Most students across the globe consider chemistry as a tricky subject. It gets even worse because the perception results in a lack of effort and lead to widespread failure for these students. So what contributes to this perception about chemistry?
Chemistry proves central to all other sciences, and you have to ace it to become capable of pursuing other disciplines like medicine, biological sciences, computer science, analytical chemistry, etc. It has more than a hundred elements you have to acquaint yourself with properly, suffixes and prefixes, besides other specific things. Chemistry proves abstract when it comes to concepts and combines with math besides having a particular language.
So what makes chemistry difficult?
Attributes that Makes Chemistry Seem Difficult
- Terms and Conditions. Most people, let alone students, skip past aspects like terms and conditions. But with chemistry, you have to understand technical terms to become familiar with them before understanding the concepts involved. Understand the elemental abbreviations such as Na for Sodium, etc., besides understanding the rules, definition, constants, and equations.
- Centrality if math to chemistry. Math proves integral to chemistry as it proves for physics. You therefore need to comprehend math from aspects such as algebra to exponential subjects for you to ace in chemistry. A weak foundation in math can result in a poor performance in chemistry.
- Chemistry proves vast and progressive. Well, you have to comprehend diverse topics and concepts in chemistry because it proves very wide. Every idea builds on the last one, and therefore having a proper foundation early and in each stage can assist you to ace chemistry. So, chemistry transcends memorization and requires you to understand concepts to assist you in building any moment anything new. It involves identifying links between topics and comprehending the way every subject relates. Because of this, most students can find the going difficult when it comes to grasping concepts taught in isolation.
- Poor mentality about chemistry. Most times, you become who you believe yourself to be, and the same applies to chemistry. Students perceive chemistry as complicated because of what they hear from others, and as a result, it becomes complex. Because of this, you end up failing in chemistry. You have to believe that chemistry proves complex, yes, but you can comfortably handle it when you apply yourself to it. Try and breakdown concepts into manageable portions for every study session, besides creating mind maps in assisting you to visualize what you learn. So take it slowly and avoid overburdening yourself with pressure.
- Students cannot visualize chemistry in real life. The inability of students to see chemistry on a practical level in real life contributes to the perception of its complexity. Learning particulate matter and the inability to observe the molecules interact can prove difficult. It can prove better to learn about something that you can practically relate to, especially when you still go to high school. Therefore ensuring that kids understand aspects, such as why toothpaste has fluoride and how it assists against tooth decay, why fires can at times burn clear, and sometimes burn sooty can help.
Conclusion
Chemistry proves one crucial area for all learners to understand because it surrounds us and helps with everything happening. You therefore have to understand the concepts and get the correct tools to assist you to see it. As much as chemistry can prove complicated, understanding why it has the complex tag can help you overcome these barriers.