# good at lectures bad at labs./



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

i am pretty confused on this. i am currently acing my chemistry test, with minimal effort. The chemistry class also has a lab component to it. I am lucky, that i have a smart partner that i can copy her answers from because i am COMPLETELY LOST in the labs. Its like i have ZERO idea whatsoever as to what to do. I feel bad also, because my partner always yells at me for being useless, and i get nervous the lab instructor will hear that and realize im not doing anything so he will fail me. anyways, my current lab partner is refusing to work with me next semester for the next level chem class. i really want to be good at labs, so i don't have to depend on others to do my work. i mean i have a 96 on lectures now, and most of my class is FAILING lectures. it doesn't make sense. any thoughts on this?i want to go to dental school, so i need a lot of chemistry. im also sure i will have a lot of lab work in dental school. I don't want to fear my future classes./ my lab partner is a genius, who got exempt from all intro classes due to extremely high sat scores. yet i am doing better than her in the chemistry lecture, and she actually studies and does her homework. although she knows whats up in the labs./

we have a lab report due this week and i have no idera whats going on.

also this is unrelated, but i was wondering does anybody find trig easier than algebras?


----------



## LostPancake (Apr 8, 2009)

that's so interesting - i also had a lot of trouble with labs. i couldn't understand how people could work so fast. i found it all overwhelming, physically and mentally. but i always did well in the lectures also.

i always wanted to take my time to make sure i was doing things right in the lab, but there was never enough time. i always felt so rushed. i wondered if i had some weird sensitivity to chemicals or something. i also don't do well standing on my feet for 4 hours - no one else seemed to have a problem with it though. but i would be completely physically exhausted by the end of every lab.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

I've done science degrees and found labs almost impossible because I could not follow the instructions. On the rare occasions I had a partner, they did everything. I was mostly alone, however, and would sit still for the 2 hour lab sessions just reading and re-reading the instructions. Sometimes a lab technician would try to explain things, but I could not understand them. Often, I would just leave the room and go home.

I have no idea how, but I scraped a pass in the main lab course. With the other courses, the lab was only one component, so I could make up the grade in written exams.

The strange thing is that I later worked as a lab technician, running a school lab by myself. I had absolutely no trouble with that because I was completely alone and felt free to explore the apparatus. It turned out I was a natural at the experimental aspects of science after all and that it had been other factors unrelated to ability that had held me back at university: anxiety, trouble multitasking (particularly in a busy environment), reading instructions literally, time constraints, and not being free to just play around and explore. Perhaps if you could remove or reduce factors such as these, through requesting accommodations (e.g., citing an anxiety condition), it would help.


----------



## pariahgirl (Mar 26, 2008)

A lot of lab classes really need you to prepare before class. Most labs hinge on some central theory that they want you to support/prove. Like boyle's law etc...If you don't understand something about the lab I would look it up online or in your book before class. So you can see why you are using the chemicals you are using, the equations behind what you are doing and the theory. Take lots of notes when you are doing your lab too, that will really help you later when you have to write a report.


----------



## Katielynn (Oct 1, 2009)

I have the same problem as you. I have a lab right now, and we work in groups of 4. Needless to say, I am mostly useless during the lab. I think one reason I have so much trouble in the lab is because I'm so afraid of doing something wrong. I'm afraid I'll mess something up and everyone will be mad at me. Its almost like stage fright, even though its only doing something in front of a few people, it's still never racking. Another thing is I have trouble following the directions. We have the directions written out step by step in a book and the professor usually runs over them with us before the experiments but somehow I always have questions. And of course, I'm too afraid to ask the professor. I think what it boils down to is over thinking things. Be it a blessing or a curse, I can always see the "grey area" with things. Maybe this is part of your problem? Maybe not, just a thought 

Somewhat random suggestion: Is your lab partner doing poorly in the lecture? Since you're so good with the lecture and you said most other people have trouble with them, if you're partner is doing poorly in the lecture maybe you could suggest helping him/her with the lecture in exchange for them being more patient with you in the lab? 

Again, just a thought 

Good luck!


