Chemistry

Chemistry is an experimental science that combines academic study with the acquisition of practical and investigational skills.

It is often called the central science as chemical principles underpin both the physical environment in which we live and all biological systems. Apart from being a subject worthy of study in its own right, chemistry is often a prerequisite for many other courses in higher education, such as medicine, biological science and environmental science.

Your Chemistry Best Friends

Chemistry Book

Chemistry Data Booklet

Richard Thornley (YouTube)

Testimonials

Why HL?

Everyone will say Chemistry HL is scary. There are so many horror stories about how we just breakdown in the middle of the day, crying about how we don’t understand chem. But now looking back at it, yes it was definitely hard, but it was also very rewarding. I myself am a more conceptual learner, which just means I do better in concepts than in actual solving (hence my struggle with physics and chemistry), but because of this, it only pushed me to work smarter.

Whenever you don’t really understand a lesson, the best advice I can give from experience would be to search up how to solve it on YouTube. All the tutorials are basically the reason I passed any of my tests. There are also a lot of resources that give you past questions and answer keys. Those will be the best way to check if you really understood the lesson. I think there should definitely be more of an initiative when taking Chem HL, because without the drive to understand the lessons, you won’t really get anywhere. Another important thing is not to be ashamed if you are having a hard time. I broke down last year when I got a 1 on a test, and it felt like I was the dumbest person ever. But you shouldn’t be ashamed of the struggles you face, and take time to go over the answers, even asking teacher for help. Don’t feel ashamed to ask help from your classmates either. This year especially, I made sure to ask for a consultation every time we had a test, and because of that, I now score average of 6s and 7s.

If this is something you will be willing to commit to, then by all means don’t let fears and horror stories stop you from going Chem HL. (Nia Yeung, Cohort 1)

Why SL?

Chemistry is a cool subject. I mean, I don’t get to see things go BOOM, but colour-change-titration-thing is still pretty cool.

But, when will I recommend someone else take Chemistry SL? Well if you’re interested in chemistry or don’t really want to take Biology, but you need at least 1 science, then Chemistry is for you! But when should you take SL or HL? If you’re interested in pursuing a degree about chemistry (ie Chemical Engineering), then you’d probably want something a bit more extensive, which is why HL might be a better choice.

Okay, back to Chem SL, it’s still a lot to learn so how did I manage to survive? Well it’s all about the Subject guides, past papers, Indian YouTubers, and of course, listening to your teacher explain it.

Your teacher will be your (unwilling) best friend. There’s no point in being shy if you don’t get a part of the lesson so just ask. Think about it this way, even if you annoy the living lights out of your teacher, at least you’ll still get high grades during the tests. Let’s say you don’t understand no matter how many times they explain it, then read subject guides or the book, watch YouTube or Khan Academy, until you actually understand it. The next part is all about the application, so this is where the past papers come in. Use those as practise, and check using the mark scheme. Keep practising until you get the hang of it.

Amazing! You just passed Chem SL. All that’s left now is that you pass all your other subjects! Lmao good luck with that! (Mariel Sison, Cohort 1)

Chemistry is pretty complicated but manageable. It is one of those courses that require you to use your imagination since it is mostly theoretical. The resources that really helped me understand chemistry is the handful of youtube videos about the lesson. There are a lot of IB chemistry youtube videos that really helped me when reviewing for my unit tests. Given that we are currently learning online, there really is no easy way to learn except doing your own research about the topic. I chose chemistry since I was really not interested in memorizing the anatomy of a cell. Chemistry calls for more understanding and computations and will come easy with practice. (Edrea Go, Cohort 2)

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse