HL Chemistry Potential Fail!

[Stressed yet Lucid]

Hello, I just started IB this year and at first felt confident for HL Chemistry, however, I was quick to learn that HL Chem is NOT a "walk in the park". Recently, I took a stoichiometry quiz (My teacher used previous IB questions) and epically failed it! I completely and utterly blanked and didn't even understand the questions asked (I couldn't answer ANY of them). If it is possible, can anyone give me any feedback on the course and what to expect of it? Is topic one the most math oriented topic? If so, are the other topics somewhat easier to comprehend? I really like Chemistry and desire to do well in the class and more importantly in the exam (in 2012)!

Edited September 9, 2010 by Stressful and Insane

[Summer Glau]

Ahhh you're making me scared now Well I haven't really started going into the material for HL chem, but don't worry if you don't do so well on the first quiz, there are chances to make up for it.

Edited September 8, 2010 by fire.realm

[Marc Goffaux]

Hey guys!

I would say: Just chill!

Mainly, chapter 1 is really big and people suffer a lot from it because a background in basic quantitative chemistry makes it a lot easier. But relax in the quiz, I did lots of mistakes in many past papers that we did on chapter 1 and the following! For you to have an Ideia, my first mock grade was 2! Anyway, chapter 1 is really big compared to others, and you will do it pretty well in other chapters that are really short and direct to the point like energetics for example (which is the one I am now and its pretty easy compared to the first ones)

Hope I cheered you up

Sincerely,

Marc S. Goffaux

[Tsubaki]

As far as I know, Chemistry HL is regarded as one of, if not THE hardest IB course offered. (Up there with Maths HL and Physics HL). The first question on both the HL and SL paper two is always a question on stoichiometry (or very nearly always, from what I've seen) that is a little bit different from the standard question in some way. (employing odd tables, asking you to calculate things that you wouldn't normally calculate, stuff like that) Sadly, stoichiometry is usually considered one of the easier topics in Chemistry HL, because it's mostly just plugging numbers into a couple of formulas; things get much harder when you get to periodicity, electrochemistry, and organic chemistry.

Of course, I did Chemistry HL, and did rather well, so I can tell you it's certainly possible to get a good mark in the course. The last thing I would ever want to do is discourage anyone from taking it; in fact, I often suggest it to people. It's a great course, and is fantastic preparation for university-level Chemistry. If you can handle it, I really suggest you do it. If you don't think you can, I suggest you take it at SL, at least. A lot of the hardest parts are gutted from the course when you move down to SL, while still keeping the majority of the important things intact. I strongly recommend it if you would rather not do HL.

Oh, and don't worry about one quiz grade. Almost everyone does poorly on early quiz marks, especially if your teacher is giving you questions out of old IB exams right away; they are very difficult. Don't be discouraged, just keep trying and you'll do fine in Chemistry HL.

[Sandwich]

In my opinion Chemistry is one of those subjects where your final grade reflects how much effort you're willing to put into seeking help. I did HL as well and, as a non-mathematical person, really struggled with it. I definitely recall failing stoichiometry tests Along with more or less every other test we had. I'd say that my failure was 30% not revising but 70% mental block. Even if I had revised, I don't think I would've done very well.

I had a panic (a bit like you!) and found it very motivating. I collected up things I didn't understand and took them to the teacher for an explanation and kept bugging them until they finally gave me a version of the explanation which made sense. Unfortunately I had a really crap teacher and they singularly failed to help me understand anything. At all. I kept thinking I had it and then failing the questions (the IB does ask questions in quite a mean way which expects you to know quite a lot as a basic assumption -- if you don't 100% comprehend the theory it's very hard to even approach some of their longer Qs in the correct manner).

Chemistry was essential for me to get onto the course I wanted to take at University - also I didn't want to fail. Sooo I got myself a Chemistry tutor. All it took was 4 hours and a person who had the capacity to actually explain things with clarity (clarity for a non-mathematical person vs a mathematical one means something very different, in my opinion xP) and she saved my grade

So the reason I told that long and rambled story was basically: Chemistry HL is hard. Especially if you're not very mathematical. You have to understand everything and the way to succeed is to not let things rest but to use your panic to find the explanations and be proactive. I'd say the same for IB Maths.

