year 12: advice for yr11? (1 Viewer)

[iyamahobbit]

Hey guys,

I'm in year 11, and i'm thinking, at the end of most years i have a list of things i should've done, and things i shouldn't have, and i usually have tips to pass on, too.

So, @ all you old and wise year 12s about to start your hsc: do you have any advice to off us lil 11s who are about to start year 12 chem? Anything at all, including good/bad textbooks, study techniques, difficult areas, etc.

Any advice would be great

And while i'm at it: good luck for your hsc. ("good luck" is best i can do at sucking up... )

 

[iambored]

make notes by typing up the syllabus point, and then answering it underneath

then learn the notes and u'll know u have covered every aspect of the course

be prepared, it takes hours and hours, and do the prac side as well

 

[Dave85]

DONT use excel chem. Dont even buy it. It has 2 much on irrelevent points and doesnt follow syllabus as well as otherss (eg concqureing chem ---> VERY good book!)... surfing chem is also pretty good and easy 2 follow. My advice is to try and keep on top of ur syllabus dot points. As soon as u learn stuff relate it to the syllabus. Trust me, while everyone else is busy writing notes 4 exams u hav all the hard work done. good luck.

 

[AK Gumbi]

It's not really an advice, but Yr12 Chem is a thousand times better than prelim chem: more interesting stuff, (and i felt) easier than yr11 course.
Also a bit of advice: Make sure u answer EVERYTHING ON EVERY SINGLE DOTPOINT- u have to be extremely picky. And yeah do alot of pastpapers (i would recommend at least 10-15 if u can get your hands on them), and do Q's from the textbooks (I liked Chemistry Contexts2). Good luck.

 

[Dave85]

yeah i forgot 2 mention wat AK gumbi said ^ Year 12 is so much easier. i found yr 11 so much harder. I came like in the middle of my grade in yr 11... yr 12 i topped! And if ur teacher is anything like mine... they use past multiple choice ALL the time in the half yearlies so u shud be doing past papers from day 1!

 

[jm1234567890]

Don't ignore the questions in the text books!!!

exception is the Excel book

 

[underthesun]

Skim through preliminary textbooks, get the basic idea, AND THEN start summarising the year 12 syllabus. Band 6 guaranteed!

 

[Frigid]

must get:

• Excel Chemistry Core in a Month;
• Success One Chemistry;
• Conquering Chem.

that's probly all you need.

 

[hipsta_jess]

Originally posted by iambored
make notes by typing up the syllabus point, and then answering it underneath

then learn the notes and u'll know u have covered every aspect of the course

be prepared, it takes hours and hours, and do the prac side as well

exactly as above!!! it is the only way!! i swear, since i have done this my marks have practically doubled!

 

[karnevil]

start studying NOW

 

[iyamahobbit]

Hey, thanks a lot to all you posters

The copy of Chemistry Contexts i ordered arrived this morning, and my school's issuing us all copies of Conquering Chem - so i'd say i'm all set

exactly as above!!! it is the only way!! i swear, since i have done this my marks have practically doubled!

Congrats ... but i've got to say that's a bit of a worry

Also, just a question:

must get:
- Excel Chemistry Core in a Month;
- Success One Chemistry;
- Conquering Chem.

What does everyone else think about Succes One Chem, and Excel Chem Core in a month? I don't think i've heard of anyone else reccommend it - so does anyone else here use it?

Anyway, thanks again for all the advice

Cheers,
Rachel.

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

i few things i found i shouldve done.

work ahead, summarise the dot point first before going over and expanding them after youve done it in class... instead of just writing down notes after you've learn stuff in class, especially if your class is particularly slow.

Get Conquering Chem... i have both macmillan and contexts, but i found them lacking in come areas, even when combined... get all 3 if u can (though i think macmillan+conquering should work well)

learn the verbs early and practise answering those style of questions early. Don't do all the exercises in books, get past assessments w/ model answers instead or any HSC styled questions w/ Model Answers. The answer is especially important cuz u can know all the stuff but not put it in the format they want and is prolly the major source of marks lost in chem.