----------



## darkrain9000 (Oct 19, 2009)

yea I've been in a number of labs from chem lab to anatomy lab and I've always been useless. Its like I have some wall that keeps me from getting the job done. Usually if I work alone in a lab I mess something up and have to start all over and this mean I am usually the last person in the lab to finish what ever we were suppose to synthesize. If I work in groups usually the lab partner does everything while I provide the supplies and hold stuff. I feel so useless sometimes I wish I worked alone but I hate being alone.


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

well, here's how lab days go. i walk in determined to do my part in today's lab. i take the notes on the board. the lab instructor explains the lab. (i dont really absorb his explanations but everyone else seems to) he then says go to work...and im standing there with a stupid look on my face. at first i thought it was because iwasnt reading my procedure, but i started reading it, and my lab partners and everyone else around me is using materials and doing things not on the procedure(like everyone is doing the same thing thats not on the procedures) im just so lost. i hope this class doesnt blow my A. i have a lab report due on friday and i have no idea how to write it. another bad thing is, he gives us like 10 minutes for a quiz and pressures us to get it done, so i wind up with 70s on one of my quizzes, 75 on another, and a 90 on one. so my quiz average isnt great, and i only got a 75 on one because he gave out extra credit to anyone who turned the quiz back into him but idk if ishould just change majors.



] even had trouble with the lab report. luckily i had a friend who finished hers tell me step by step what to do im hopeless. also when i say im good at lecture, i mean im acing it however i think thats just because im a REALLY good test taker. i think im just stupid all around. or might have a learning disability. i have a straight 4.0 average, but i dont ever feel that ive learned anything. for instance in august itook an algebra 2 course, and in september istarted a college algebra and trig course which im still in. in September i forgot all that ihad learned in august lol. we did an algebra review in my trig class, and then had a test on that stuff. then unit 2 was trig, and now we have a test on unit 2. the test is cumulative, and i looked over unit 1, which is the algebra part, and i forgot it all. i went to the tutor to explain it to me, and i couldnt comprehend the old stuff, that i was fine with back in my last class for august, and back in septmeber for unit 1 when i got a b on the test witout studying ****. t


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

bump


----------



## jane (Jan 30, 2006)

You bumped the thread, but how is it going since last time? Doing any better with the lab and write up?


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

jane said:


> You bumped the thread, but how is it going since last time? Doing any better with the lab and write up?


well lab is over. i had someone basically sit with me, and show e her lab report, because iwas unsure of what i was doing. i dont know how im gonna get through, gen chem 2, orgo chem 1, and orgo chem 2.. and if i make into med or dental school.............


----------



## jane (Jan 30, 2006)

-I bet you 75% of that class had no clue what they were doing in that lab, and were just acting like they did. Afterall, they were failing the lecture. And if everyone did a step not listed in the procedure, it's because other groups watch each other to know what to do. Not sure what to do next? A lot of people will glance over to the table next door. 
-Also, writing a good lab report is not a skill you're supposed to be born with. In fact, because each professor may have different requirements, it would be great to sit down with a TA for each class and discuss how to hand in A+ work. 
-It sounds like you got stuck with the wrong lab partner. She sounds like one of those people who get very edgy when things aren't done exactly their way, and creates a stressful environment. 
-It's a vicious cycle, isn't it? "I'm no good at labs" leads to stress and anxiety during labs, leads to you performing badly in labs, leading back to "I'm no good at labs." Maybe you can over-prepare. I once had a partner who wrote around 3/4 of her report before, and filled in the rest as we went along (ie., "_ of the solution was added" and then she would pencil in 2.51mL). Also, you could re-write the instructions in your own words so you are not scrambling to decipher the meanings during the lab.


----------



## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

I had a biology lab this semester. Ugh. Luckily I had a nice lab group to work with and I managed to pull off an 88% in the lab, even though I pretty much bombed a presentation (lab partner to the rescue).

It turns out anxiety affects short-term memory retention, so its easy to get confused with immediate instructions. Thats really my problem, I forget how to do something at hand out of nerves.

Read through the days lab before going to class is the best advice I can give.


