Anyone who thinks Organic Chem is easier than Genchem?

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SOAPsucks222

SOAPsucks222

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I'm taking O chem 1 this Fall, just finished Genchem 2. are there any brave souls out there who seem to find more ease in O chem than they did in Gen chem?
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In terms of difficulty, for me both classes were equally difficult, but in different ways. G chem was more problem solving and math, along with a little bit of conceptual understanding. O chem was challenging because it was all a big puzzle, where you have to memorize certain reactions and visualize stereochemistry and stuff. Definitely get a chemistry model kit, and make flashcards for reactions, with starting material and reagents on one side, and product on the other side. I liked o chem more than g chem, but thats just me.
 
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Neither were difficult. I enjoyed orgo more than gen chem
 
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They both suck, but for different reasons.
 
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I think it goes on a personal basis. I love the conceptualization of Ocher and was the reason I decided to take an advanced o chem class my senior year. G chem I absolutely hated, but grew to appreciate it when I took an analytical chem class.
 
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I liked gen chem and didn't enjoy ochem at all. Ochem to me was too many minute details over things I didn't care about. Gen chem 2 was the hardest class for out of all the prereqs, but my professor was brand new, like 27 years old.
 
Depends onyour university. We had 3 orgo series(es?) and only one of them was hard. It depends on what you are expected to do, route memorization vs synthesis (HAH)

Also the second term is always insane. So get ready. But I liked it a lot-it's what made me go from engineering to science.
 
I bought the Klein ochem as a second language books (as suggested by SDNers before me) and cruised through both semesters. Only cracked open the textbook for a couple random things.

My school isn't rigorous or anything, but I though both gen chem and ochem were pretty chill. Whereas I still don't understand tons of gen bio stuff. Like, what does the E.R. even do, and how how many of them are there? I'll take my ochem synthesis puzzles over squishy cell stuff any day.
 
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It seems like most people I talk to hate one and love the other- I blew it in Gen chem but aced O chem.
I would highly recommend "organic chemistry as a second language"- I used it for Ochem 2 and it was an extremely helpful guide that explains concepts in laymen's terms and has some good practice problems. You can find a free download of the pdf with a little googling :thumbup:
 
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Klein has a full-length textbook that I recommend even more than the "second language" mini text. The approach is exactly the same in both, but in the textbook s/he goes through it with much more room to expand upon things and there is much more "breathing room" for hard topics.

Gen Chem has a lot of math. O Chem was barely any math comparatively. I'd say Gen Chem is harder for that reason.
 
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i liked orgo more than gen chem, i actually thought it was fun..
 
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I love orgo so much. so much easier than gen chem i think, but thats probably because im not a big math guy. I love the conceptual part of organic. and labs actually fun
 
EODguy said:
I bought the Klein ochem as a second language books (as suggested by SDNers before me) and cruised through both semesters. Only cracked open the textbook for a couple random things.

My school isn't rigorous or anything, but I though both gen chem and ochem were pretty chill. Whereas I still don't understand tons of gen bio stuff. Like, what does the E.R. even do, and how how many of them are there? I'll take my ochem synthesis puzzles over squishy cell stuff any day.
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Klein's book was a life saver in Ochem 1. Especially when we got to mechanisms. It's explained so simply.

And I'm the complete opposite. I'd rather learn the the annoying details of DNA replication and cell signaling pathways any day over trying to figure out which reagent makes X product or trying to analyze an NMR spectrum. :p
 
iqe2010 said:
Klein's book was a life saver in Ochem 1. Especially when we got to mechanisms. It's explained so simply.
And I'm the complete opposite. I'd rather learn the the annoying details of DNA replication and cell signaling pathways any day over trying to figure out which reagent makes X product or trying to analyze an NMR spectrum. :p
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I don't get it. With ochem I can put stuff into a flask and see what happens. With bio its all make believe wizardry. "Ok class, wands at the ready. Now, try to conjure up your krebs cycle patronus".
 
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Orgo I was easier for me than Gen Chem II (that was a hell of a class). Orgo II was a wild ride. I personally liked the Orgo sequence better though. I felt like it put the field of chemistry more into focus for me.
 
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Oh for sure, I loved orgo and I did pretty damn well in it. I thought my orgo classes were well taught, more conceptually interesting and that it played better to my strengths - visual puzzles come naturally to me - so I liked it more and put more time in too, making it easier for me

Meanwhile gen chem was still interesting but less so and the set ups for say electro or gasses were more of a struggle for me since math isn't my thing

So I'd put orgo at a 7/10 in difficulty and gen chem at an 8.5/10 in difficulty
 
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I love genchem, I'll bump this thread in September to see how well I enjoy o-chem
 
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Gen chem I is a ****show all over the place. Gen chem II is more organized. Org I is a ****show as well but it's not bad if you can find joy in things like chair conformers/newmans and the basic reactions/mechanisms. I hope Org II is as fun as I take it in a month this summer
 
CommyO said:
Gen chem I is a ****show all over the place. Gen chem II is more organized. Org I is a ****show as well but it's not bad if you can find joy in things like chair conformers/newmans and the basic reactions/mechanisms. I hope Org II is as fun as I take it in a month this summer
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Orgo 2 is nothing but mechanisms and reagants, ymmv on whether that's a good thing lol
 
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For me ochem was harder as it required you to connect so many concepts together. Just when you got the patterns down, there's always that one "exception" that drove me nuts. Gchem was more like recognizing scenarios and using the same equation to solve it. Both requires practice, but ochem required you to really know your material


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I actually think that overall I liked organic better... less math. I liked organic I better than II though, which I guess is opposite to most folks I've talked to. It was kinda fun figuring it all out but then I got so sick of memorizing reagents.
 
