Is chemistry a lot of reasoning, or memorizing?

Question

Sorry if this sounds silly, but is chemistry supposed to make sense? I flipped through the book, and most of the symbols are ones I'm unfamiliar with. I'm taking chemistry next year, and don't know what to expect.

Answer 1

In the beginning chemistry is memorization. As you learn more about chemistry you can start to see the reasoning behind everything. There are laws just like any other science, but if you try to learn them all right away you're going to be more confused. Take it step by step and you'll start seeing the relationships.

Answer 2

Real chemistry is almost all reasoning, with quite a bit of mathematics involved. Most "memorizable" information can be looked up in a handbook. However, beginning chemistry (qualitative chemistry) usually involves a fair amount of memorization of formulas, properties, etc. and only a little reasoning and math.

Answer 3

Expect to spend 1 to 2 hours studying for every hour in class. There is both reasoning and memorization together. Challenging, but exciting too!

Answer 4

its definitely much easier when u apply reasoning. Most of the people commit the same mistake by just trying to memorise it. try to find reasons behind each conclusions & voila!, it's one of the easiest subjects on earth.

Answer 5

i think you decide it. if you choose memorizing (or if you see it like that) you can do it but not understand it. so you'll not like it. but if you choose the other way, understanding, you'll know everything that you have to know without memorizing. so you'll enjoy it. this is what i think. ;)

Answer 6

Both

When you learn something you must use all your brain