Overall, I really enjoyed this subject! The lecturers were really good (shoutout to Dr. Georgina Such, Professor Richard O’Hair, Professor Paul Donnelly and Professor Brendan Abrahams!!) and they made sure that you understand the content really well (especially Professor Brendan Abrahams with MO Diagrams and packing, although he never finishes the content (except for the last lecture) of the lecture slides each day we had him, he made sure that we knew exactly what he said and would go over concepts multiple times (I also had him as my tutor in Chemistry 1 and I loved him!)). The content overall was good and well explained, although the organic section was difficult and required consistent revision to understand the mechanism pathways. The reports were easy to get high marks so don’t neglect them! The quizzes varied in difficulty as well, and the exam was quite fair (the MCQ was good, and the written answers ranged from medium to high difficulty (with one organic question…). Overall, it was an enjoyable subject, I highly recommend this subject, and although some concepts were difficult, you are in for a fun ride!

Did this over the summer, it's a really challenging but interesting subject. I personally preferred the content of this subject over Chemistry 1. Some lecturers were great but some lecturers were not so great, however, the tutorials were very useful and the staff was helpful. I liked this subject but I definitely do not recommend doing this in the summer term.

Since noone has posted about this, here's a perspective from someone doing chem 2 without chem 1 - it's possible. I didn't do chemistry in high school so started fresh with fundamentals of chem in sem 1. If you get over 85% in the fundamentals exam you are able to skip to chem 2. As for the actual subject experience, I cried every time lecturers said 'remember last semester when you learnt that...', but with some independent learning it was manageable. I think it's fair to say that if you are eligible to take this route, you should - if you can get an 85 on the funamentals exam you will be able to get an H1 in chem 2.

I really did have my reserves regarding this subject, as someone who did not do as well as they would've liked in chem 1. However, I actually thoroughly enjoyed the experience this subject presented. The practicals were interesting, even in an online format, and my demonstrator was an absolute delight (shout out to Giel, absolute legend). I do think there was definitely a mismatch in the emphasis placed on certain topics in lectures and their presence in the examination, however, there were ample help sessions and practise questions available for revision. The exam itself was easier than expected, a lot easier than the chem 1 exam. Chem 2 was not as much of a step up from chem 1 as I thought it would be - if you did okay to well in chem 1, you will be fine with this subject as well.

In spite of what others might say, I LOVED this subject!! It is a step-off from chem 1, and some parts of the subject are a little bit tricky (for me, it's the organic chem part). But, after many revising and attending many QnAs session, I was able to get a grasp and understand the topics pretty well. The lecturers were okay, and the tutorials for me were very helpful (just like chem 1). The exam was also fair, not too hard but not too easy as well. Did this in the summer term and it was overall a good experience for me!

Super hard but really not that bad if you stay on top of things. Lots of interesting stuff.

Very dry, quite a bit of content. Emphasis on the wrong areas - lecturers spend a lot of time revising stuff from VCE, and then just jump straight into the new content. Sonia was an engaging and fun tutor, but the content is boring and heavy if you are not interested in chemistry as a career. One of the harder first year subjects to do well in.

Did this in 2020 Summer and I found it much better than Chem 1. The concepts are much more interesting and they go much more into depth and really push you to understand. With that being said, not all the lecturers were equally good. Some were much more prepared and much better at explaining concepts than others and you need to have a certain aptitude for maths and physics since 4/5 topics are physical/inorganic chem. Tutorials are useless. They force you to work at a certain pace that might be too slow or too fast and the wifi in the chemistry building is shit. Also some tutors are so boring. So, so boring. I would say you're much better off saving your time and self-studying with youtube. The labs were good tho and overall I enjoyed this subject, possibly because I did it as an intensive for half the time and didn't have to worry about juggling 3 other subjects. I would only recommend doing this for people interested in chemistry and would strongly recommend to do in summer instead of Sem 2.

HARD. bUT reWarding

More mathematical than Chemistry 1, which I liked. A bit of a step up in terms of difficulty, but not too bad. You'll learn about kinetics, some basics quantum effects, metal chemistry, and some more organic chemistry following on from Chemistry 1. The course has changed over the last two years to 2019, so there's not as much quantum mechanics as there used to be. (P.S. I'm the current exam marker for Chem 2, and what I write is based on semester 2, 2019. Personally, I did this subject in semester 2, 2012, but that option isn't in the drop-down list. )