How to study chemistry? This may be a question many students in Malaysia find themselves asking, especially when the subject feels overwhelming – even for students who already enjoy science. We bet that, for many, chemistry stands out as one of the most challenging science subjects. With countless chemical formulas to remember, complex principles to grasp, detailed materials to revise, and the periodic table to memorise, it’s no surprise that many find it difficult.
In Malaysian public secondary schools, chemistry is typically introduced during upper secondary (Form 4 & 5), where students choose science subjects such as biology, physics, and chemistry. Students who enter the science stream usually study all three, although the exact combination depends on the school’s curriculum.
After high school, if you’re interested in Chemistry and earned a good grade, you can explore a range of courses such as chemical engineering, medicinal chemistry, forensics and even environmental studies for your higher studies at local or international universities.
If you're a high school student, a first-year university student, or simply someone interested in the subject, and you're wondering how to master it and score well, you're in the right place.
In this article, we’ll walk you through practical advice to study chemistry and effective methods to strengthen your learning approach, manage your schedule, and improve your scores. You’ll also discover how to find the right tutor, understand the reasons to pursue a career in the field, career opportunities in the field and learn how to find a good tuition teacher who can help you achieve the results of your dreams.
Ready to begin your journey?
How to Learn Chemistry: Building the Right Foundation
For any student in Malaysia, one of the biggest hurdles is figuring out how to actually master chemistry instead of just memorising everything. Since it is often introduced as one of the core subjects alongside add maths, maths, biology, and physics in Malaysian high schools (and you can’t escape from it), the first step is to start with the basics.
Obviously, you must ensure you are confident with the periodic table, atomic structure, and the fundamental principles like bonding and reactions. Without this foundation, it becomes difficult to progress to more complex areas such as physical or medicinal chemistry if you wish to pursue your passion in the science field. So, that’s why we say that building the foundation is extremely important.
Here’s how you can build that foundation step by step:
1. Start by understanding, not memorising
The biggest mistake most learners commit is trying to memorise every formula or reaction without really grasping what’s happening. This typically applies to any subject to retain a better memory of what you studied.
The golden rule is: understand the patterns and reasoning behind each topic.
For instance, instead of memorising all the symbols in the periodic table, try to grasp how elements are grouped based on their properties and behaviour. When you approach each chapter in this manner, it will enable you to absorb the principles more deeply and retain them more effectively.
This approach, when studying, allows it to be easier to connect ideas later on, especially when solving exam questions or practice problems. If you ever get stuck or require assistance, leverage your teacher or lecturer's office hours to clarify what you're unclear about.
2. Build on the basics before moving forward
Next is having a strong grasp of the fundamentals of atoms, molecules, ions, and bonding is essential. These core principles form the foundation for comprehending more complex topics as you progress.
Even if you’re exploring out of curiosity, starting with the basics will simplify everything else. Focus on mastering key principles, such as the periodic table, atomic structure, chemical bonding, chemical reactions, states of matter, and acids and bases.
3. Use the right materials and resources
For school students, this is not an issue since textbooks, classes and teacher consultations are provided to them. Additionally, you can opt for tuition classes and extra materials such as reference and exercise books. Ensure that all your resources align with the Malaysian National Curriculum (KSSM) if you’re in a public school.
Beyond that, you can explore journals, educational videos, and books from credible sources like the Royal Society of Chemistry. Again, don’t forget to check that these materials match your curriculum to avoid confusion.
The quality of your resources often plays a significant role in your academic experience. So, ensure that you are investing in the right resources to avoid the frustration of trying to teach yourself challenging principles.
4. Connect chemistry to everyday life
One of the methods to stay interested in exploring the subject is to see its relevance in your daily life – this method is backed up by many people and websites. Unlike many other subjects, chemistry isn’t only confined to laboratories – it’s in cooking, cleaning, beauty products, the environment, and even your body. For instance, in cooking, chemical reactions occur during baking, fermentation and the changes in food during cooking. Similarly, you can find chemistry at work in countless other aspects of your life as well. You just need to comprehend it better so you can connect it to your daily life.
