4 subjects seem only a little to those SPM students, but the number of chapters for each subject is about 2 times more than that of the corresponding SPM subject! For instance, you have a total of 14 chapters for your SPM chemistry syllabus; I have 31 chapters for mine! Even worse, each chapter still has so many concepts that need to be learnt and understood. In organic chemistry, for an organic compound like alcohol, I have to remember a lot of reactions that it can undergo, and also the reagents and conditions that are required to make the alcohol undergo a certain reaction. For example:
Reactions of alcohol with PCl3, PCl5 and SOCl2:
r.t.
3CH3CH2OH + PCl3 -------> 3CH3CH2Cl + H3PO3
r.t.
CH3CH2OH + PCl5 -------> CH3CH2Cl + POCl3 + HCl
r.t.
CH3CH2OH + SOCl2 --------> CH3CH2Cl + SO4 +HCl
This part of reactions is just 1/4 the reactions of alcohols that I need to know and remember. From the reactions shown above, I still have to know that the 2nd and 3rd reactions are the ways to determine the presence of -OH group because of the liberation of the HCl gas.
I am glad that when I was writing this blog, I did not refer to my notes but I still could write out the reactions of alcohols. All these really need extremely hard work to remember and understand. But the STPM chemistry syllabus is really a huge and heavy burden and so the syllabi for the other subjects.
I really wonder how the people out there could get 4 As in STPM? How can they remember all the things in such a thick "telephone book"? Sorry, not one, but 4 "telephone books"!
As you know time is ticking,
ReplyDeleteso, just put aside these complains about how people can do that or the book is too fat.
Place your attention at your target.
GOOD LUCK ;)