How much does Gen Chem affect Orgo?

[deleted446889]

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Hey all, I'm a freshman in undergrad, I'm taking General Chemistry this semester. I'm not doing so well, I hope to get a B. I'm a bit concerned because I got Bs in Bio I and II, so I'm worried that my science GPA will be lacking. My other courses are all solid, mostly A's.

Due to some family health isssues, I haven't been able to grasp gen Chem I as much as I would have liked. How bad is this for Chem II and the Orgo series? Can I not do well in Chem 1 and still get A's in those courses? Also, any studying tips, books, etc would be greatly appreciated!! I plan on casually reading "Organic Chemistry as a second language" over the summer to be ready to take Orgo next year.

 

[dpat93]

gen chem is more math oriented. O-chem is concepts heavy and a lot of memorization/application...not much math at all. Personally i though ochem was harder but more enjoyable and interesting. To each their own.

 

[devz4lf]

Even though I took ochem and gchem years ago from what I remember, aside from acids and bases and some basic gchem info, you can do Orgo without gchem 1&2. Orgo is it's own thing , nothing like gchem.

 

[trakaszcie]

Bad for Chem II (not detrimental though) and not so bad for O-Chem. I recommend supplementing your course with Chads videos? I would have struggled if it weren't for him.

What are the links to the chads videos?

 

[teethlover3]

Just google "Chad's videos"...it's the first link (course saver one)

🙂

 

[NDPitch]

From my memory, g-chem 2 was way harder than g-chem 1. Electrochemistry, acids/bases, salts, gasses, etc were more math heavy. These are all things we covered in g-chem 2, but maybe your curriculum is different. For me, g-chem 1 was simpler, with stoichiometry, net ionic equations, combustion rxns, etc.

Also, I think orgo is a completely different ballgame. If you know the rules and their exceptions, you can do pretty much any orgo problem. There's just a ton of rules and exceptions to know...that's what makes it hard.

 

[dentalWorks]

Hey all, I'm a freshman in undergrad, I'm taking General Chemistry this semester. I'm not doing so well, I hope to get a B. I'm a bit concerned because I got Bs in Bio I and II, so I'm worried that my science GPA will be lacking. My other courses are all solid, mostly A's.

Due to some family health isssues, I haven't been able to grasp gen Chem I as much as I would have liked. How bad is this for Chem II and the Orgo series? Can I not do well in Chem 1 and still get A's in those courses? Also, any studying tips, books, etc would be greatly appreciated!! I plan on casually reading "Organic Chemistry as a second language" over the summer to be ready to take Orgo next year.

there isn't much relationship between general chem and orgo.

I always compare general chem to ur good-ole physics, very application type, problem solving type class.

Orgo, is, about 50% memorization, 50% understanding, but there isn't much application type. Here is a reaction (memorize it), this molecule attacks this other molecule (understand its mechanism).

 

[Msmouth]

Gen Chem 2 is gen chem 1 on steroids....I had a rough go of it because I took gen chem 2, for 4 weeks in the summer. I prefer orgo any day of the week! It was hard work but for me but kind of fun (nerd alert).
I agree with above poster, def try Chad's college chemistries! I discovered him at the end of orgo 1 and wished I knew about him sooner.

 

[Glimmer1991]

I didn't use Chad for GC. However, I recommended Chad to a girl I tutor in orgo (to go along with our sessions) and she is really loving it. I bet his GC videos are just as good!

Anyhow, besides acids and bases, I think there was very little overlap between GC and OC. OC was harder because of the sheer bulk of everything and how much intricate stuff you had to understand, but I enjoyed it much more. I'm not a math person. I enjoyed OC as much as I could have enjoyed a class that required 2-3 hours of work almost every day. 🙂 However, after completing my orgo class, the DAT seemed like some kind of a kindergarten assignment. It was so easy!

GC sucks, and GC1 was the only B I've ever made in my entire academic career. Get it over with and move on. 🙂