When you relate what you learn to real-world scenarios, you’ll find it easier to absorb and retain the ideas. This approach not only makes it more enjoyable but also develops valuable life skills such as critical thinking, observation, and problem-solving.
Chemistry Exam Tips: How to Ace Your Tests
Now onto the most important part, exams! Exams can feel stressful, especially when it comes to a subject like chemistry that blends maths, theory, and problem-solving. It can be daunting, we get it. But the truth is – chemistry exams don’t just test memory; they test clarity of thought as well. Many learners cram every single note into their brains the day before their exams, and sometimes it works. We know, we’ve been there too!
But we are not here to tell you to do that. While last-minute cramming might sound tempting, the better approach is to prepare consistently and strategically. This approach ensures you won’t have to memorise everything in a rush or forget it right after the exam. The most successful learners aren’t those who memorise the most, but those who can apply what they truly grasp.
Here’s how you can prepare smartly and walk into your exam with confidence.
1. Plan your study time
You should start preparing early, ideally, a few months ahead. Allocate at least one hour a day for focused revision, mixing theory review with exercise questions. For instance, after revising chemical bonding theories, attempt past-year questions to reinforce the idea. Alternatively, exercise books that come with dedicated questions for each chapter. Once you’ve completed a chapter, try attempting related exercises to evaluate how well you’ve grasped the material. This balance helps strengthen both your knowledge and application.
2. Create a study timetable
We are not sure if this works for all, but it does work for many. It creates a system to follow, stay organised and focused. It gives structure to your revision and ensures all subjects get enough or equal attention. Start by creating a timetable that fits your schedule and priorities. You can take inspiration from online templates or classmates, but ensure yours aligns with your commitments. The best part? Your timetable is flexible – you can always adjust it.
3. Train with practice problems – not just notes
The key to mastering the exams is practice. Reading theory in the textbook helps you understand, but it’s solving practice problems that actually train you to think.
Work through past-year papers, practice questions and your notes regularly. As you solve them, notice which topics appear frequently and how the questions are structured. This guides you to prioritise what’s most important for your revision by identifying the issues that demand more attention.
4. Practice to decode past-year exam questions
This is non-negotiable. Practising a lot of past-year questions helps you understand how the questions are structured. Train yourself to identify what the question really asks for – is it testing your concept, your calculation, or your reasoning?
Highlight keywords, break long questions into smaller parts, and underline what’s being compared or calculated. This critical reading skill can save you from losing marks to misinterpretation and misunderstanding the question, a common mistake among learners during university and school exams alike.
At this point in the article, if you’re wondering whether you should pursue a degree in chemistry and find yourself at a crossroads, unsure of what to do, don’t worry. We’ve written a detailed article that can assist you in making an informed decision. Read it here.
Tips on Studying Chemistry for Beginners
We get it – starting out can feel intimidating with all those equations, elements, and new principles at once. But the truth is, even top performers started where you are: confused, curious, stressed, and unsure where to begin.
If you’re a beginner, here’s how to turn the study of elements and reactions approachable – and maybe even fun.
1. Start with curiosity, not fear
Fear makes everything harder. We know it’s hard to disassociate from fear, but instead of telling yourself chemistry is “too difficult,” approach it with curiosity. This field is the study of how the world interacts – from why bread rises to how soap removes grease. When you link what you learn to everyday scenarios, you’ll begin to feel the subject rather than just go through it.
Next time you catch yourself drowning in fear, say:
“I’m not so sure about this, but let me find out. I have all the resources to learn what I don’t know.”
This simple mindset shift helps turn anxiety into motivation and keeps your curiosity alive as you learn.
2. Build your foundation with visual learning
Chemistry is visual: think shapes, bonds, and structures. So, you can take your revision up a notch by incorporating visuals for better absorption of the information. Incorporate diagrams, molecular models, and videos to see what’s happening at the atomic level. Break big chapters into smaller chunks and apply colour-coding to highlight connections. If you’re a visual learner, visual tools often speed up comprehension and turn abstract ideas concrete.