----------



## SeekingHappiness (Dec 14, 2009)

I have the same problem in labs, however one time our labs were full due to some people coming in from other sections cause they missed their own, so we had to split up into two rooms where I had so much space to myself to do my own thing. I was the first one to finish and got excellent results too, proved the theory correct and the formulas used were accurate etc etc
in a stress free environment you will probably excel more than anyone else cause of your amazing ability to do so well in lectures. Other people without SA are still able to function efficiently enough on what they know and learned on the spot. I find that when I work with 1 other person it is much easier than working with a large group. Larger groups scare me to death, im so afraid to screw up and get blamed for having to start over again and wasting their time.


----------



## Laith (Mar 20, 2009)

Thats happened to me a few times...it was weird. Like you said, I understood the material but had a hard time following in the lab. 

I think, at least in my case, it was an SA issue that made it hard to focus. Im much more confident in myself now though, in the lab and anywhere. In fact, next semester is my last and im going to help teach a lab course as a preceptor. :yes


----------



## jane (Jan 30, 2006)

I asked a girl to be my lab partner, and it worked out really well. But I'm nervous around her because she's very smart and people ask her questions, and she has a lot of friends, and she's meticulous about the lab report. I come to the labs very prepared, but I make stupid mistakes because I'm nervous. I've done a million labs before, I'm older than her, I'm a smart person- why am I nervous???? This is ridiculous!!


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

school starts on wednsday, and my first class is labs...what a great day to star the semester.
im taking gen chem 2 this term so we're expected to be good at labs.
every gen chem 1 lab id go in there, the teacher would explain what to do and say go to work..and id just stand there literally not moving until my lab partner started, and id pretend to read the procedure the whole time for the 3 hour lab.
any minor task my partner assigned me like getting water even or weighing something that she measured out herself, i screwed up.

im thinking of just dropping the chem class and switching majors rather than go on wednsday, although im so close to finishing this associates.​


----------



## MinisterPumpkin (Dec 7, 2009)

I started out going to school for medicine, but I had the same problem. I did very well in general chemistry getting an A in both semesters. I did decent in organic chemistry lecture getting an A and A-. But when I later took organic chemistry lab, it was about the worst experience I ever had in any class. I had to work alone and didn't understand how to setup the labs and what I was supposed to do. The teacher wouldn't help me so I had to guess. I ended up dropping and breaking some glass ware when trying to setup the experiment and it took me about 5 hours to do a 3 hour experiment.

I decided to switch to electrical engineering since then. And while I don't understand how everything works in electronics, I can say that the labs have been much better since they simply require wiring up circuits. Just gotta figure out a senior project and I should be graduating in December.

I have found both trig and algebra to be easy. For me geometry was harder, especially doing 3d integrals.


----------



## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

I found labs to be nearly impossible. On the days when I forced myself to go, I'd work by myself doing the assignment as quickly as possible and then dart home.

But when I took astronomy, it was a completely different situation. My best friend was in the same class, and he was also in my lab. Having a lab partner who actually knew how to work a telescope was massively helpful, and my anxiety in that lab was minimal. Of course, when he didn't show up for lab, I'd skip it as well.


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

bezoomny said:


> I found labs to be nearly impossible. On the days when I forced myself to go, I'd work by myself doing the assignment as quickly as possible and then dart home.
> 
> But when I took astronomy, it was a completely different situation. My best friend was in the same class, and he was also in my lab. Having a lab partner who actually knew how to work a telescope was massively helpful, and my anxiety in that lab was minimal. Of course, when he didn't show up for lab, I'd skip it as well.


well you sound like you atleast know what your doing, but you just dont liike weorking with incapable people like myself lol. but i wouldnt blame you.

my lab is tomorrow at 2-5. i dont know what i am going to do!!


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

thought i would update you all. 
tioday i had my first day of chem lab. today the teacher gave us a paper full of directions and had us go t the computer lab to make a graph on excel
so basically we did zero chemistry.....

anyway heres why im anxious. today i made friends for a change(well acquaintances) unfortunately for once in my life i made a little too many friends..
you see, the two people i made friends with were lab partners last semester. so we just decided to break the group up into a 3 person group rather than a 2 person group. our class has an odd number of students so this works out perfectly..otherwise some student would be by themselves.
anyways the teacher said she doesnt want 3 people in a group and next time we will change it.

so i guess i mgonna have to do the labs on my own!!! i could barely survive doing them with a group last time.


