How to succeed in orgo

[TunnuS]

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786

Hi guys

I am retaking orgo 1 this semester because I didn't do as well last time. I really want to change my strategy this time around so I get an A, since anything other than an A in a retake class looks incompetent to adcoms.

For people who have gotten grades of A/A+, how do you recommend I study? From slides the professor gives (which is usually 100 per lecture-adds up to a lot)? From textbooks? Review books? If so, which ones? Should I do practice problems? And how much time should I devote each week to just studying?

Thanks for all your input

 

[aSagacious]

I was taught with this one and I think it's a great book.
Organic Chemistry - John E. McMurry

I also recommend the solution manual as well.

 

[GraMaire]

786

Hi guys

I am retaking orgo 1 this semester because I didn't do as well last time. I really want to change my strategy this time around so I get an A, since anything other than an A in a retake class looks incompetent to adcoms.

For people who have gotten grades of A/A+, how do you recommend I study? From slides the professor gives (which is usually 100 per lecture-adds up to a lot)? From textbooks? Review books? If so, which ones? Should I do practice problems? And how much time should I devote each week to just studying?

Thanks for all your input

My college organizes it so that theres hundreds of practice problems. Ultimately I think thats the best way but you must read the material as well.

Im a gen chem TA and I tell my students if they want an A they should spend at least 8-10 hours a week outside of class if its not coming easily to them.

Since you are retaking it, this class needs to be your priority. I probably spent about two hours a day studying and doing practice problems. I got an A so it paid off.

 

[beargunkarate]

Check out the "organic chemistry as a second language" series. Very good supplements.

Also, try to really understand the chemistry along with the mandatory reaction memorization. You'll be able to bail yourself out sometimes based on an understanding of, essentially, why and how electrons would move/be shared/etc in certain situations.

 

[coyotelime]

Check out the "organic chemistry as a second language" series. Very good supplements.

Also, try to really understand the chemistry along with the mandatory reaction memorization. You'll be able to bail yourself out sometimes based on an understanding of, essentially, why and how electrons would move/be shared/etc in certain situations.

+1. Also quality over quantity, if you get on FB every 10 mins while studying that is not considered great use of your time.

 

[TheShaker]

Practice, practice, practice. Practice solving reactions over and over. Practice drawing your mechanisms so that you can have them down cold when you need/are asked to recall them. Practice synthesis because **** synthesis. This class requires conceptual understanding as well but doing reactions over and over again takes you a long way.

This gets so tedious once ochem 2 comes around but just remember that this is likely your most important and difficult class in undergrad so you might as well push through it.

 

[candav]

I was taught with this one and I think it's a great book.
Organic Chemistry - John E. McMurry

I also recommend the solution manual as well.

We used this book in both semesters of organic chemistry, and the fear conditioning has been successful to the point that my stomach drops, palms sweat, pulse races at the mere sight of this cover.

 

[gravitywave]

I was taught with this one and I think it's a great book.
Organic Chemistry - John E. McMurry

I also recommend the solution manual as well.

that's the book i had, and i agree it's a good one.

1) know the nomenclature!! so many points on exams come down to whether or not the student even knows what the problem is talking about.

2) do lots of problems. prioritize problems over reading. read something over again in the book if you don't understand the solution manual's explanation.

3) don't memorize reactions, memorize mechanisms. know why the electrons move to some places and not others. then you can mentally organize reactions as subdivisions of mechanisms. keeps the memorization load way down.

oh, and 8-10 hours a week isn't going to cut it for most people. not for an A, anyhow.

 

[Owlie]

that's the book i had, and i agree it's a good one.

1) know the nomenclature!! so many points on exams come down to whether or not the student even knows what the problem is talking about.

2) do lots of problems. prioritize problems over reading. read something over again in the book if you don't understand the solution manual's explanation.

3) don't memorize reactions, memorize mechanisms. know why the electrons move to some places and not others. then you can mentally organize reactions as subdivisions of mechanisms. keeps the memorization load way down.

oh, and 8-10 hours a week isn't going to cut it for most people. not for an A, anyhow.

I was thinking about taking a class in chemistry terminology before I took upper level chemistry classes. I thought, this way, it would give me more time to concentrate on different things while in class.

 

[El Nino]

I'm in orgo 2 now, but I made an A in orgo 1.

The key to organic is mechanisms. There are people who memorize both the reactions and mechanisms, but that is unnecessary if you understand the flow of electrons. The only thing I felt I had to "memorize" were a few of the reagents.

 

[gravitywave]

I was thinking about taking a class in chemistry terminology before I took upper level chemistry classes. I thought, this way, it would give me more time to concentrate on different things while in class.

i wouldn't advise this, it's going to be low yield. the nomenclature isn't overwhelming by any means, it's more that the mistake many students make in orgo is to focus on the reactions to the exclusion of having a good grasp on the language. orgo exams are typically full of easy points if you have a good grasp of what they are talking about, especially orgo 1.

instead of taking that class, take one that actually gives you a chance at discovering something new about the world or yourself. sounds cheesy but that's what college is really about, and it's what adcoms like to see.

 

[gmcguitar4]

Make sure you completely understand Sn1 and 2 reactions. Know when to use them . Nail stereochemistry. Know resonance very well. Understand hyper conjugation. If you get these concepts down..the rest is memorization. It makes it all very easy.

 

[MT Headed]

When in doubt, the answer is resonance.

It's always resonance.

 

[Ansar]

Do a lot of practice problems.
Don't try to blindly memorize, have an idea of what's going on in the reaction.

Results may vary. Following that route, with some slacking for one exam, got me an A-, so YMMV.

 

[TheShaker]

When in doubt, the answer is resonance.

It's always resonance.

Just draw a lot of dashed lines around everything. You're bound to get partial credit that way.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

You definitely will have to do all the practice problems, get help when you need it, and let it consume your life for two semesters!😀 But I find the biggest hurdle in organic chemistry is the lack of help from professors. At my school the chemistry professors are known to be ridiculous. A professor that takes the time to explain everything in detail and to tell you when you do something wrong and to explain it to you so you understand it is very rare indeed.

 

[lastt]

1) know the nomenclature!! so many points on exams come down to whether or not the student even knows what the problem is talking about.

2) do lots of problems. prioritize problems over reading. read something over again in the book if you don't understand the solution manual's explanation.

3) don't memorize reactions, memorize mechanisms. know why the electrons move to some places and not others. then you can mentally organize reactions as subdivisions of mechanisms. keeps the memorization load way down.

oh, and 8-10 hours a week isn't going to cut it for most people. not for an A, anyhow.

I've taught organic a good bit & am a postdoc in an organic chemistry. I would say this is all sound advise - it's much easier to predict a reaction's outcome if you understand the flow of electrons, which is dependent on resonance, electronegativity, and stabilization of intermediates/products due to these properties. For stereochemistry, use 3-D models to help you visualize the structures until you are comfortable doing it in your head.

There is a place for memorization of terms and reagents, but that should be a minor component of your time. A few minutes a week with some flashcards took care of these parts for me and I'm poor at memorization. Once you've memorized a new set of reactions, solidify them by working problems based on them immediately afterward and again after a good break.

How much you will have to study varies a lot from person to person, how well it's presented in the lecture, and how well your studying style fits you. My chem department had a study room where grad student tutors worked problems with undergrads - those students that came in regularly fared very well in their classes. If you study in a group, try to teach your peers or take turns teaching each other; there's no better way to learn than to teach.