Advice on Taking a 6 week General Chemistry 1 Class

[Johnx014]

Hello,

I'm currently enrolled in a 6 week General Chemistry 1 class that starts in January. The class meets about 5 hours a day Monday - Friday. I took the introductory chemistry course offered at my college this fall, and I was able to keep an A+ without much trouble. What can I do between now and the start of the next class and throughout the course of the next class to ensure I succeed?

 

[Dishsoap]

I once did something similar - took a three-week Gen Chem 2 course over the summer - we met for 7 hours/day + labs. It was the worst experience of my life.

An A is not difficult to attain; the keeping of your sanity, however, is.

If you have just taken an intro to chemistry, maybe look over your notes at any topics that have slowly leaked out of your brain, as well as any topics that you didn't fully understand. If you know which textbook you'll be using, it might be useful to go ahead and buy it to look through it... just understanding general concepts is key at this point.

Also, some advice for the course. In a short course like that, it is urgent that you never, EVER fall behind. Or you will perish.

 

[Student100]

Hello,

I'm currently enrolled in a 6 week General Chemistry 1 class that starts in January. The class meets about 5 hours a day Monday - Friday. I took the introductory chemistry course offered at my college this fall, and I was able to keep an A+ without much trouble. What can I do between now and the start of the next class and throughout the course of the next class to ensure I succeed?

Read the textbook before the class starts and work through as many problems as possible now. The first general chemistry course is very similar to the introductory chemistry course (the one for students who didn't have chem in high school) , so most of the material will be the same.

Why on Earth would you do this to yourself though? Taking condensed science/math courses is never a good idea. Especially if you're majoring in say, physics, were general chemistry can be useful for many areas of study in physics. It's hard enough to absorb most of the pertinent material in a full 12 or 16 week class, doing it in 4-6 almost guarantees you won't build a strong foundation- unless you were already familiar with the material.