It doesn't really get more or less mathematical (in my opinion) after the first chapter. It's just different kinds of Maths, some of it a little more common sense (I found I could cope with energetics quite easily, for instance) and some of it equally as mind-boggling as Stoichiometry. If it doesn't come naturally to you, keep bashing at it. Eventually you'll make a dent. And if you can't break through AND you don't need to take Chemistry... erm... don't!

[Stressed yet Lucid]

The posts were truly helpful. I do understand that HL Chemistry is one of the most difficult IB courses. However, I've also acknowledged the fact that Chemistry, in general, and its topics and sub-topics are somewhat "interconnected" which strikes some fear in my part because I feel that if I can't do these stoichiometry questions then I can't do anything! (Sorry for the extreme words, but it's honestly how I feel). Nonetheless, I truly appreciate the help, especially the fact you were quick to answer and I hope for the best. If there is any more feedback/advice I would truly appreciate it as well....still stressed. Thank You!!

[Everton16]

In my opinion Chemistry is one of those subjects where your final grade reflects how much effort you're willing to put into seeking help. I did HL as well and, as a non-mathematical person, really struggled with it. I definitely recall failing stoichiometry tests Along with more or less every other test we had. I'd say that my failure was 30% not revising but 70% mental block. Even if I had revised, I don't think I would've done very well.

I had a panic (a bit like you!) and found it very motivating. I collected up things I didn't understand and took them to the teacher for an explanation and kept bugging them until they finally gave me a version of the explanation which made sense. Unfortunately I had a really crap teacher and they singularly failed to help me understand anything. At all. I kept thinking I had it and then failing the questions (the IB does ask questions in quite a mean way which expects you to know quite a lot as a basic assumption -- if you don't 100% comprehend the theory it's very hard to even approach some of their longer Qs in the correct manner).

Chemistry was essential for me to get onto the course I wanted to take at University - also I didn't want to fail. Sooo I got myself a Chemistry tutor. All it took was 4 hours and a person who had the capacity to actually explain things with clarity (clarity for a non-mathematical person vs a mathematical one means something very different, in my opinion xP) and she saved my grade

So the reason I told that long and rambled story was basically: Chemistry HL is hard. Especially if you're not very mathematical. You have to understand everything and the way to succeed is to not let things rest but to use your panic to find the explanations and be proactive. I'd say the same for IB Maths.

It doesn't really get more or less mathematical (in my opinion) after the first chapter. It's just different kinds of Maths, some of it a little more common sense (I found I could cope with energetics quite easily, for instance) and some of it equally as mind-boggling as Stoichiometry. If it doesn't come naturally to you, keep bashing at it. Eventually you'll make a dent. And if you can't break through AND you don't need to take Chemistry... erm... don't!

Out of interest, what grades did u get at GCSE level?

[AirenMaxence]

Most chem topics are very maths orientated, such as stoch, kinetics, acids and bases, redox, equilibrium, reaction rates. The main difference between Chem SL and HL is actually the maths.

You have to have a pretty good grasp of Logarithms.

The other half of chem is all memorisation, like organic chemistry and periodicity. i find that the topics are not very well linked, and we often dwell too deep into topics that are covered only at university level.

Ask your teacher for the IB Chemistry 'Question Bank' which has a whole load of past questions. once you do them repeatedly you'll realise there are only a few ways the questions can be worded, so it then becomes putting numbers in a formula.

[dessskris]

hey let me share a story to you

there is this girl named nadya, she has always been the smartest student in class. yet, she is the youngest.

she has always scored well for every exams. in IGCSE, she scored 6 A* and 2 A.

now she is in grade 11 IB. we are both taking chemistry HL. the first chemistry test (stoichiometry) was very easy and we have learnt everything there last year (from IGCSE) but this nadya person scored 8 out of 40 marks. WHAT THE HELL?! I scored like around 90% and this very intelligent person failed the test.

you might just be unlucky, and that's only a first test so you might just be shocked bcos of the long holiday

[Sandwich]

Out of interest, what grades did u get at GCSE level?

