Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: standalone on 29/12/2009 03:38:16
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Chemistry subject is creating much more problem. The name of elements,compund ,reactions,experiments,.........need to be remembered . IT is so problematic.Does this is the subject of memory?
I need certain ideas in the field of chemistry?
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Chemistry subject is creating much more problem. The name of elements,compund ,reactions,experiments,.........need to be remembered . IT is so problematic.Does this is the subject of memory?
I need certain ideas in the field of chemistry?
Don't know if you are at school or uni. I personally had little difficulty in that problem, because I had done some little experiments with the most common chemicals. This helped me *a lot* to remember other names, because those "starting" chemicals were impressed strongly in my mind, and that helped me to form a kind of "basic structure" of chemistry names (and of other, of course), from which I could understand the difference from the "basic" and the new names.
For example, having perfectly clear in mind what is sulfuric acid, sulfates and hydrogensulfates (empirical knowledge) helped me understand and remember what could be a new chemical as sulfite, by mean of logic connections.
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I am a college boy. Actually your idea of logic connections like in sulphate,sulphites etc is really good and we all are aware of that. What makes me frustrated is that the millions of compounds and we are just compelled to beleive on those who discovered them . Knowledge here is just the memory power. The actual learning is int the atomis form,isn't?
I need the very good ideas that could make the field more interesting and exciting.
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hello,
i just finished up my 1st semester at college after 10 years out of high school. i have a love/hate relationship with chemistry.
chemistry is required for my degree, but the extent of my knowlege of chem. stops after baking soda + vinegar(?) = bubbles. har har.
at first i absolutely hate HATE hated chemistry. it was, hands down, the hardest subject i've ever taken. my first few quizzes were D's and an F.
i managed to pull a B as a final semester grade. the only thing that helped me was time and stubborness. i went page by page, and worked every problem in the book. the class itself had zero homework, but i spent at least 2 hours every night doing chemistry. after a while, certain elements and compounds showed up often enough that i memorized them by accident, i guess. which, for me was not the norm. science, generally comes very naturally to me. chemistry was a battle the whole way.
i also joined the chemistry club on campus. its fun to hang out with people who genuinely *love* and enjoy chemistry. (they're crazy i tell ya [;)] )
and now, i cant help myself .. i look at everything in terms of moles and molecules and how they stick together ...
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I am a college boy. Actually your idea of logic connections like in sulphate,sulphites etc is really good and we all are aware of that. What makes me frustrated is that the millions of compounds and we are just compelled to beleive on those who discovered them . Knowledge here is just the memory power. The actual learning is int the atomis form,isn't?
I need the very good ideas that could make the field more interesting and exciting.
Pick a compound from the book, something you think is difficult to remember and which can have some interesting property, according to you, and go into more depth about it. Study and make at least a real experiment about that compound. Then pick another one, and so on. In essence, study Very well a sample of those compounds, instead of studying all of them. At the end of it, you are ready to study all of the other compounds.
You cannot build a castle all at once; begin from the base/structure, brick by brick/plank by plank, making sure that every element of your structure is quite solid.
About memorizing: study chemistry at least 1 hour before sleeping (you shouldn't think to anything else while you fall in sleep), and do the same as first thing when you wake up, for at least 21 consecutive days. At the end, your mind will be much more tuned on chemistry and your performances in it will be much greater.
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Yeah u'll agree that ur ideas are simple,old fashioned which helps to memorize that long lectures of my teachers n doltish but still being effective i appreciate.
I am one step on,know the whole information of periodic table,110 elements and acessories. Is it a good step?
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The first thing to learn is how to avoid creating explosions that will maim or kill you.
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I am one step on,know the whole information of periodic table,110 elements and acessories. Is it a good step?
I think you should get out your textbook and just start reading! [:D]
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The brain forms memories by way of a 'network' pattern i believe, eg if you think of.... say the color orange... next thing that comes to mind is something that one associates with the color orange. So I think the best way to remember things is by way of meaningful association. Personally i find that if information is boring or not fully understood and therefore seems pointless to ones mind, it is very hard to retain.
lightarrow is quite right in that it can't all be learnt all at once, because again, memory is formed by linking a piece of information to another which has already been permanently stored in long term memory.
When i learn I always try to create personal meaning in some form, even if it is making up some scenario, be creative with it in my mind, make meaningful links. Analogies can be good if you are not able to actually link to a real life example.
I like the joining a chemistry club idea, could be a goer too. Alternatively you could read books written by chemists... eg I like autobiographies myself as this really brings things to life....
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EatsRainbows makes good sense. She's a smart woman that's for sure, take her advice, I advise you.
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About memorizing: study chemistry at least 1 hour before sleeping (you shouldn't think to anything else while you fall in sleep), and do the same as first thing when you wake up, for at least 21 consecutive days. At the end, your mind will be much more tuned on chemistry and your performances in it will be much greater.
Yes, I agree with this too. If you want to know the elements, I suggest you listen to the Chemistry World podcast (http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcast/element.asp) which can all be downloaded for free. Put them on your ipod or something and listen and listen, for breakfast, for dinner (okay, maybe not) and before going to bed. It really helps in my humble experience.
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I have known all the elements cuz i need to know.how i did this u know? i did this by learning it while listening the song. After song was over i paused for a while and tried to retain those. Oh! i remembered it like the lyrics of song.
All suggestions from you are very good and effective.
But givin time to only single subject is very monotonous job.
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is very monotonous job.
Maybe this is part of your problem? Sounds like you see it as nothing much more than a chore? What i was getting at earlier with the whole meaningful association thing is partly that its good to find something interesting about a subject. If you really don't like chemistry but you like other sciences, perhaps try to remember that in the end they are all interrelated, you need one to understand the other.
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is very monotonous job.
Maybe this is part of your problem? Sounds like you see it as nothing much more than a chore? What i was getting at earlier with the whole meaningful association thing is partly that its good to find something interesting about a subject. If you really don't like chemistry but you like other sciences, perhaps try to remember that in the end they are all interrelated, you need one to understand the other.
That is good advice. I know it's hard, but try to find a subject you really relate to. It may not make you rich, but it's much more likely to make you happy. My suggestions are based on my own experience.
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It may not make you rich, but it's much more likely to make you happy.
I think that even then, one is much more likely to gain material wealth doing something that they enjoy as opposed to something they don't. Do you think that someone who struggles their way through a really boring science degree will then go out and win the Nobel Prize? Not likely!
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Sometime a person with no interest field can get better success but not probably the satisfaction that he need to obtain form his life for what he has gained.
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Yeah u'll agree that ur ideas are simple,old fashioned which helps to memorize that long lectures of my teachers n doltish but still being effective i appreciate.
I am one step on,know the whole information of periodic table,110 elements and acessories. Is it a good step?
I think it is. If you like, you could also try to recreate the periodic table on yourself; you would also make a great impression on your friends (I know it!)
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YEs Certainly!!!!!!
The visual sense of periodic one explicitly making the study of sth new very fast and helpful. In friends aspect, we are having competition on those titles