Books to read for chemistry
Hi,
I've just finished year 12, and I am hoping to study chemistry at university.
I was wondering if anyone knew of good chemistry books I could read over summer that wouldn't be too complex, but would be good to quote in my personal statement?
I've had a look online but some seem too simple and some are university level.
I've just finished year 12, and I am hoping to study chemistry at university.
I was wondering if anyone knew of good chemistry books I could read over summer that wouldn't be too complex, but would be good to quote in my personal statement?
I've had a look online but some seem too simple and some are university level.
Hi there,
Unfortunately I can't think of any chem books to recommend, but there are 2 websites I found really helpful especially for A2.
First one is chemguide- tailored to A-Level. Another one is doc brown.
Google them and they come up
I normally wouldn't post an unrelated answer but A2 is so difficult compared to AS so it may be worth looking over some stuff before you start A2.
Additionally, there are often online MOOC courses you can do, which universities love. They often help put A-Level content into context and therefore make it easier to remember.
Hope this is somewhat helpful.
Unfortunately I can't think of any chem books to recommend, but there are 2 websites I found really helpful especially for A2.
First one is chemguide- tailored to A-Level. Another one is doc brown.
Google them and they come up
I normally wouldn't post an unrelated answer but A2 is so difficult compared to AS so it may be worth looking over some stuff before you start A2.
Additionally, there are often online MOOC courses you can do, which universities love. They often help put A-Level content into context and therefore make it easier to remember.
Hope this is somewhat helpful.
Original post by jessblackburn
Hi,
I've just finished year 12, and I am hoping to study chemistry at university.
I was wondering if anyone knew of good chemistry books I could read over summer that wouldn't be too complex, but would be good to quote in my personal statement?
I've had a look online but some seem too simple and some are university level.
I've just finished year 12, and I am hoping to study chemistry at university.
I was wondering if anyone knew of good chemistry books I could read over summer that wouldn't be too complex, but would be good to quote in my personal statement?
I've had a look online but some seem too simple and some are university level.
It won't be long before someone pops up and suggests, "Why Chemical Reactions Happen" by Peter Worthers et.al.
Oh. Someone has.
A bit weightier, I love Chemistry3 by Burrows et.al.
Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks is a nice read. Not too heavy, but a nice description of how he became interested in chemistry.
Thank you lots!
Original post by Pigster
It won't be long before someone pops up and suggests, "Why Chemical Reactions Happen" by Peter Worthers et.al.
Oh. Someone has.
A bit weightier, I love Chemistry3 by Burrows et.al.
Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks is a nice read. Not too heavy, but a nice description of how he became interested in chemistry.
Oh. Someone has.
A bit weightier, I love Chemistry3 by Burrows et.al.
Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks is a nice read. Not too heavy, but a nice description of how he became interested in chemistry.
Thank you! I have done MOOCs in pharmacology (as I wish to study medicinal chemistry at University) so hopefully that will help when it comes to writing my personal statement.
Original post by p_helena
Hi there,
Unfortunately I can't think of any chem books to recommend, but there are 2 websites I found really helpful especially for A2.
First one is chemguide- tailored to A-Level. Another one is doc brown.
Google them and they come up
I normally wouldn't post an unrelated answer but A2 is so difficult compared to AS so it may be worth looking over some stuff before you start A2.
Additionally, there are often online MOOC courses you can do, which universities love. They often help put A-Level content into context and therefore make it easier to remember.
Hope this is somewhat helpful.
Unfortunately I can't think of any chem books to recommend, but there are 2 websites I found really helpful especially for A2.
First one is chemguide- tailored to A-Level. Another one is doc brown.
Google them and they come up
I normally wouldn't post an unrelated answer but A2 is so difficult compared to AS so it may be worth looking over some stuff before you start A2.
Additionally, there are often online MOOC courses you can do, which universities love. They often help put A-Level content into context and therefore make it easier to remember.
Hope this is somewhat helpful.
My teacher recommends “the disappearing spoon” it’s a fun way of going into the history of the elements in the periodic table and how it was made, hope it’s helpful! And good luck!
Klein's or claydons organic chemistry books. They're two different books, however Klein's is less complex but still useful and interesting. Claydons is notorious for being the 'go to ' organic chemistry book across the world - you literally can't out grow it as there's so much content
Original post by jessblackburn
Hi,
I've just finished year 12, and I am hoping to study chemistry at university.
I was wondering if anyone knew of good chemistry books I could read over summer that wouldn't be too complex, but would be good to quote in my personal statement?
I've had a look online but some seem too simple and some are university level.
I've just finished year 12, and I am hoping to study chemistry at university.
I was wondering if anyone knew of good chemistry books I could read over summer that wouldn't be too complex, but would be good to quote in my personal statement?
I've had a look online but some seem too simple and some are university level.
"Why Chemical Reactions Happen" by James Keeler and Peter Wothers is great, it roughly mirrors parts of the first year chemistry course taught at Cambridge as part of natural sciences (I would know having just completed that course!). It is definitely accessible for A-level students, I read it during the summer of year 12 too.
Any of the Oxford Chemistry Primers are really good brief introductions to areas of undergraduate chemistry and I would recommend them if you can find them in a library. They are a bit expensive to purchase new imo.
A nice textbook is "Chemical Structure and Reactivity", 2nd edition, by Keeler and Wothers.
Any of the Oxford Chemistry Primers are really good brief introductions to areas of undergraduate chemistry and I would recommend them if you can find them in a library. They are a bit expensive to purchase new imo.
A nice textbook is "Chemical Structure and Reactivity", 2nd edition, by Keeler and Wothers.
Original post by jessblackburn
Hi,
I've just finished year 12, and I am hoping to study chemistry at university.
I was wondering if anyone knew of good chemistry books I could read over summer that wouldn't be too complex, but would be good to quote in my personal statement?
I've had a look online but some seem too simple and some are university level.
I've just finished year 12, and I am hoping to study chemistry at university.
I was wondering if anyone knew of good chemistry books I could read over summer that wouldn't be too complex, but would be good to quote in my personal statement?
I've had a look online but some seem too simple and some are university level.
Peter Sykes 'Guidebook to Mechanism in Organic Chemistry' is a great one that goes deep into 'why' organic reactions work rather than just 'how'. I would say it's accessible to A2 and above - Quite heavy intellectually but it's nice as the book physically is standard 'novel' size.
Oxford Chemistry Primers are great as they are quite short and sweet but are all generally university level texts. 'Organic Synthesis' - Willis is a good one,
... as is 'Nuclear Magnetic Resonance' P. Hore, that one explains a lot of the basic Physics behind NMR.
They are really good for reading around certain niche subjects without having to go to the massive texts (like 'Organic Chemistry' - Clayden) - Not cheap as mentioned above though.
Oxford Chemistry Primers are great as they are quite short and sweet but are all generally university level texts. 'Organic Synthesis' - Willis is a good one,
... as is 'Nuclear Magnetic Resonance' P. Hore, that one explains a lot of the basic Physics behind NMR.
They are really good for reading around certain niche subjects without having to go to the massive texts (like 'Organic Chemistry' - Clayden) - Not cheap as mentioned above though.
The 'Very Short Introduction' books for Chemistry are pretty good if you're looking for something short and sweet, yet informative! They touch on some A2 things as well as going slightly beyond that too (specifically recommend the Physical Chemistry one by Peter Atkins) so it might be a little head start on Y13 Chem.
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