Posted by alexandra_k on March 5, 2014, at 20:05:36
In reply to Re: a better life, posted by Partlycloudy on March 5, 2014, at 6:47:54
thanks, pc.
i think it really is a case of practice. the brain is kinda like a muscle with respect to adapting to the demands you make of it. stuff that is very hard to start with... gets to be easy and automatic with enough practice.
our lecturer has been banging on a lot about the macroscopic (what you observe), and the sub-microscopic (e.g., atoms too small to be seen by microscope).. how we represent the submicroscopic with models - like the ball and stick diagrams - and also with reaction equations. apparently chemistry is all about learning to see / imagine each of those three... and that it is a skill that develops.
my main worry is the equations. but i guess they will get to be automatic with practice... there is something about cm3 morphing into g/cm-3 that i don't quite understand... it might just be that... something something about a rule where if you divide into an exponent it becomes negative..? but that isn't important, for the moment, i don't think. i have to be able to figure how much to add to a solution to dilute it... then make a concentration curve with the known values... then use that and whatever it's called that displaces the solution... to figure out the concentration of solutions of unknown sugar content.
what fun.
i wonder what nutrasweet / sugar substitute weighs...
i'm not entirely sure why we need safety glasses and lab coats for that... to get us used to such things, i suppose.
it kinda is fun, really. i just need loads of practice at the math.
i wonder what the tests will be like... if it will be lots of calculations or more 'what are the two features of matter'? i'm heaps better at the later...
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1058481
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20140129/msgs/1061906.html