Gen Chem was a walk in the park for me because I took AP Chem. Also , general chem in my university is easier than orgo ( orgo has no curve, just a dropped test and extra credit.).
I have a more quantitative mind than visual, so doing reactions/math in Chem II was easier than drawing those dumb little Newman projection in Orgo I.
I'm about to start Orgo II this fall....we'll see where that takes me.
Until recently, I never though that people found gen chem harder than orgo. I know at some schools, especially ivies, gen chem is a 'weed-out" class that includes some P-Chem material, so some people will find it harder than orgo.
( I have an old HS friend at UPenn who told me this)
 
Gen chem is trash.
Orgo is Life.
Don't memorize and practice problems in orgo and you'll being to patterns and relationships. It is not a difficult class if you put in some work. Gen chem is basically practicing math but orgo is entirely different language. Its a form of chemistry like non other. Learn the basics well because you'll have a bad time in Orgo 2 of you dont.
 
I love general chemistry:love:
 
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I hated gen Chem (so boring)
I loved ochem. It was interesting. It was challenging but interesting.
 
nembry said:
I'm taking O chem 1 this Fall, just finished Genchem 2. are there any brave souls out there who seem to find more ease in O chem than they did in Gen chem?
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On the MCAT? Absolutely. MCAT orgo is super easy if you paid even a slight bit of attention in undergrad, and MCAT gen chem passages can be viciously tricky.

In undergrad? No way. Gen Chem might be tough, but most undergrad orgo classes will, to borrow a phrase from a classmate, give you a right rogering.
 
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MoDiddy said:
Organic is not that bad don't listen to the hype (Finished #1/200 in Gen Chem I+II and Organic I+II). You'll be fine
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It's difficult to believe your experience is applicable to all of us since 99.5% of students in all of your chemistry classes performed worse.
 
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cactusman said:
It's difficult to believe your experience is applicable to all of us since 99.5% of students in all of your chemistry classes performed worse.
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Didn't you see his custom title? He's working harder than me and U.
 
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MoDiddy said:
Organic is not that bad don't listen to the hype (Finished #1/200 in Gen Chem I+II and Organic I+II). You'll be fine
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str8 gunnin for surg
 
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Peach Newport said:
On the MCAT? Absolutely. MCAT orgo is super easy if you paid even a slight bit of attention in undergrad, and MCAT gen chem passages can be viciously tricky.

In undergrad? No way. Gen Chem might be tough, but most undergrad orgo classes will, to borrow a phrase from a classmate, give you a right rogering.
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Wait, really? I worked my ass off for an A and A- in gen chem, and of course found it difficult, but have found the passages to be relatively straightforward, with only nitpicky details like d-orbitals holding me back. To each their own
 
He has a point. For me, genchem was a joke. I got 100's on the exams, while the averages were in the low 50's.

I can't believe how incompetent the students were at my university.
 
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I thought gen chem was always just flat out fun. None of the concepts were difficult to understand and there was no pesky visualization at all.

Orgo 1 and 2 were incredibly difficult for me, but by no means did I actually "hate" the material. To the contrary, I quite enjoyed it. However, I believe the way it was taught and tested at my institution left a sour taste for me. I also have a lot of trouble visualizing things in 3D space and stereochemistry never made any sense to me at all. Atom kits, online tutorials, etc etc never helped me with it and made me really struggle.
 
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i was going to say ochem was fun and better than gen chem... but i just got my final back and it knocked me down 3 points to an A-. so yea, ochem is horrible


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1forrest1 said:
i was going to say ochem was fun and better than gen chem... but i just got my final back and it knocked me down 3 points to an A-. so yea, ochem is horrible


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SHUT UP My ACS final brough my orgo I grade from an 90.5 to an 88.7. It was the ACS final, but it was done by raw score, no curve.
( I meant that in a non-agressive way, like I can relate. I already W"d and retook and there was a lot of crying when I got my grade back. )
 
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ochem was more easier (maybe because you're applying a general concept all throughout: electron movement), but put in more work than gen chem
 
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O Chem was so much easier. Gen chem sucked the soul out of my life, only because we had use the book that was written by the professor.
 
Organic was much easier for me-it just seemed much more logical for some reason. Gen chem on the other hand was not my favorite at all........
 
I choose answer C: Physical chemistry. It is the best. It's also the only real science besides physics according to Feynman.


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