Class Is Not Enough

[LostFoxeh]

Right now I am in college chem 1 and I am light years ahead of the class. The reason is because my mother is a chemistry teacher, so I grew up learning about it. Basicly I am taking Chem 1 so I can get the credit and to make sure there isn't anything I am missing before taking the other chem classes.

 

This makes a problem, I find myself often bored with the work and during the lecture I keep think "Okay got it, can we please move on to the next section. The horse is dead." (I do not say move on or hurry up or anything like that in class. That would be rude and uncalled for.) So my question is where are some places I can learn about more advanced Chemistry topics and are free to access.

 

I have looked on my own and keep getting things that are way over my head, or are not written in a learning friendly way. The other things I keep finding are news articles talking about a discovery or experiment, but doesn't go in detail about it. It is like it was written more for entertainment than to share knowledge.

 

Something else I am interested in is physics, but not general physics. The type where calculus is use in the formulas rather than only using algebra and some trig.

 

P.S yes I have used google, but I don't really trust it anymore. The websites it finds tend to be more pop-culture/yahoo-answers rather than factual websites. I have yet to find a search engine that is good for things like research.

[Qfwfq]

I find myself often bored with the work and during the lecture I keep think "Okay got it, can we please move on to the next section.

Careful with that. I sometimes found myself in a similar mood in classes and so my attention would go off on my own path; quite often I wouldn't be listening and watching when the teacher got to something I did not already know, or perhaps even just a definition of something obvious but I later didn't connect those terms with it.

 

So don't quit following, no matter how bored you get, it can end up making you the one who's behind instead of ahead.

 

So my question is where are some places I can learn about more advanced Chemistry topics and are free to access.

 

I have looked on my own and keep getting things that are way over my head, or are not written in a learning friendly way.

Start with your classes and textbooks. If you find things that are way over your head it means you've still got to go through your courses, even if currently a lot of it is already familiar.

 

Something else I am interested in is physics, but not general physics. The type where calculus is use in the formulas rather than only using algebra and some trig.

Which is to say university level physics. That's what I did. Figure out whether you prefer to learn that and maintain a basic chem knowledge or just complete your chem.

 

P.S yes I have used google, but I don't really trust it anymore. The websites it finds tend to be more pop-culture/yahoo-answers rather than factual websites. I have yet to find a search engine that is good for things like research.

I know what you mean, yeah, but with practice in choosing search keywords one can find serious publications too, but usually non subscribers only see the abstract anyways.

 

Remember though that the internet is not God or something. If you're at a university faculty that also has researchers it no doubt would have a library with the right stuff but simply you need more grounding if you can't understand it.

 

Don't expect to be a researcher when you are still a student, just because of your mother. During my university years I saw many students who's parents were professors in the same faculty, sometimes other professors were acquainted with their colleagues' offspring too; still, they were following courses diligently and studying hard to pass their tests.

[LostFoxeh]

Careful with that. I sometimes found myself in a similar mood in classes and so my attention would go off on my own path; quite often I wouldn't be listening and watching when the teacher got to something I did not already know, or perhaps even just a definition of something obvious but I later didn't connect those terms with it.

 

So don't quit following, no matter how bored you get, it can end up making you the one who's behind instead of ahead.

 

Start with your classes and textbooks. If you find things that are way over your head it means you've still got to go through your courses, even if currently a lot of it is already familiar.

 

Which is to say university level physics. That's what I did. Figure out whether you prefer to learn that and maintain a basic chem knowledge or just complete your chem.

 

I know what you mean, yeah, but with practice in choosing search keywords one can find serious publications too, but usually non subscribers only see the abstract anyways.

 

Remember though that the internet is not God or something. If you're at a university faculty that also has researchers it no doubt would have a library with the right stuff but simply you need more grounding if you can't understand it.

 

Don't expect to be a researcher when you are still a student, just because of your mother. During my university years I saw many students who's parents were professors in the same faculty, sometimes other professors were acquainted with their colleagues' offspring too; still, they were following courses diligently and studying hard to pass their tests.

 

Right, I still pay attention in class. I just pick up on the concepts easily I guess.

 

No, I do not expect to be good at something simply cause my parents are. Just that I have been exposed to it at home because of that. Which probably explains why I find it easy to pick up on what goes on in class.

 

Yes I use a lot of the college's resources for finding information. Most of it is good stuff. What I mean to ask is if anyone on here knows of some really cool explanations on a topic dealing with chemistry that was written well. For an example, if someone looking to learn how to draw, there are lots of tutorials on the subject, but some are better than others in explaining the same thing. So they might ask an art community which tutorials they though where good and helpful. That what I mean to ask, are what are some tutorials that deal with chemistry or physics or a collection of them. No looking for anything specific, after all how could I know about it if I have never been told about it before.

[Jorge1907]

Talk to your prof and tell him/her of your ambition. Maybe they'll let you work in their lab.

[Maine farmer]

When I was in college, I found it helpful to be helpful to other students. One way to be sure you are on top of the material in class is to be able to explain it to others in a way they can understand. Aditionally, even in classes that you might find easy, it can be helpful to be involved in a study group with serious students. Your choice of friends will have a profound effect on your education, and not just on your grades.