chemistry- should i be worried?

Question

i'm going to be a sophomore in high school next school year, and i'm signed up to take honors chemistry. i'm taking honors algebra 2 next year and i got an A average in honors bio last year, but i never understood how some of the chemical things (like amino acids and such) work... should i be worried about chemistry?

Answer 1

No. Absolutely not. As long as you pay attention in class and study, you will be fine. You probably won't even work with amino acids that much. Everyone just makes it seem scary.

Here are some links that will help you. You can start studying ahead of time if you're really nervous.

http://www.chemtutor.com/
http://www.chemistrylecturenotes.com/index.html

This one will cover all of the basic stuff that you will want to know really well within the first week or two:

http://www.chem4kids.com/

Answer 2

Don't worry. The math in Chemistry is not intense (in essence the only 'advanced math' is the quadratic formula, logs, and really basic algebra. thats all). The fact that you excel in your other honors classes indicates that you are willing to put forth effort and invest time in your studies. So, no, do not be worried about chemistry - go in with an open mind, and you may come out having a passion for the subject. Oh, and amino acids won't be in a Chem 1, honors class.

By the way, I've never heard of a school outside of mine designate challenge classes as 'honors'. Do you happen to go to Rockhurst HS?

Answer 3

You'll be just fine. You won't be dealing with things like amino acids in an Honors Chemistry class in high school; that's barely discussed in AP Chemistry, if at all, and it has more to do with AP Biology, organic chemisty, biochemistry, and things like that. You sound like you'll be just fine. Chemistry is really heavy in math, so if you're good at algebra, you'll do well. I myself took AP Chemistry as a sophomore instead of taking Honors Chemistry, and I still got a 100%, so you shouldn't be worried.

Answer 4

Sounds like you will be an ideal chemistry student.

Most important is to have an interest in learning why things work the way they do. Chemistry has quite a bit of fundamental concepts which are easy to apply. The math skills will enable you to easily quantify and compute the concepts being taught. There is less memorization than in Bio and more fundamentals.

Don't worry about the amino acids. You will learn more about covalent bonding which will help your understanding. A true understanding of amino acids requires a course in advanced organic chem.

Answer 5

If this is not an organic chem class, then probably not. Mostly you are going to talking about bonding properties and electrons. You'll be doing experiments with chemical reactions and being able to do the math to figure out things like joules and calories and percent yields. If you are doing fine in honours so far you will continue to do well. Just stay on task and ask for help sooner rather than later if you need it.

Answer 6

I wouldn't be worried if I were you. Biology, in my opinion, is harder than chemistry. And there is a pattern to chemistry that doesn't exist in biology. If you are taking honors classes, you're a pretty smart kid. Just pay close attention to you calculations. There are a lot of teaching tools out there, especially on the internet, that can give you a boosst if you need help. Good luck!

Answer 7

Eh, I just took it, and it's pretty easy. With the knowledge that you say you have over math and science, you should be fine.

Answer 8

No
Chemistry is cool