Am I going to have problems if I just memorize the Orgo reactions?

[Member 8586]

I basically just have most reactions memorized, but am not sure about the mechanisms. So I dont know HOW or WHY certain reagents cause certain products or HOW or WHY certain products are formed. Is this going to be a big problem on Orgo - it's really starting to worry me. I feel okay with problems and similar reagents etc that Ive seen before, but then when I see something a little different I'm just frozen .

I see plenty of people write "once you understand how the reactions work" or "once you understand the mechanisms, youll be golden" etc...

Can someone point me in a direction as to where to try to learn those mechanisms and how the reactions work if it IS necessary? Orgos freaking me out

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[JonLee]

I felt the way you did when I was studying for my DAT about O-chem. Don't freak out cause it sounds like you still got some time to prepare yourself to beast that section!

If you have memorized a lot of the reactions' in terms of reagents and products that's a big part right there.
While you probably won't need to know mechanisms in as much depth as your O-chem class, it is a good idea to understand the mechanism and some notable intermediates.

Look over your notes from O-Chem class. Hydroboration, oxymercuration, ozonolysis, hydrogenation catalyzed by metals like Pt, etc.

Understanding the mechanisms will also help you determine the products (duh) like cis/trans but since you memorized that stuff already you are already ahead of where I was!

I was literally going through Destroyer roadmaps morning of my test XD

Wish you the best of luck and the most peace of mind. I know how stressed out you feel! Been there and can say it feels that much better when you beast the DAT

 

[Member 8586]

I felt the way you did when I was studying for my DAT about O-chem. Don't freak out cause it sounds like you still got some time to prepare yourself to beast that section!

If you have memorized a lot of the reactions' in terms of reagents and products that's a big part right there.
While you probably won't need to know mechanisms in as much depth as your O-chem class, it is a good idea to understand the mechanism and some notable intermediates.

Look over your notes from O-Chem class. Hydroboration, oxymercuration, ozonolysis, hydrogenation catalyzed by metals like Pt, etc.

Understanding the mechanisms will also help you determine the products (duh) like cis/trans but since you memorized that stuff already you are already ahead of where I was!

I was literally going through Destroyer roadmaps morning of my test XD

Wish you the best of luck and the most peace of mind. I know how stressed out you feel! Been there and can say it feels that much better when you beast the DAT

those ones bolded were all covered in Chads videos right? I took copious notes on the vids, but didn't go over them as much as I did from the notes from Romano's (Orgoman) class. He doesn't seem to stress mechanisms much, but there are a few that I know, such as the oxymercuration one that you mentioned. I think I have more of a problem with sometimes being able to tell when there's a CH3OH reagent or something, I see it sometimes adds -OCH3 onto the reactant, but sometimes it'll just add on the -CH3 - not sure how to differentiate.
Do you recall any mechanism questions in Destroyer?

and OMG YES for the stress - I've never been on such a rollercoaster where I feel confident, then I feel like sh** then confident and up and down, pretty much all depending on how I'm doing on Destroyer questions etc. I go through my notes and I'm like "oh Im GOOD" but then I see the problems and its just like lol...I feel like such krap after a bad day of going through problems, but the solutions usually help me feel better - it's just a matter of repeating, remembering and understanding I guess. Staying level-headed is 50% of this battle!

Im probably pushing my date from May 23 --> June 8 to be safe...gunna miss MDW/first weekend in my shore house and a cousin's wedding because of it though

 

[ttpharm]

You may have a problem. Learn why something is negatively charged and positively charged. Know why a nucleophile (-) will attack a electrophile (+). Its not as bad as it may seem. Look at youtube vids from khan academy

 

[Member 8586]

You may have a problem. Learn why something is negatively charged and positively charged. Know why a nucleophile (-) will attack a electrophile (+). Its not as bad as it may seem. Look at youtube vids from khan academy

are there any specific videos to look at for this? he has a bunch up there and i wouldnt even know where to start

 

[kies89]

i remember posting pretty much the same questions couple months ago when i started studying
my advice is that just watch chad's video several times, and just do destroyer multiple times
i think by doing destroyer several times, you will be learning and also memorizing not all but most of the important reaction mechanisms. in my personal opinion, you do not need to memorize the whole mechanisms, but just important steps maybe like the intermediate or something like that

 

[Member 8586]

i remember posting pretty much the same questions couple months ago when i started studying
my advice is that just watch chad's video several times, and just do destroyer multiple times
i think by doing destroyer several times, you will be learning and also memorizing not all but most of the important reaction mechanisms. in my personal opinion, you do not need to memorize the whole mechanisms, but just important steps maybe like the intermediate or something like that

did Destroyer cover pretty much everything in Orgo? were there any different reagents on the DAT that you hadnt seen in Destroyer? thats kind of what im afraid of too - that ill see an alternate reagent or even reaction that I hadn't come across previously