----------



## kikyoumiko (Nov 24, 2009)

I am currently taking a General Chemistry II lab. I don't think I had much issue with getting together with a partner when I was taking Gen Chem I lab. I didn't have much trouble following the instructions, it's just trying to make conversation while we're waiting on something to happen that is the issue. They were the ones doing most of the talking which is good for me. But I am partnered up with this guy and we are pretty much quiet the whole time while doing our experiment. It is really awkward. I noticed all the other people were having conversations with their lab partner. My lab professor came to check on us and being the silly woman she is, started dancing to get a reaction from us because we didn't say much, lol.


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

rctriplefresh5 said:


> thought i would update you all.
> tioday i had my first day of chem lab. today the teacher gave us a paper full of directions and had us go t the computer lab to make a graph on excel
> so basically we did zero chemistry.....
> 
> ...


i was thinking of going to my lab professors office tomorrow, and saying ''hey,you know how we have an odd numbered class?'' ''well you know how me and 2 other people paired up?'' ''well would you mind if the three of us worked together because ireally dont want t work alone''

do you think this would do me more harm than it would good im so nervous im gonna have to do this alone. i cant do this alone..i can BARELY do it with a partner. maybe im not sa maybe im just stupid =p


----------



## jane (Jan 30, 2006)

Maybe this is a really good opportunity for you to grow? No more worrying about screwing up in front of somebody, no more worrying about doing a report to someone else's specifications- maybe there would be less pressure if you were alone.


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

jane said:


> Maybe this is a really good opportunity for you to grow? No more worrying about screwing up in front of somebody, no more worrying about doing a report to someone else's specifications- maybe there would be less pressure if you were alone.


nah im too stupid to do it on my own. luckily she saqid i could work with them so im happy./


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

jane said:


> Maybe this is a really good opportunity for you to grow? No more worrying about screwing up in front of somebody, no more worrying about doing a report to someone else's specifications- maybe there would be less pressure if you were alone.


i actually was thinking of this today and find it funny how a lot of people on here say thay cant do speech classes. i just find it funny because im a science major and i still have a lot of group work to do, so theres no escaping interacting with people. in pretty much every class ive had already weve done group work and im pretty sure in my psych class we will also!:teeth


----------



## Tycofusion (Feb 2, 2015)

I know this is an old thread. However, I wanted to know how things turned out for you and do you have any advice for someone in a similar situation


----------



## Imbored21 (Jun 18, 2012)

Lectures are just memorizing facts. Plus you can prepare for tests. Labs are just thrown at you and you have to actually do stuff. So ofcourse labs are going to be harder. The chances are, the majority of your class has no idea what theyre doing in the labs. I remember doing labs, me and my partner would just copy the smart kid's worksheet and pretend like we were working when the teacher came around.


Edit: k i just responded to a necro, I feel stupid.


----------



## BAH (Feb 12, 2012)

Hmm


----------



## Anti89 (Jan 10, 2015)

this is an old thread, but several people have commented on here recently asking for advice. 

Being good at lab work is based on preparation beforehand. If you want to be fast in laboratories you always need to prepare before the lab. 

Read the instructions, see what steps you have to take for the experiment, write everything in your lab notebook (instructions, tables or data charts you need to fill in, etc) BEFORE you go to lab. (At least 1 or 2 days before lab begins start working on it)

When you come into lab you will always be prepared and ready to start because you already know all the steps and everything you have to do. 

If you still need help understanding something, you can look at online videos to see the actual experiment carried out and explained or ask the teacher if you can come in to an earlier class and see how other students perform the lab.

This means you will always know how the fastest way to set up laboratory equipment is, how to clean efficiently afterwards and what to avoid (some people might make mistakes during the experiment).


----------



## miibay (May 9, 2014)

I was always very messy and unorganized. I always did things in last minute but got reasonably good grades. Also, not only I have SA, but I don't understand social situations with the accuracy I think it's required to survive in a professional, competitive environment. Not only I'm extremely unmotivated, fearful and feel really threatened, I am already labelled as "dumb and slow" in the lab where I'm a trainee. 
I'm getting so scared and sad. I fear I might not be able to survive in this kind of environments or that I lack the skills to succeed.


----------