I got A*s. But GCSE is very different. You can be mediochre at something and get an A* in it for GCSE (or brilliant at it and get an A*, in my opinion GCSEs and also A Levels have very poor grade discrimination). Whereas for IB, if you're mediochre at it, it shows up in your grade. You won't get a 6 unless you slave at it and are unlikely (depending on subject) to get a 7. In many ways that's why I'd advise 'average' students not to take the IB. Not in the UK, anyway! Universities don't account for the fact that the same person can get an A in something at A Level and a 5 in it for IB -- it's unfair, but equally there's no way for Universities to distinguish between the high and the low ends of grades when they're so broad and achievable.

[Tilia]

It took me quite a while to understand the stoichemistry stuff as well. But I can recommend this:

It's what helped me understand what on Earth a mole was! However, stoichemistry is a very small topic and the others are very different, but you'll have to be able to apply m=nM and such formulae in those topics as well.

Chemistry is fascinating, in my opinion. I just loved it, even though there were some things I had trouble with and still find a bit odd. So just calm down, try to learn what you didn't know and see how you find chemistry when you've come to the other topics. Another thing you could do is to ask an older student to help you with chemistry as service.

[vanilla chai]

Hey you know... the same thing happened with me

I'm still in chemistry and I'm not doing so well but right now I'm actually most confident about stochiometry. It's one of those things that are really simple after you understand it. I'd recommend doing a few more extra problems and maybe going through them with your teacher? Or if you're slightly intimidated by you're teacher like I was just go find the smart kids in class to help! Good luck!

[Mawiege]

I'm doing my 2nd year of IB HL chemistry - last year, when I had just started, I was terrible for the first few months, but i think it's just a question of getting used to the stuff being taught, and the way it's taught.

The best thing is to ask your teacher for practice questions, all the time, and if you don't understand something, go ask them immediately.

HL chem takes some getting used to, it really is difficult, but if it makes you feel any better, this time last year my chemistry grade was 4 and now it's a 7

[saunders is god]

I think the best way to succeed in IB Chemistry HL is just practice, practice and practice doing questions. I don't personally find stoichiometry that hard once I learned the concept, so its just a matter of getting your head around it. Also, constantly refer back to the syllabus because books sometimes contain unnecessary information. Anyway, it all matters about how much work you put in and your dedication to doing well Good luck everyone!!!

[Drake Glau]

Definitely all about the practice. I joined HL Chem 6 weeks late (I was planning on HL math, but decided not to) and only had 4 days to prepare for the test over the first 6 weeks, as you can guess it wasn't the greatest. But just simply practice enough and it becomes easier and easier, and honestly I think chem gets easier and easier the more you get into it, stuff just seems to make more and more sense (that's the whole part on how things are interconnected, and that light bulb moment is always nice). Trust me, you'll get better, ALL our tests are IB questions from old tests and so far ive never gotten less than a B on any of them (except that first one) after things started to click together.

[charco]

The real key to understanding stoichiometry is to understand kinetic theory and the structure of matter. All stoichiometry does is to put numbers to the types of particles which are aggregated together to make the stuff all around us.

Most people struggle at first with the sums, but little by little it all starts to make sense. Try not to just learn the methods 'rote' but look at the underlying concepts.

Another problem that often arises is the difficulty in understanding how a description of a practical series of steps can be used to gain quantitative information. Once again it's matter of 'seeing' the procedure and how the underlying substances interact.

[nikkiwilde]

Hi

I got an A* at Chemistry GCSE in 2009 and so took chemistry at higher level .............. BIG MISTAKE!!

I find it extremely difficult and find myself constantly stressed because of it.

Only advice I can give is to be very organised. Having all my notes with me helps.

[Guest IMBATMAN]

yeah...i cant't really help you...i have the same problem as you right now

[genepeer]

Stoichiometry is a completely SL topic.

Edited October 17, 2010 by Gene-Peer

[Stressed yet Lucid]

I'm doing my 2nd year of IB HL chemistry - last year, when I had just started, I was terrible for the first few months, but i think it's just a question of getting used to the stuff being taught, and the way it's taught.

The best thing is to ask your teacher for practice questions, all the time, and if you don't understand something, go ask them immediately.

HL chem takes some getting used to, it really is difficult, but if it makes you feel any better, this time last year my chemistry grade was 4 and now it's a 7

That brings me so much hope! We just started Topic 2 and it is surprisingly easy! (Although the Topic 1 test killed me! ) Nonetheless, thanks for the motivation!!!!!!!!!

Edited October 29, 2010 by Stressed yet Lucid