3. Treat the periodic table as your friend
Don’t try to memorise the periodic table from start to finish. Instead, understand its layout – why elements are grouped and how their properties change. This simple understanding helps you see patterns in reactions and gives you a solid foundation as you move into more advanced topics. Flashcards are also useful for memorising the periodic table and reaction types.
4. Understand the language of chemistry
Every field has its language, and chemistry’s is made of symbols, equations, and units. As a student, start by mastering the basics: chemical symbols, valency, and equation balancing. Once you’re fluent, you’ll be able to “read” chemistry problems like sentences.
5. Take your own notes
This seems to be a proven method among top scorers. Take your own notes when you’re in class or when reviewing. Don’t rewrite everything verbatim – understand principles and summarise them in your own words. Try different note-taking methods (Cornell, mind maps, bullet summaries) and stick with what assists you in recalling best.
There are plenty of videos out there that talk about note-taking methods. Browse through to find what suits your learning style and needs. Perhaps this video from a Harvard student on how to take notes helps? Watch the video below.
Keep in mind that not everything mentioned in this video may apply to your life here in Malaysia – and that’s completely okay. Take what feels doable for you, and adapt or modify the techniques and methods to fit your lifestyle, school curriculum, and learning style.
7. Implement Blotting Method
Another tip is to take a blank sheet of paper and the sub-topics outlined from the chapter that you learned in class or revised. Then, write down everything you can recall for each topic – no peeking at your notes or the textbook! Be honest with you. Afterwards, compare your answers with your summary notes to spot any gaps in your understanding.
This method is one of the best ways to strengthen memory recall and test how well you’ve understood a topic.
8. Form group studies
Many learners find group sessions incredibly effective. Team up with friends and turn your sessions into teach-back moments where each person explains a topic to the others. You can also run mini quizzes using practice questions, past-year papers, or even create your own questions to test everyone’s knowledge after revising a topic.
Collaborative learning not only keeps you accountable but also enables you to grasp ideas faster by hearing different perspectives and explanations.
6. Be Patient with Yourself & Track Your Progress
Even the most skilled chemical engineers and researchers once mixed up ions and atoms. Progress is gradual – learning happens piece by piece. Follow study guides, grow from mistakes, and give principles time to sink in. What’s confusing today will click at a later time with consistent practice.
Use a revision tracker to organise your schedule. Break topics into smaller sections, set realistic deadlines, rate your confidence level, and record test scores for each topic. This ensures you stay on top of your progress and focus on the topics that require more attention.
7. Get guidance from a tutor
This is very important, especially for learners who are struggling to grasp the abstract principles of chemistry or find it hard to keep up in class. You don’t have to do this alone because you can always get support from a tutor to guide you through the difficulties, strengthen your knowledge, and empower you to achieve the grades you’ve been aiming for.
We know that the most important question when it comes to hiring a tutor is always about the cost. Many assume it’s expensive, but that’s not always true. Before ruling it out, check out our detailed article on tutoring costs to get a clearer idea of what to expect.
10 Great Reasons to Learn Chemistry
Being a highly abstract topic, chemistry will give you quite a number of benefits as to why you should dabble in it. But we have chosen some of the most relatable reasons and have summed them up well for you. Let’s find out the 10 great reasons why you should choose this field!
Here's why you should take chemistry lessons:
- It will deepen your comprehension of the world around you: from the structure of molecules to oxidation-reduction of atoms and compounds; chemistry is the key.
- It will assist you in your everyday life, from reading product labels to knowing what to do with cleaning products.
- It will turn you into a better cook, as all food is made of chemical compounds and cooking is merely changing chemical bonds, using the properties of matter and playing around with combustion, oxidation, reduction, solubility and chemical reaction, to transform ingredients as tasty as possible.