Have a clear understanging of Validity/Reliability/Accuracy. especially helpful in pracs.

Cram like you have never crammed in your life.

 

[chunder]

practice your essay writing skills....these days chemistry is the equivalent of having another english exam. The amount of essays i had to do in my trials was just ridiculous.

 

[hipsta_jess]

ive never used that success one book or whatever, but i do have the excel revise in a month and it is good for just *general knowledge* stuff, its certainly not a text you base your study on. its really good and all, and i use it heaps, but i find i use it more for 'oh what was that again' rather than 'oh i dont know anything about that'

 

[iyamahobbit]

Ooh, advice, lots of it
Thanks again, ppl!

work ahead, summarise the dot point first before going over and expanding them after youve done it in class... instead of just writing down notes after you've learn stuff in class, especially if your class is particularly slow.

K, i'm working on it, thanks for the tip.

Get Conquering Chem... i have both macmillan and contexts, but i found them lacking in come areas, even when combined... get all 3 if u can (though i think macmillan+conquering should work well)

i'm getting it from school... i just bought a new copy of contexts, and i have a 1996 edition of macmillan which is outdated >.< ... so dya reckon contexts + conquering will do the trick? Or should i invest in macmillan?

learn the verbs early and practise answering those style of questions early. Don't do all the exercises in books, get past assessments w/ model answers instead or any HSC styled questions w/ Model Answers. The answer is especially important cuz u can know all the stuff but not put it in the format they want and is prolly the major source of marks lost in chem.

What verbs do you mean? Like identify, explain, etc? Anyway, thanks again, i'll be getting some books like that, then

but i find i use it more for 'oh what was that again' rather than 'oh i dont know anything about that'

Hm, thanks, but can't u just use the syllabus for that?

Anyway, thanks to all, tho especially Constip8edSkunk, i'm printing out ur response... gt luv u for it

 

[nerdd]

DROP IT
IT SUCKS
hahaha
nah it's better than yr 11 chem I must say.

and yes, surfing is a good book.

 

[+:: $i[Q]u3 ::+]

Ignore Gumbi (sorry!)
year 11 chem is sooooo much more fun than yr12 chem.
It's harder, a bit, i guess.. cus the stuff's new and all.. but the topics are better, the PRACS are better...

if ur like me (really lazy and likes to chat) then don't type up ur notes - get a dot point book and write up ur dot points in it regularly. at the end u have a book with a summary of ur chem notes... =)

with the verbs, get the bos glossary list - and learn the difference betwen 'evaluate', 'discuss' and 'critically assess'. It could mean the differnce between 2 marks and 6 marks for an 8-mark question. Sad but true.

 

[inasero]

haha sique chatting in class?! couldn't imagine it damn maths a person......

anyhows...i recommend 'conquering chemistry' by roland smith...it's all you will need....
also recommend going through as many past papers as possible in the lead up to your trials and HSC...
going through dotpoints to emphasise what you don't know...and work towards improving these deficiencies...
oh and ignore excel chem summary- it sucks....don't waste your money....
chemistry contexts (with tap on cover) is alrite as well....but delves too much into irrelevant imformationat times (eg hydrolysis reactions) that may disconcert you.....so i recommend that you only borrow it from friends to do the ecxercises because they are well written.....

 

[phenol]

advice -

DONT do 2U chemistry - it is a course which assumes you neither love or appreciate the elegance of REAL chemistry.

STUDY for the RTASO Chemistry NQ exam and BEG your teacher to sit for one of these (http://www.rtaso.org.au/www/index.cfm)
you'll get a LOT out of this program!!

 

[manta]

Originally posted by hipsta_jess
ive never used that success one book or whatever, but i do have the excel revise in a month and it is good for just *general knowledge* stuff, its certainly not a text you base your study on. its really good and all, and i use it heaps, but i find i use it more for 'oh what was that again' rather than 'oh i dont know anything about that'

Yep, totally agree... Success is good, definately worth getting, Helped me heaps in trials.

And definately for year 12 make sure you get all the prac results and if the prac doesn't work bug your teacher for possible results!