Beebalm Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Okay, I'm about to lose my religion here. I purchased a Zumdahl "Media-Enhanced" 7th edition Chemistry book NEW from Amazon. No online access key is inside that I can find. I contacted seller who knew nothing about online access and offered a refund if I returned the book. (We're USING IT) I decided to just treat it as a used book and purchase online access (as it says in the appendix you can do). Since, I've talked to at least five reps who keep shuffling responsibility for handling web key access to different people. It seems one company (Houghton Mifflin) bought all the AP books from Cengage Learning and there's a question as to who handles what. AAAAHHHHH!!!!!! Do we NEED online access? My dd says she thinks she doesn't, but I can't even tell what we're missing, if anything. Do we need the Thinkwell videos and practice tests? We use Barron's and 5 STeps to a 5....is that sufficient? Please help me with any advice. TIA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Can't help with the Zumdahl issue, but I will report that my son uses Chem Skill Builder software (available from McGraw Hill for about $25) in his CC chem courses. You might want to "listen" in on an AP Chem teachers listserv to see if they recommend this or another software option. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 My son took the class that uses that chemistry book at college last year. There were a lot of the online items that were available to him without purchasing online access. He had a used book with an expired code and the option of buying access for (I think) about $75. He didn't need it but he had a teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Dd used an older edition of Zumdahl (6th) last year for AP Chemistry self-study. She had used Apologia Chem I the year before. We didn't have an online access code, so she never did that, and never felt she needed more. We bought the accompanying Zumdahl 6th ed. study guide which she didn't use either. She thought Zumdahl was a wonderful textbook. She used the Princeton Review and 5 Steps to a 5 AP exam prep guides, which she thought were very helpful. Her favorite was the PR guide. For labs I had her read through the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry experiments and watch the lab demos on the DIVE Chemistry CD. It would have been great to have actually done the labs in the Illustrated Guide, but we just didn't have the time or money. For further practice and motivation, she participated in the Chemistry Olympiad at the local and National levels. She is a very bright and motivated student, but she still felt the Chemistry AP exam was quite challenging. She was thrilled to receive a 5. HTH, GardenMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Ditto to what MomsintheGarden said. My kids used Zumdahl textbook (no online access) + Princeton AP review guide + College Board released exam with similar results. There are more than enough practice problems in the textbook itself. We didn't think we were missing anything by not having an online component. ~Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beebalm Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 Thanks SO much to all of you. I got irritated because I was treated as though I was trying to pull a fast one or do something questionable. Who knew buying a text would be so full of intrigue:glare:? One rep even told me to call the customer service center and don't say anything about where I bought it or that we were homeschoolers.....just that I was 'willing to pay for online access.' And I bought this thing as NEW!!! Live and learn. I thought Amazon was considered a legitimate distributor. Thanks so much for your help....I think we'll do just fine without begging them for their online product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemMommy Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 my students use the on-line access features. One prof does but he has them submit homework on-line and that is the only part he does uses. Skip the on-line stuff cheerfully. There is plenty in the text to help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beebalm Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 Momsinthegarden...can you tell me more about the Illustrated Guide to Home Chem and DIVE cds? I'm concerned about my dd lab prep and that sounds wonderful! I'm not familiar with these. We've used DIVE cds for Saxon courses...tell me more. Thank you so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Hi Beebalm, The Ill Guide... is a wonderful resource. It has chapters on equipment, chemicals, and safety, as well as many well-planned labs described in detail. Calculations are required, but you must purchase the solutions guide if you need it (about $20 on the book's website). The author is very enthusiastic and is readily available on his website. Also, every single one of the AP labs is done in the book. I don't know what the DIVE CDs are like for Saxon, but the Chemistry one has lectures (which we didn't use) geared to the BJU or Apologia Chemistry books and "video" labs. The labs include most of the recommended AP labs, but are actually photos (like a slide show) with audio. A pdf file is on the CD with labs. Each lab has text, and room for a write-up. Dd used the lab text as her lab notebook, writing the calculations and results in the spaces provided. I wish we'd had the resources to do real labs with equipment, etc., but this was the next best (affordable) thing to do. I looked at other virtual labs online, but they were too expensive. Dd's knowledge was put to the test at the National Chemistry Olympiad exam when she did the lab section. The students aren't told what procedure to use, just what they are supposed to figure out. They must write their own procedures, having them approved by a chemistry teacher. I was worried that she wouldn't be able to do the labs, but she completed them and pronounced them "fun." I felt these resources were a good complement to Zumdahl. If you'd like to see her schedule of how she did her study last year, you are welcome to pm me. Please give me a few days, though, because we made a lot of tweaks and I haven't put them into Word yet. My two oldest have taken several APs each, and they felt the Chemistry AP was the hardest one they took so far (but they didn't do Biology). Best wishes studying. GardenMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnitaMcC Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I am interested in any help possible with the Zumdahl 6th ed. I bought the lab manual and have no idea which labs go with which chapter. I am assuming the labs are in order but I am either too allergy fogged or scatter brained to figure these out. We can do simple labs at home and the rest I don't know what we will do about. How many labs is enough for it to count for a lab science? I figured one lab a chapter which is around 20 labs enough?? I am thinking let Dd and Ds do the best they can on their own and then see if it is enough to get them into the CC Chem 1 course or if they will need to take Chem Fundamentals first. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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