First Organic Exam...[Gunshot]

[jlittlej]

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Anybody else get their *** kicked on their first orgo exam? 72 for me after easily getting As in both General Chems without much work. And I studied fairly hard for this exam. I'm hearing that there's some "practice quiz" on an obscure part of the professor's Web site that featured about 20 of the 25 exam questions with only a few things changed, so that will be the thing to study for the next test instead of, you know, book learning.

 

[physics junkie]

Anybody else get their *** kicked on their first orgo exam? 72 for me after easily getting As in both General Chems without much work. And I studied fairly hard for this exam. I'm hearing that there's some "practice quiz" on an obscure part of the professor's Web site that featured about 20 of the 25 exam questions with only a few things changed, so that will be the thing to study for the next test instead of, you know, book learning.

Organic chemistry is a different type of class than G chem. It requires significantly larger blocks of time than G chem to get the same grade. Learn all the material and practice using the teacher's practice tests of course. There are a million ways you can test o chem and every prof is different. It's not like G chem in that sense.

 

[Ynowtex]

I got a 70 on my first Orgo test last fall. I was crushed. I had quit my job to do school full time and put my family in a financial bind. Therefore, this was not acceptable. I got a tutor, attended a 2nd teacher's class to hear it being taught a different way, did every question in the book, did tons of models with the kits. Ended up with an A. Got the highest score on the final in Orgo II. Just got accepted to UT-Houston for 2008. Moral of the story: if your true dream is to go to medical school, all is not lost with one bad grade, but you will probably have to refocus to suceed at the level that you are expecting for yourself. You can do it!

 

[Nasem]

I don't wanna dicourage you or anything....

I never had any trouble in Orgo (currently taking Orgo II, had our first exam on monday and got a 99%), its actually a very interesting class, I would say 100 times more interesting than either of the general chems (my opinion)

I think the key to doing well in orgo is reading the chapters of the book, and working out the examples INSIDE the chapters (you don't have to start working on the problems at the end of the chapters).... just read it like a novel and underestand the science behind it..... I guarantee you, ORGO is easier than gen chem esspecially when it comes to thinks like
-Orgo has no story problems
-Orgo is visual science, requires you to do a little visualization (but nothing too complex)
-none of that equilibrium crap or gas equations
-none of that concentration and ICE table crap, ORGO rxns are straight forward so long as you don't get them mixed up

I tell this to everyone:
Learn the BASICS of organic chemistry (what is a nucleophile? an electrophile? what is SP3,SP2,SP hypridization? stability of carbocations (**this one is very important**)? there are a few other once that I can't remember,).... but once you underestand the basics, and what they mean, you will be easily able to apply them to orgo....

for example, if you truly understand what a Nu- (nucleophile) and A+ (Electrophile) is, you'll easily be able to distinguish between if you have an "elemination / substitution" rxn and weather its going to use Sn1/2 or E1/2..... you probebly havn't seem this stuff yet, you will soon..... Just PLEASE learn the basics, it will make your organic experience soooo much better

 

[libo1369]

While I really liked O Chem it was a beast! I got a 64 on the first exam of O Chem II and it was the class high score by 10%. So stick with it you can do just fine but do practice it like it was a foreign language which it kind of is.

 

[spazzz]

I tell this to everyone:
Learn the BASICS of organic chemistry (what is a nucleophile? an electrophile? what is SP3,SP2,SP hypridization? stability of carbocations (**this one is very important**)? there are a few other once that I can't remember,).... but once you underestand the basics, and what they mean, you will be easily able to apply them to orgo....

for example, if you truly understand what a Nu- (nucleophile) and A+ (Electrophile) is, you'll easily be able to distinguish between if you have an "elemination / substitution" rxn and weather its going to use Sn1/2 or E1/2..... you probebly havn't seem this stuff yet, you will soon..... Just PLEASE learn the basics, it will make your organic experience soooo much better

this is why i loved orgo. it just made sense. plus attracts minus is the best advice for orgo II. I struggled a bit on how to study, but it's actually really logical once it clicks. don't be discouraged, and certainly don't try and memorize everything (like in gen chem). hang in there, i'm a freak for loving organic chem

 

[jlittlej]

After that disastrous 72, I quit going to class. Did every practice problem in the book. And I ordered this little book called Organic Chemistry as a Second Language that does a great job of explaining overall concepts without getting bogged down in small details (that overall probably won't be more than three or four of 25 questions on the test) like my textbook does. Got an 89 on the second exam and a 100 on the third one.

Thanks for the previous support. My school doesn't have + or - so now I need a 99+ on the fourth and last (non-cumulative) exam next Thursday to stay out of B-dom.