Miss Marple Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Ds3 has struggled with feeling inadequate in math. This is because he can do complex problems, but struggles with the basics. His brother (ds4) is the math whiz. Today Ds3 outscored his brother on the BJU chemistry test. This is supposedly the hardest test of the year with the average being a 76% and Ds3 scored a 96%!!! The majority of the test was math - gas problems, mole/volume, etc. This should have been easy for ds4, but he had a hard time conceptualizing the problems. Ds3 plowed right through them! When I mentioned how proud I was of his accomplishment he commented, "Oh, those were easy. There was a goal in each problem that I had to get to." He isn't a "plug it into the equation" kid - he has to understand the concepts first. Ds4 did quite well (84% - average according to author is 76%) but he is going to be so bummed that his brother beat him (he's my super competitive one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Wow, that's terrific! Had you posted last year looking for alternative chemistry approaches? I couldn't remember if that was you. I was just interested to hear how well the BJU chem had worked out for you if that was what you had needed. So were the averages in the tm, or are you doing the online/recorded classes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Wow, that's terrific! Had you posted last year looking for alternative chemistry approaches? I couldn't remember if that was you. I was just interested to hear how well the BJU chem had worked out for you if that was what you had needed. So were the averages in the tm, or are you doing the online/recorded classes? Yes, because of extended family issues I didn't feel I could do the kind of chemistry I really wanted to do because of time constraints. So we opted for Conceptual Chemistry. But after the Christmas break, I just couldn't go back to it. It was too light for me. I'm sure that the "physics" moms here feel similarly about Conceptual Physics (which I love). I decided to go with BJU and the DIVE CD in January. We went back to the beginning of the book and have been working steadily. We will take this into the summer hopefully finishing in late July. The boys seem to like it better because the math really helps explain the concepts. We're all happier :D now. I don't want to discourage anyone from Conceptual Chemistry which is a very fine program. In fact, a biochemistry professor I know thinks its a good program for high school chemistry. But with my background, it just didn't fit me well. The tests are from the DIVE CD. On the test key it lists how to grade the test as well as what the average student scores - I think it is from classes the author has taught in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Very interesting, thanks for sharing! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.