Tips on surviving your Chemistry A-level

[Clarkey]

I hated chemistry and i was rubbish at it. Bad combination. Hasn't held me back.

[tomead1]

There is no need to be nasty to other members, even if you do feel insecure. Some people struggle with Chemistry, some with Maths, some with Art or other subjects. Struggling with a subject may even reflect poor teaching. Do not despise those who struggle but succeed.
Remember that if everyone else in the world had your abilities and aptitudes, you would be very ordinary and no one special.

i wasnt meaning to be nasty, and im definately not insecure, and i do not despise those who struggle and succeed.
i was just pointing out that everyone should be able to succeed at A levels, even if they find it hard, you just have to put the work in.

[Clarkey]

i wasnt meaning to be nasty, and im definately not insecure, and i do not despise those who struggle and succeed.
i was just pointing out that everyone should be able to succeed at A levels, even if they find it hard, you just have to put the work in.

Thats not true at all. A levels examine in a certain style which suits people who learn in a certain way. Yes you can change and adapt to some extent, but i could do chemistry a level now and i still wouldn't get an A. Suceeding means different things to different people, i went from getting an E in biology to a B, and all i did was change exam boards. For me, that was success.

Success at medical school is getting a C to some people, whereas others are happy with a D.

[mintllama]

Q: how many of u flopped the first few moths of AS... getting to adapt to the monstrosity that is the demand of AS but still manage straight As in AS? esp if ur gcses werent the best possible and u did hard ASs?? WHAT IS THE SECRET TO AS.
o - and how did u cope if u had a not so great teacher, any textbook recommendations! much appreciated!!!

[tomead1]

Q: how many of u flopped the first few moths of AS... getting to adapt to the monstrosity that is the demand of AS but still manage straight As in AS? esp if ur gcses werent the best possible and u did hard ASs?? WHAT IS THE SECRET TO AS.
o - and how did u cope if u had a not so great teacher, any textbook recommendations! much appreciated!!!

are you by any chance refering to chemistry?
i found the jump from gcse to AS bigger than between AS and A2.
if you are struggling talk to this teacher, im sure they will help. or talk to another teacher of this subject, maybe head of department, a few people in my chemistry set did this for organics, teachers will be willing to help

[Summer Daisy]

Q: how many of u flopped the first few moths of AS... getting to adapt to the monstrosity that is the demand of AS but still manage straight As in AS? esp if ur gcses werent the best possible and u did hard ASs?? WHAT IS THE SECRET TO AS.
o - and how did u cope if u had a not so great teacher, any textbook recommendations! much appreciated!!!

The secret to AS eh? Elusive. Unfortunately, I can only say this in retrospect; my grades were not as good as I had hoped.
I'd say the secret to AS is to keep up with all the work set. When set topic tests, actually do REVISE for them, don't just think "oh well, this doesn't mean anything" because then when it comes to revising for the important June exams you will be in a much better position. Try and understand stuff as you go along, don't asign it to a learn-later pile, cause it'll never get learnt. Pin your teacher down, ask questions until you're confident. Repeat as necessary.

Take your whole AS year very seriously. You may feel you are struggling with the step up, but there is also a step up to A2 also.

What syllabus are you doing for Chemistry, incidentally?

[mintllama]

wow! its kinda freaky how ur reply got right to me... u've described my approach to AS bang on! im doing edexcel for all my subjects

[tomead1]

that is very good advice, the 300 AS marks count just as much as the 300 A2 marks, and they are alot easier to get...so working ahrd this year really pays off, and also having a high mark this year will realy ake the pressure off next year.
and try not to think,' i can always resit my AS modules' i set myself a target to not resit any modules in all my subjects, i didnt and feel better for it.

[annarchy]

Wow this is brilliant thank you so much! I love NMM forumzzzz

[Sticks]

Chemistry is useful for medicine,You need to be able to know how molecules interact with each other in any number of different contexts, in order to prescribe the right drug!

I personally find biology a bit harder, simply because if you dont write EXACTLY the right thing, you can easily miss a mark. Darn them!