

HOW TO CHEMISTRY 101 

aighty so i had huge chemistry problems. my teacher and i didn’t get along, everything was a mess and i was barely passing my class. now, i’m not a straight A student, but i managed to help myself. here’s how!!

prepare what you need

this is an important step. i have this kind of a ritual before studying that i breathe calmly for 30 seconds before getting to work. it calms me down, and i focus on the subject i’m about to do. i can’t do that if my book is long lost, my calculator is in my sister’s bed and all my pens are scattered. gather what you need, and put it within a hand’s reach. when you stand up, concentration usually vanishes.

a subsection of this step is deciding what you need. chemistry is a strictly punctual subject and you don’t want to be missing stationery. i use a pencil, eraser, a red pen, calculator, periodic table, my book and notebook. these are the basics. 

do your homework 

many people can disagree, but doing homework before actual studying helps!! it helps you know the topic, and it’s like a cheat sheet, because i can glance in my book and compare with similar tasks, plus it removes the pressure that you have something else to do after studying.

be neat

if you’re a generally messy person, like me, chemistry probably isn’t your fave. i suggest avoiding messy snacks, sticking to as little things as you need and staying concentrated. your handwriting is reflecting your productivity. make is clean, readable and neat.

colour code

this!! having a fluorescent colour, or just a bright one at your hand is important! always always always colour code. if you’re stuck on a big problem, colour coding will help you realise what you’ve already done and what is left to do. write what you know and what you need to find out. put little numbers to know the flow. don’t overdo it, though! one or two colours tops.

tumblr lies

i know that tumblr studyblrs make it seem so cute when you have banners and lil arrows and everything is pastel and bubbly. no. in some classes where you can cut yourself some slack, go ahead and make it cute. not chemistry. lil bubbles will only distract you, and you’ll waste more time on them than chemistry itself. make it neat, a few colours to catch your attention here and there. don’t decorate your books, either. they’re pretty expensive, or the ones I use, and ruining them with banners makes them unreturnable. if you’re making  mindmap of your own, then sure!! just be content that this is chemistry, not an art class.

write down everything

when studying alone, always write down everything. bold the solution. don’t skip steps. write down whatever you possibly might need, write down your thinking process. alwayswrite down units of measurement, and see what is reducible. my chem teacher used to give me minus points for not writing down that i was looking for molar mass. my solution was correct. 

rtfm

i know people that think the book is just sorta there, and is a nuisance. no! your textbook is your friend. make the most of it by reading the examples, the bolded, the italic, everything. those questions at the end? don’t skip em. check your knowledge, revise with the book. read the fucking manual.

take up an instructor

in the end, if you can’t do it by yourself, find someone who can! loads of schools and cafes around them have flyers for people who are willing to help you for very little money. if you can’t afford them, in the end, that’s what friends are for.

anyway guys, i hope this helped! enjoy your chemistry!!