Why Is Chemistry So Hard? - Ms Kendrick

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Why is Chemistry so Hard?

8/26/2015

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Whenever I meet new people, they always want to know what I teach. When I tell them I teach chemistry, probably 95% of them kind of squint their eyes, grimace, and respond with something like "Oh chemistry, I remember chemistry...it was really hard!" The truth is, chemistry IS hard - I think it is the most difficult required high school science course. But WHY is chemistry so difficult for so many students? There are several reasons:

There is a lot of applied math integrated into the chemistry. It's one thing to do math in math class - it's another thing to apply it to scientific thought.

We never get to actually see most of what we study in chemistry - i.e. atoms. We can make all kinds of models and analogies, but atoms are still going to be very conceptual.

In addition to science and math, students have to learn a foreign language. Chemistry has a language all its own.

Unlike biology and physics, chemistry builds upon itself. In biology and physics, the concepts can be grouped in to blocks of largely unrelated material. So, in biology, if a student doesn't understand DNA, than this is not usually problem when they start a unit on plants. In chemistry, EVERYTHING builds on what came before it. If students get lost early, it can affect them all year.

For many students, chemistry is the first class that really challenges them - it may be the first time that the way they have always studied and prepared for class no longer works as well. This is very common. We see it happen frequently in chemistry regardless of the teaching approach or teacher. Struggle is difficult, but a good thing. If a student never struggles, they don't grow or learn how to overcome the struggle. Students need to be challenged in order to reach their full potential. Keys to Success in Chemistry

Don't get behind - chemistry builds on what was just learned.
Come to tutoring and ask questions whenever you don't understand. Stand up for yourself! Make sure YOU understand.
Talk to me if you start to feel overwhelmed - we can fix the problem before it gets worse.
If I tell you to memorize or practice something, do it!

Parents: Read this blog and email me if you have a question or don't understand why we do something. Don't wait until the end of the year to communicate! Do it early so that we can fix any problems or misconceptions.

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Why Is Chemistry So Hard? - Ms Kendrick

Why is Chemistry so Hard?

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