 

[JonLee]

those ones bolded were all covered in Chads videos right? I took copious notes on the vids, but didn't go over them as much as I did from the notes from Romano's (Orgoman) class. He doesn't seem to stress mechanisms much, but there are a few that I know, such as the oxymercuration one that you mentioned. I think I have more of a problem with sometimes being able to tell when there's a CH3OH reagent or something, I see it sometimes adds -OCH3 onto the reactant, but sometimes it'll just add on the -CH3 - not sure how to differentiate.
Do you recall any mechanism questions in Destroyer?

and OMG YES for the stress - I've never been on such a rollercoaster where I feel confident, then I feel like sh** then confident and up and down, pretty much all depending on how I'm doing on Destroyer questions etc. I go through my notes and I'm like "oh Im GOOD" but then I see the problems and its just like lol...I feel like such krap after a bad day of going through problems, but the solutions usually help me feel better - it's just a matter of repeating, remembering and understanding I guess. Staying level-headed is 50% of this battle!

Im probably pushing my date from May 23 --> June 8 to be safe...gunna miss MDW/first weekend in my shore house and a cousin's wedding because of it though

Can't comment on Chad's videos cause I never used them, but definitely know the mechanisms in Destroyer! I remember seeing ozonolysis and some of the halogenation reactions from Destroyer on the ral thing.

And don't feel bad about getting destroyed by Destroyer lol Apparently it's quite normal because it's so much harder than the real thing (Makes you that much more prepared once you start owning it).

Stinks that you will miss those events but hey, once you own this test, you will have so much more free time compared to now you won't know what to do with all the time. At least until dental school rolls around and it's definitely a good idea to push the test back if you are not feeling ready, but also keep in mind that it could just be your nerves getting to you! I almost pushed mine back but so happy that I didn't!

btw, I don't think Destroyer covers EVERYTHING, but it covers most. I remember seeing a Diels-alder reaction question on my test and don't recall seeing in Destroyer (i might be wrong but i'm pretty sure it wasn't in it).

 

[Member 8586]

Can't comment on Chad's videos cause I never used them, but definitely know the mechanisms in Destroyer! I remember seeing ozonolysis and some of the halogenation reactions from Destroyer on the ral thing.

And don't feel bad about getting destroyed by Destroyer lol Apparently it's quite normal because it's so much harder than the real thing (Makes you that much more prepared once you start owning it).

Stinks that you will miss those events but hey, once you own this test, you will have so much more free time compared to now you won't know what to do with all the time. At least until dental school rolls around and it's definitely a good idea to push the test back if you are not feeling ready, but also keep in mind that it could just be your nerves getting to you! I almost pushed mine back but so happy that I didn't!

btw, I don't think Destroyer covers EVERYTHING, but it covers most. I remember seeing a Diels-alder reaction question on my test and don't recall seeing in Destroyer (i might be wrong but i'm pretty sure it wasn't in it).

ok i dont think theres many mechanisms in the solutions of destroyer, so its definitely doable, and if its in Destroyer, Ill probably know it by then.... Im finishing my 2nd run through today and planning on 5 total times through it, and this time i wrote down all the ones I got wrong or was iffy about in a separate notebook to go over those more

First run through, I probably went 40-50% right; this time Im getting 75-85% right and hopefully in the 90s for my 3rd run and eventually 100 by the 5th! lol Im relying heavily on the book based on what Ive read on here, so I hope Im not hit with surprises with how questions are worded or format of questions, etc too :-/. I plan on trying all the Qvault sections probably after I finish my 3rd run through, as well, and then finally Top Score, 07 and 09 ADA, and KBB practice tests.

Everyone says Destroyer is so much harder, but it still prepares you correctly right? I dont wanna end up overthinking questions because Im so used to Destroyer lol...GC especially - I hope the questions are worded easier so I know exactly what calculation to do..

Diels Alder is in my 2011 edition...I just hope the one you got isnt one of those crazy ones with the "bridgehead carbon" or something because I have no clue what that is or what to do with it...otherwise the standard ones im cool with

and yeah ive got over missing MDW and my cousins wedding, but hopefully it all pays off..i just have that constant fear in the back of my mind, like what if i end up doing all this for nothing?! this is my 3rd and last chance! lol June 8th is D-Day!

 

[Dotoday]

You may have a problem if something that you did not memorize is on the DAT. You must understand the reactions so you can tackle road maps. A good practice of solving more problems will fix that though. Good luck.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

 

[Member 8586]

You may have a problem if something that you did not memorize is on the DAT. You must understand the reactions so you can tackle road maps. A good practice of solving more problems will fix that though. Good luck.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

any source i can try to use to understand the reactions better? i feel like i dont completely have some basics down