Are CGP books enough to get an A-B in Chemistry?

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Yes, when someone says I'm lying! I have a Masters degree in Chemistry and have worked in the pharmaceutical industry so I know a fair bit more than you about Chemistry and I also have a PGCE which means that I can convey information as I have experience in teaching in secondary schools, but am not at the moment due to a serious health condition, hence why I am a tutor.

I more than anyone else know that not all Chemistry teachers are not great, especially from my tutoring experience, teaching pupils that are very able but don't get the results they are capable of because of bad teaching. However sometimes you have to accept some responsibility for that yourself.

Now I can see why you have such a bad reputation on here! And as for talking about things being taught wrong at uni, just remember, you haven't actually got into university yet so you're not in a position to say whether the teaching is up to standard or not.

1. I never said I know more about Chemistry than you, so you stating the obvious was not needed.
2. I also know you have a PGCE, again irrelevant.
3. I don't blame teachers tbh, you have to do it yourself. And i exceeded my teachers predicition (from predicted E to getting an A)
4. Although I haven't been, knowing MANY people at Uni i can tell that the standard is not very high.

Also please can you quote in reply as it makes it much harder to follow if people post in-between.

Reply 21

myah_94

Original post by Stormbreaker7

I used CGP exclusively for Biology at it got me an A*. Not sure about chemistry.

Really?! what exam board were you on :smile:

Reply 22

LogicGoat

I'm doing AQA Chemistry and got 95+% in every module so far solely using CGP; I now only need a high B in my last module to get an A*. Take from that what you will

Original post by motoe

CGP books are only good if you are looking for a grade C or below. From my experience they don't go into enough detail and over simplify things.

Rubbish

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 23

TheStudent.

Original post by motoe

With all your qualifications and teaching experience, you should know better than to start arguments with students on TSR who are only looking for some advice. Just saying...

Personally, I think a combination of CGP and past papers does the trick. It does come down to your own learning style though so do bear that in mind :smile:

Reply 24

cheetahs56

Original post by LogicGoat

Rubbish

Agreed.

Original post by TheStudent.

Exactly what I said and he said i was lying.... :rolleyes:

Original post by flavius11

Probably bought it online

Haha, probably didn't even do that, just internet trolling :wink:

Reply 25

NutterFrutter

Original post by motoe

Hi, I work as a Chemistry tutor and I would say those CGP books are only good if you are looking for a grade C or below. From my experience they don't go into enough detail and over simplify things.

What I would suggest is making your own revision notes - I know this takes time, but it really is worthwhile. Take out the specification and for the topic you are studying go through each point in turn. Use your class notes and or text book, and if there isn't enough information on one area there are also some really good websites - I recommend ChemGuide.

I agree largely with what you're saying but I think it's possible to get a B or even an A from just using the CGP books + information retained from lessons, not that I'd recommend it though.

I think the best thing to do is use the CGP books alongside the textbooks, with a heavier reliance on the textbook.

Reply 26

cheetahs56

Original post by PunjabiBadMan

9A* 4A 1B. I guess I am.

Posted from TSR Mobile

That's sick grades, bet the ''tutor'' didn't get that.

Original post by PunjabiBadMan

You aren't saying anything now are you. What United did you go? Or would you rather not speak about that?

Posted from TSR Mobile

She probably went Leeds Met or something lol.

Reply 27

myah_94

CGP books are awesome...feel like burning the nelson thornes bio book, on a level it actually has useful questions on it and the rest is *******s

Reply 28

tory88

At GCSE, I couldn't recommend them highly enough. But at A level they tend to oversimplify things and gloss over the more difficult concepts - CGP books alone are probably at about a C grade standard.

Reply 29

PunjabiBadMan

Original post by myah_94

CGP books are awesome...feel like burning the nelson thornes bio book, on a level it actually has useful questions on it and the rest is *******s

Calm down son

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 30

Stormbreaker7

Original post by myah_94

Really?! what exam board were you on :smile:

Edexcel

CGP wasn't so good for Physics but that was more due to the course content than the actual book.

For subjects like Biology where you're pretty much learning facts, CGP are perfect - they comb through the syllabus and ensure every point is included somewhere. Use that in conjunction with past papers and you're set.

Much better than the books our teacher gave us, think they were around 150-200 pages longer than the CGP and filled with useless info.

Reply 31

Captain Anonymous

CGP books tend to be lacking detail in many aspects of the subject, they won't go into enough detail which other books will do. So, your best bet is just reading the specification and learning it by heart and then using the CGP books a night before the exam or so, to check you have understood everything

However, don't get me wrong, i know people who have got A*s by just purely using CGP books, but, like another member on this thread - just make your own notes as they're tailored for your needs :tongue:

Reply 32

myah_94

Original post by Stormbreaker7

Edexcel

I agree, thankyou for that, it's given me a lot of hope because all i've been using is CGP. In addition my bio teacher was like CGP isn't good enough, you have to use the other text book as well[that hurt] :tongue:

Thanks again x

Reply 33

abc:)

Original post by LaRienne

My exam board is OCR B (Salters) and we also have the Chemical Ideas book but I was wondering if the CGP ones are enough?

I think yes, but I'm not massively keen on CGP beyond GCSE, so I'd advise a textbook created by the exam board themselves, ie whatever you use in college. That will be enough.

Reply 34

lucasluke

I have the Biology Chemistry and Geography ones.

They are great for learning facts like the sciences but not so great for essay based subjects because some detail is missed out.
Use them for quick revision but when studying use them alongside your text book :smile:

Reply 35