I didn't do Chem in year 12, so I didn't know how I would go in CBMS107. Took it as a challenge, attended most of the lectures and all the tutes and managed to get a HD. Try to stay on top of it throughout the sem and get good marks, so you don't have the pressure to smash the final exam. Good luck :)

I did this unit externally in Semester 2 and let me tell you - Internally is 100% the better option if you want good marks and have a poor chemistry background. While Joanne is honestly the nicest and best chemistry tutor ever, she also teaches in sem 1. You'll see her more regularly and have a better grasp of the content as you'll work through it less sporadically. It's interesting but difficult - particularly if you don't have a chemistry background. I would recommend buying the textbook for this one - the slideshows use its content and the book has even more + worked examples. Staff are awesome in this unit. Make a study group and do all the past papers for your best chances in the final exam. The more questions you do - the more natural the concepts become.

The general chemistry part was well taught (though mostly revision), however the organic chemistry component was honestly a bit of a mess (apart from the help they give you for the midsem and final exams). I needed to work pretty hard to stay on top of everything, and found the difficulty level to be a bit of a shock for a first year unit. It's definitely possible to do well if you supplement the lecture notes and confusing explanations with khan academy etc. also pls for your own sake, ATTEND THE TUTORIALS!

As a person who did HSC chemistry and other sciences I found this unit very confusing and overwhelming. The general chemistry portion was fine. However the organic chemistry was very heavy and complex. There were three 1-hour lectures which made it very easy to get left behind with lectures. I eventually did stop watching the lectures later in the semester as they were making me more confused. Best advice for this subject is to study and stay on top of the material and watch Khan Academy and YouTube to clarify concepts. And the practicals were really long and pretty boring.