[mindandbrain]

My strength lies in areas such as history, english and philosophy. But my passions and interests have always been in science and math. This resulted in not learning correct thought processes to comprehend chemistry/math, basically just get by with a decent grade. I always thought I myself as not being a "math" person. Is there anyway to basically relearn or somehow reteach myself the basics. To have a more mathematical mind? Or does such brain development occur early on and by now all I can do is practice and become a bit better? I'm going back and relearning even the most basic math concepts right now. I hear there is a theory that says if you devote 10,000 hours to a particular area than you'll master it, will this apply to me even though I do not have a "mathematical brain"? I know it's hard to answer since you don't know me but does anyone know someone or have heard of someone completely changing? From basically English being their strong point to math becoming their strong point? It sucks being terrible at your passion. I'm a senior in psychology as a reference point and psychology was a joke to me, though I understand it's easier than hard sciences.

[Corribus]

Find someone good to help teach you.  Although - and this is not a scientific opinion - I do think some people are more hard-wired for math than others, and it probably has a lot to do with psychological development during childhood.  On the other hand, I think a lot of people convince themselves that they're not good at math before they've really tried to learn it.  In that sense, it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Unfortunately math is unavoidable in a natural science like chemistry.  True, an emphasis in any curriculum should be on concepts rather than math, so math shouldn't be the focus... but it's simply not possible to really be successful at chemistry without some basic grasp of algebra and calculus at the minimum, due to the need for statistical analysis and data manipulation.

[curiouscat]

What's your goal? Satisfying your curiosity? Career change? Intellectual challenge? Need it for work? Prerequisite for advanced coursework in your field?

Identify your goal. Strategies will differ.

[caliheat]

Have you taken any general chemistry courses in your time at university? I think that gen chem is a pretty good survey-style course, and if you like and/or are proficient at gen chem, then you probably like chemistry as a whole. The math needed for gen chem is pretty basic algebra, but it does get harder as you move to upper level courses. Likewise, organic chemistry only requires VERY basic arithmetic; its probably the least amount of math you can do in a hard science (besides biology).

About not being a math person, trust me, I know the feeling. When I was in high school learning algebra II, I was struggling like hell. It was the hardest stuff I had to learn until that point in my life. I was about to give up on my scientific education because I thought I couldn't continue in math. However, my teacher was extremely helpful and she actually made me believe I COULD do math. Once I believed in myself, things just clicked and I started getting it! I then had that same teacher for the following year in pre-calculus and I rose to the top of the class. Then, senior year, she recommended me for AP Calculus BC (with another teacher) and I ended up getting a 5 on the test, allowing me to skip the calculus I sequence at my university.

In short, my teacher gave me the adequate mathematical foundation to continue in science, one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. To this day (four years later) she is still the best teacher I had in ANY subject, easily. I really think without her guidance, I would never have "understood" math and my life would be drastically different today.

[mindandbrain]

Thanks for all the advice. Im currently in General Chem I for science majors. Hardest class Ive ever taken in my life. Granted the professor said things are rushed since it's a summer course which is 4 weeks as well as I didnt take intro to chem for non science majors which cover the 1st four chapters over a 3 month period rather than 5 days thats been spent this summer lol.

        Nonethless my concern lies in my thinking. I struggle in anything related to math or chem. The thought processes per say. Part of it I believe is my educational history   , basically until college I had ADHD. No not the kids will be kids kind, I was pretty much the worse student imaginable. Extremely disruptive. Cant focus. Class was a chore except science and history. Oddly I rapidly matured between high school and college but I fear that I never learned proper ways to analyze   , to think, especially in regards to chem and math. The past week Ive seriously have taught myself basic and I mean very basic algebra. a +2 = 4 kind. As a child I didnt learn any of the processes. I just knew answer was 2 because of common sense. Anyway, Im not sure what to do. Maybe focus on bio (which I enjoy) since it requires very little mathmatical thinking and Im better at memorizing "things" rather than memorizing and understanding abstract and mathmatical concepts.

[caliheat]

Hmm...well what is it exactly about chemistry that you enjoy? Maybe if you start focusing on what you enjoy doing (chemistry related) and becoming proficient on that topic, you will start to see the patterns in the science and you will understand other topics easier.

Also yeah bio is pretty much just memorization, probably similar to your psychology classes where you learn about the functions of the brain and brain disorders. Personally I find psychology very fascinating; I have never taken a formal psych class but I would love to learn about theories of consciousness, memory formation, how schizophrenic brain is different from the normal brain, etc. The only downside is that psychology is very impacted nowadays so it will be tougher to find a job.

[mindandbrain]

My overall goal is to get into med school. But I want to learn. I enjoy chemistry. Especially relationships chemicals have to eachother. I really struggle when math becomes involved. We're starting to go over gas laws and Im becoming overwhelmed. I believe that it'll be beneficial if I also focus on basic math while learning. What math would benefit me most? Just basic algebra?

[caliheat]

Yeah you only need to know how to solve simple algebraic equations. For gas laws, do you know how to solve for n or T in PV = nRT? If you can do that, then just remember that n=number of moles of gas, R=the universal gas constant 0.08206 L*atm/(mol*K), T = the absolute temperature (in Kelvins), P=the pressure in atm, and V=the volume in liters.

Most of these types of problems just require you to keep track of the units you use, so if you are given 25 degrees Celsius, you need to covert it to Kelvins by adding 273, so you use 298K in the equation. If you are given 10 grams of O₂ gas for instance, you need to convert it to moles by adding the molar masses of two oxygen atoms (16g/mol + 16g/mol = 32g/mol) and then divide 10 g by 32g/mol so that grams cancel, and you are left with 0.3125 mol O₂.

You can start improving your math skills by practicing solving for each variable in (P₁V₁)/T₁=(P₂V₂)/T₂ and the ideal gas law PV=nRT.

But if you want, you can start slower and practice balancing chemical equations (only basic arithmetic). I also recommend looking for a tutor or going to a help center on campus so someone can guide you in person. Never be embarrassed to ask for help, a good tutor can guide you and help you build a good mathematical foundation, as my high school math teacher did for me.

[mindandbrain]

Ya I think a tutor would help a lot. I Iearn a lot more when I listen and discuss. Doesnt help there isnt any tutors during summer and the class is rushed from 3 months to 3 weeks. I think working on having a better math basis would do wonders. How much math is in Chem II? I hear just logs and algebra

[caliheat]

The hardest math you will see in Chem II is reaction kinetics, which is pseudo-calculus/advanced algebra (using ln(x) and exponents). Here is what it looks like:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/General_Chemistry/Reaction_Rates

Also, I recommend looking up KhanAcademy on youtube; he is a great teacher and has videos ranging from basic math to advanced chemistry/physics.