EK ORGO reading sufficient with BR passages?

[Dr Dazzle]

I have the BR and EK orgo books? Dont have much time, so I was thinking about reading EK and then doing the passages from BR. Did this work for anyone? I also plan to do this for bio reading.

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[Temperature101]

I have the BR and EK orgo books? Dont have much time, so I was thinking about reading EK and then doing the passages from BR. Did this work for anyone? I also plan to do this for bio reading.

I am thinking about doing the same thing...Can someone chime on that?

 

[coyotelime]

I don't have EK Orgo but I can tell you that a lot of TBR Orgo is extraneous information(at least for the MCAT). You don't need to know the reagents for all the reactions because they will most likely be given to you in a passage. Rather, understand the CONCEPTS behind all the reactions.

I would definitely read the TBR shortcut to oxidation/reduction. But I guess if EK covers nucleophilic substitution/electrophilic addition you should be okay. As long as you understand the basic mechanism steps behind what's happening and are able to predict products you should be okay. Read up on the shortcuts for memorizing basic carbs too. And simple way of determining pI(isoelectric point) of amino acids. I am not going to memorize the pKas for all the AAs like they want you to.

Big bonus is that SN1/SN2/E1/E2 is not on the test, so you still can go over the last two chapters because apparently you will forget them from your organic lectures.

In sum, I would just briefly skim TBR books. They are excessively detailed but very thorough. I feel like they cover all the bases for the MCAT and overprepare you, which is a good thing. But since you're short on time I would maybe try going through the AAMC BS topics and studying off that.

Hope this helped!

 

[Dr Dazzle]

Thanks! Would you say the same for BR bio? And really? SN1/E1 stuff isn't on the MCAT? Overall, BR books are great for if you never really learned stuff. That's me for PS! But for bio, its more of a review, and I feel that passages do give more info than expected. Passage practice should be focus then.

I don't have EK Orgo but I can tell you that a lot of TBR Orgo is extraneous information(at least for the MCAT). You don't need to know the reagents for all the reactions because they will most likely be given to you in a passage. Rather, understand the CONCEPTS behind all the reactions.

I would definitely read the TBR shortcut to oxidation/reduction. But I guess if EK covers nucleophilic substitution/electrophilic addition you should be okay. As long as you understand the basic mechanism steps behind what's happening and are able to predict products you should be okay. Read up on the shortcuts for memorizing basic carbs too. And simple way of determining pI(isoelectric point) of amino acids. I am not going to memorize the pKas for all the AAs like they want you to.

Big bonus is that SN1/SN2/E1/E2 is not on the test, so you can pretty much ignore TBR orgo part I/II.

In sum, I would just briefly skim TBR books. They are excessively detailed but very thorough. I feel like they cover all the bases for the MCAT and overprepare you, which is a good thing. But since you're short on time I would maybe try going through the AAMC BS topics and studying off that.

Hope this helped!

 

[coyotelime]

For bio I just spend 3-4 hrs going through an EK chapter then do TBR passages(following SN2's guide). But I've found that EK is super super condensed on physiology chapters and for the ones I haven't had lots of exposure to(gi tract/liver/kidneys/respiratory/heart/immune/lymph LOL) I read TBR for additional information.

Play to your strengths I guess! I'm just worried about physics. NOVA is helping but I haven't touched TBR in 2 weeks and I have no idea how I'm going to do on their passages once I start back up again

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

Big bonus is that SN1/SN2/E1/E2 is not on the test, so you can pretty much ignore TBR orgo part I, last two chapters.

I disagree. SN1 and SN2 are mentioned in the BS topics and are definitely fair game on the MCAT. Also, those last two chapters cover other important mechanisms that will build a strong conceptual foundation for Ochem. I would not skip them.

 

[coyotelime]

I disagree. SN1 and SN2 are mentioned in the BS topics and are definitely fair game on the MCAT. Also, those last two chapters cover other important mechanisms that will build a strong conceptual foundation for Ochem. I would not skip them.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/85566/data/bstopics.pdf

He said he was short on time. FTR, I didn't skip them, and I think it's stupid it's not covered on the exam because it's 50% of any orgo I class in college. And plus, if you actually took orgo I + II in lecture and paid attention I would find it extremely difficult to forget those rudimentary concepts. Unless you've never taken orgo before... which would be interesting..

 

[whiteshadodw]

I disagree. SN1 and SN2 are mentioned in the BS topics and are definitely fair game on the MCAT. Also, those last two chapters cover other important mechanisms that will build a strong conceptual foundation for Ochem. I would not skip them.

i'm going to second this. if you skip SN1 and SN2, carbonyl chemistry is not going to make sense at all. as a result, carbohydrates won't make sense either. nucleophilic substitution is the bread and butter of organic chemistry. i spent a ton of time on the last two chapters of TBR. but that made the first chapter of book 2 cake. i finished 50 pages of carbonyl chemistry in like 2 hours because i just had such a good grasp of nucleophilic substitution.

 

[DareGreatly]

this is what i'm doing for every section. in my opinion, BR has way too much information, which if anything, may confuse the issue during the MCAT. this test is all about applying basic concepts with speed. just get the basics down and learn how to answer questions using the passage. if you find that you're extremely weak in one area, perhaps use the BR content then. however, i think it's a waste of time to use BR content initially. time that could be spent on hardcore memorization of basics, doing tons of passages (you'll learn the best parts of BR content through their passages as well), and taking FLs. that said, it's all about what works for you.

 

[Medicalbound10]

I am in the same situation and strapped in time. I have the BR Ochem books and went through the content awhile back. I have basically forgotten a lot of the material due to the vast amount of details and volume. It is intense.

Which ones I should definetly need to know Section I, II, IV and perhaps the lab techniques?

tx

 

[dmission]

Sorry, just wondering -- when people say "EK", are they referring to the 1001 ExamKrackers Question books?

 

[kehlsh]

a lot of orgo q's are gimmes

that being said, I think EK does a good job of telling us the fundamentals

 

[AntonFreeman]

TBR has alot more details than EK. I think you should read EK for content review, try passages on BR then go over missed questions and fill gaps with BR

 

[MD2BeWpg]

Sorry, just wondering -- when people say "EK", are they referring to the 1001 ExamKrackers Question books?

From my understanding, people mean the EK review books, not the 1001 question books.