Learn Chemistry Online - Strategy and Tips That Work
Chemistry is acknowledged as the most interesting of all science
subjects. However, a lot of students, after taking a mere look at
the Chemical formulae, go into a tizzy - probably due to a fear
of the unknown. The fear of Chemistry pervades basically from a
lack of understanding of the subject which itself stems from following
a random approach to learning Chemistry.
I reiterate here that Chemistry is very interesting
and easy to comprehend. However to understand it, Chemistry must
be learnt in a systematic manner. The subject itself follows a beautiful
pattern and as one learns, the pieces fall into place, fitting well
into each other.
With the proliferation of online learning, understanding
Chemistry has become much more easier, simpler and faster too. The
power of Online Chemistry Learning lies in its ability to create
interactive tutorials which make understanding Chemistry much simpler.
Learning Chemistry is now more fun, enjoyable and interesting.
The human element in learning chemistry ie Chemistry
Tutors however cannot be ignored. While the tutorials have become
more and more effective, the need for a tutor always remains to
get the insight into the subject. It is only a tutor - whether online
or face-to-face who can gauge your learning requirements and plug
the gaps in knowledge to make a complete understanding. The online
tutors available today are much more affordable, flexible and as
effective compared to the face-to-face tutors. The Online tutors
complimented with Chemistry learning aids make the best combination
for success in Chemistry.
The Basics of Chemistry.
For those with little or no background of Chemistry,
the first step must start with the learning about the atom itself.
One must completely understand the structure of atom, the way the
electrons, protons and neutrons are arranged and how they affect
the properties of substances. The ideal way of learning this is
by animated tutorials, a lot of which are easily available on the
internet.
The next step is to graduate to the Periodic Table
which gives complete insight into the Chemical and Physical behavior
of elements. I will give a example here - the Sodium (Na) atom has
11 electrons. If one looks at its electronic configuration which
is 2-8-1, following the Octet rule, Sodium can lose one electron
- this makes it a metal. The same analogy is applicable to the other
elements of the periodic table which can lose electrons. Thus one
simple concept is applicable to a number of elements of the Periodic
Table and can be used to predict their metallic and non metallic
nature. From the periodic table itself, one can learn how to write
chemical formulae. Once that is done, its easy to write Chemical
equations and balance them.
It has been my experience that a majority of the
students are not able to understand the Periodic Table completely
by themselves which affects their further learning of Chemistry.
This is where the services of a tutor prove invaluable. Hence it
is imperative that the gaps in knowledge be filled in by interacting
with a tutor.
Learning Advanced Chemistry.
So far so Good. While I will not attempt to give
the topics and various aspects to be studied in advanced Chemistry
here, it is obviously clear that Advanced Chemistry delves further
into depths of Chemistry. Hence sustained efforts to learn Chemistry
and understand it well become more and more important. For advanced
chemistry, the learning by Tutorials and reinforced by interaction
with tutors must be supplemented with attempting quizzes on the
subject. The ideal way of achieving it is as follows - First understand
the topic fully by the tutorials. Next identify the gaps in knowledge
and interact with a Chemistry Tutor to assimilate the topic. Thereafter
attempt maximum quizzes on the subject to test himself/herself on
the understanding of the topic. These are available aplenty on the
internet.
This attempting of the quizzes is the most important
part of learning and brings forth the mastery for each aspect of
chemistry. This is invaluable to identify the gaps in knowledge
which can then be bridged with reasoning - which would apply equally
to similar situations. Ideally this should be done with the aid
of a Chemistry Tutor that can help in clearing questions and doubts
which can arise. The objective questions also help to prepare for
the various exams which are based on similar pattern.
Happy learning - May you all succeed in your endeavors.
Uma Sharma is a Expert Online Chemistry Tutor with
over 17 years experience teaching College Level and Test Prep Chemistry.
For expert online tutoring in Chemistry for school and college level
and test prep for MCAT, DAT, AP, SAT Chemistry visit website at
Chemistry Tutor The website also offers excellent Chemistry Tutorials
and quizzes. For expert tutoring in AP Chemistry, visit AP Chemistry
Tutor
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=UmaSharma
|