- It offers a lot of job opportunities, from nuclear to biological or analytical fields, you can choose your career path fairly easily. You can also opt to work in forensics, landscaping and pharmacology. Either way, we hear that these jobs pay quite a sum!
- It can develop analytical skills. While this stands true for biology, physics and other mathematically related topics, chemistry requires deeper analytical skills as you are engaging with chemical compounds that may be hazardous. Oftentimes, students will also need to analyse data, work in groups and develop the habit of asking insightful questions.
- It is a very practical and hands-on discipline, and you will often have to perform titrations, chromatography and qualitative chemical analysis.
- It is fun. It is fun to witness a reaction between two elements and compounds, whether they are successful or not. Failure means getting the opportunity to try again, and possibly getting a different reaction for the chemical mixture.
- It will enable you to grasp current events. Taking chemistry classes will ensure that you are informed about what is going on in the world. It is also essential to know the repercussions of events such as oil leaks in the oceans or chemical contamination of underground aquifers.
- It will allow you to comprehend the medication you take. If you or anyone in your family is taking any medication, it is much easier to believe in the effects of the medicine once you are able to comprehend what the active ingredients are and what they do to your body.
- Be part of a better future. Plastic wastes, CO2 emissions, contaminated waters or barren soils can all be linked to the misuse of chemistry, mainly for selfish economic reasons. But the mess that was created by chemists can also be solved by chemists.
Thus, these 10 reasons are great proof that chemistry is so much more than periodic tables and memorisation of elements and compounds. It can really equip any individual to go a step further in their daily lives.
Curious about why studying chemistry is worth it? We’ve broken it down for you – check out the full article to discover more!
How To Find The Right Chemistry Tutor?
You have come to the right place to ask this question! Our globally recognised online education platform, Superprof, offers flexibility to choose your academic level and your location to narrow the list down to the tutors suiting your profile. With over 185,443 verified tutors across Malaysia, you can find someone who suits your goals and learning style.
With Superprof, you can opt for a personalised learning experience by hiring the right tutor for you based on your current location, budget and preferred teaching methodology. As we have a wide array of registered tutors under our platform, it will be fairly easy for you to find the right teacher for you!
You can choose to hire a tutor who lives nearby if you prefer face-to-face sessions. However, some learners and parents may prefer to opt for online classes, which is also possible! Most of our tutors offer online learning for their learners’ convenience.
Another benefit offered if you choose to learn with Superprof’s tutors is the flexibility of time. We get it that some learners may be busy, especially those in tertiary education; thus, with Superprof, they can choose a time that works well for them. Speak with your tutor and set up the arrangements.
We also ensure that hiring tutors from Superprof will be well worth the fees, starting from RM 57 on average, as our tutors are academically verified and have ample experience in teaching. Best of all, you can enjoy a free first lesson, so they can decide later if the tutor is the right fit for them.
Whether you’re struggling to balance equations, finding the chapters overwhelming, feeling lost after a class on biochemistry, or confused about how Boyle’s Law or covalent bonding actually work, you’re not alone. Many learners face these same challenges, but with support from a qualified tutor, you can overcome them more easily.
Choosing a tutor can be a daunting experience. With so many supposedly qualified private teachers online, it is hard to make a choice you can be 100% certain of.
These few pointers should assist you in reaching an informed decision and getting the tutors that fit your needs and goals the best:
- Know your goals: it is crucial to identify the level of help that you require. Do you simply seek guidance with homework, or have you fallen dramatically behind?
- Know all the options available to you: before hiring a tutor, you should talk to your school teachers and let them know of your difficulties. Some schools offer support classes and, at university, you could join a study group.
- Stay within your budget: it is essential as tutoring is a medium to long-term process.
It is also important to reassess your needs now and then. It might be that you've improved in one area to the detriment of another, or that you've caught up with the rest of the class. In either case, the approach you follow with your tutor can ensure you continue to progress effectively.
Sign up for a lesson on Superprof.
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