Going into Yr 11 Chemistry? Help! (1 Viewer)

[catherine1102]

Hello all

I'm going to be doing Chemistry next year and I hope to continue doing it in Yr 12. Now the thing is, in Year 10, my teacher skimmed through the topic pretty quickly and I wasn't able to pick up on a few skills such as balancing equations etc. Could someone tell me what skills I would have to know in order to do well next year and not fall behind? Will there be any skills which will be considered as assumed knowledge? Also, can someone please let me know what content would be in the modules so I can try to understand in my free time? Thank you so much

 

[meggles_]

The skills learnt in year 10 should be gone over again in year 11, depending on your teacher - don't worry too much - year 11 is a chance to start on a new leaf no matter what your grades were like in year 10 (I for one was terrible at science in year 10 but managed to get alot better in year 11)
The most important ones you need as sort of assumed knowledge is how to balance equations and how to do simple mathematical equations - BUT you do get plenty of practice over the year(s) through homework exercises, etc.
Also try focusing on your practical skills - alot of people don't do as well in their practical exams (which amounts to pretty significant weighting in assessments) - e.g. how to properly write a prac report, how to handle lab equipment, analysing risks/hazards/precautions , how to graph/tabulate results, how to carry out experiments (these are all very important!!!)

Have you downloaded the year 11/year 12 syllabus? You can flick through the year 11 one to get an idea of what's coming
Otherwise, get a textbook (I recommend Conquering Chemistry) and start working your way through. Be vigilant on your dotpoint summaries and ensuring that you understand every single concept! (this is throughout the year)

There are plenty of YouTube videos teaching you how to balance equations if you're really struggling

But in all seriousness, as much as you are to be commended, don't study too much - you don't want to burn out before prelims start and this break is your basically your last chance of freedom!

Best of luck! (and enjoy your break)

 

[Feynman]

Watch this:

 

[tyrone97]

The chemistry syllabus is on the board of studies website (both prelim and hsc). Knowing how to balance equations is just a matter of practice - you'll get the hang of it as long as you consistently practice and do exam questions throughout the year.

 

[EarthSci34]

Hey Catherine1102,

So, I did Chemistry for my preliminary HSC and I can tell you that if you can get the balancing equations concept down to pat AT THE START OF THE YEAR, it'll be quite easy for the rest. I spent most of my Preliminary time studying the "basic concepts" such as atomic weight, etc. These take a lot of time and make it difficult to get ahead of the class. I, luckily, had a great tutor here in BoS that helped me catch-up fairly quickly. But I do suggest getting a tutor or spending a significant amount of time getting used to chemistry lingo.

Enjoy your Prelim and HSC years!

 

[Fizzy_Cyst]

If you can get balancing equations, naming compounds and formulae of polyatomic ions and compounds that would be sufficient. Balancing Chemical equations is beyond Stage 5 Science, so it should not be assumed by your Year 11 teacher that this can be done, but if you can do it, or at least have the basic idea, it will save you a great deal of time in the year. I spent the first 1.5 weeks of the course going through valency, polyatomic ions, naming and determining formulae of compounds and writing word equations, Chem equations and finally balanced chem equations before we even got into the theory as they are absolutely key and it actually saved us a great deal of time later on

 

[catherine1102]

Thank you so much for your replies everyone! I am still kind of new to this boredofstudies thing so I dont really know how to use this to its full potential. All your replies have been very useful What do you think was the hardest to learn/understand in Chemistry?

 

[strawberrye]

Thank you so much for your replies everyone! I am still kind of new to this boredofstudies thing so I dont really know how to use this to its full potential. All your replies have been very useful What do you think was the hardest to learn/understand in Chemistry?

The concept of moles

 

[SuchSmallHands]

If you can draw Lewis Structures going into year 11 it will help, they're really good for helping you get a more practical sense of what's going on in a chemical reaction. Other than that, basically all of junior chemistry should be really quickly reviewed by your teacher at the start (there really isn't much; in my experience anyway, it was mostly looking at things fizzing and noticing colour changes) and you'll pick it up quite quickly

Thank you so much for your replies everyone! I am still kind of new to this boredofstudies thing so I dont really know how to use this to its full potential. All your replies have been very useful What do you think was the hardest to learn/understand in Chemistry?

I have to agree with strawberrye, getting your head around the mole concept is really weird at first. But after a little while you don't even think about it any more because it becomes so natural to work with.

 

[dan964]

> get my year 11 Chem notes and turn to about page 13-15. there is a some useful stuff which I copied and pasted from my year 10 stuff
you can also find my year 10 science notes here as well.

in all seriousness
balancing equations
naming compounds
basic bonding
periodic table

 

[dan964]

I also put up the essentials for year 11 chemistry on Scribd if you can't be bothered doing above.
https://www.scribd.com/mobile/users/dan964/uploads

 

[britaker]

If you can draw Lewis Structures going into year 11 it will help, they're really good for helping you get a more practical sense of what's going on in a chemical reaction. Other than that, basically all of junior chemistry should be really quickly reviewed by your teacher at the start (there really isn't much; in my experience anyway, it was mostly looking at things fizzing and noticing colour changes) and you'll pick it up quite quickly


I have to agree with strawberrye, getting your head around the mole concept is really weird at first. But after a little while you don't even think about it any more because it becomes so natural to work with.

lol we spent like weeks learning our polyatomic ions in year 10

 

[SuchSmallHands]

lol we spent like weeks learning our polyatomic ions in year 10

Lol I went to a rural comprehensive school.