Importance of taking inorganic as pre req

[deleted421268]

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how important of a pre req is inorganic in terms of medical school admission entrance? Can upper level chemistry courses substitute for inorganic?

 

[Fluffy123]

Do you mean intro to chemistry (gen chem) or an upper level inorganic chemistry? because the intro to chemistry is REQUIRED while upper levels are not.

 

[JB50]

Inorganic is gen chem. Like the first class in chemistry you will take. You can't take biochem/orgo 1/orgo 2/ etc without taking general chemistry.

 

[Paramagnetic]

Uhh, how are you going to take something like p-chem without gen chem..?

EDIT: You have a thread from last year talking about how you withdrew from orgo. If you're not already aware, there's virtually no school that would let you take organic without inorganic chem beforehand. Perhaps you've just forgotten that you have already taken the class.

Consider having your general practitioner refer you to somebody before you worry about medical school.

 

[JustAPhD]

I've seen this question pop up before, as some schools require "1 year of inorganic chemistry." Well, gen chem would suffice , but what about schools that only have one semester of gen chem before they go into OChem? In that case would applicants from that school have to also take inorganic to fulfill the requirement?

 

[Paramagnetic]

but what about schools that only have one semester of gen chem before they go into OChem?

Is that actually a thing?

 

[JustAPhD]

Is that actually a thing?

I remember it was for my undergrad. Freshmen took (and probably still take) gen chem in the Fall freshman year and OChem starting in the Spring of Freshman year.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

You could always just take generic gen chem at another school if that's the case too...

But yes. You need to take gen chem 1 & 2 there is no way around it. You need it for the MCAT anyway lol

 

[JoeCaputo]

I think by inorganic chemistry they mean general chemistry . I know it is confusing because for chemistry majors there is also inorganic chemistry taken in upper div's, which has a level of detail similar to orgo, if not more detailed, dealing with complex ion mechanisms, and how they change selectivity etc. etc. So they just mean the basic inorganic chem you get in gen chem, but depending on the school I could be wrong.

 

[deleted421268]

I mean pre requisite for medical schools. I know med schools require biology series, gen Chem series, orgo series, physic series, just unsure of inorganic chemistry.

 

[aldol16]

I think by inorganic chemistry they mean general chemistry . I know it is confusing because for chemistry majors there is also inorganic chemistry taken in upper div's, which has a level of detail similar to orgo, if not more detailed, dealing with complex ion mechanisms, and how they change selectivity etc. etc. So they just mean the basic inorganic chem you get in gen chem, but depending on the school I could be wrong.

Yes, they mean general chemistry by "inorganic chemistry." Whether or not a school accepts AP without substitution is up to the school.

Side note: Inorganic chemistry is actually much richer than organic chemistry, which is boring in comparison (my biased view). The "complex ions" you learn about in general chemistry are actually really sophisticated metal complexes. The nature of the ligands and how they are oriented around the metal governs reactivity and selectivity (if you're interested, take a look at cis-platinum vs. trans-platinum). That's the basis for ligand field theory and you can actually accomplish much much more with metal complexes than you can with organics. That's why organic synthesis actually relies heavily on metals - Grignard reagents, for example, are organometallic reagents. C-C coupling in particular is very difficult without carbonyls or dienes - that's the basis of the 2010 Nobel Prize.

 

[JoeCaputo]

Yes, they mean general chemistry by "inorganic chemistry." Whether or not a school accepts AP without substitution is up to the school.

Side note: Inorganic chemistry is actually much richer than organic chemistry, which is boring in comparison (my biased view). The "complex ions" you learn about in general chemistry are actually really sophisticated metal complexes. The nature of the ligands and how they are oriented around the metal governs reactivity and selectivity (if you're interested, take a look at cis-platinum vs. trans-platinum). That's the basis for ligand field theory and you can actually accomplish much much more with metal complexes than you can with organics. That's why organic synthesis actually relies heavily on metals - Grignard reagents, for example, are organometallic reagents. C-C coupling in particular is very difficult without carbonyls or dienes - that's the basis of the 2010 Nobel Prize.

It does seem really interesting. If i had more time I might consider taking it. I really don't much about it other than when my o.chem teacher is explaining the 1-4 selectivity of copper lithium reagents, he just says it's inorganic chemistry and beyond our scope, or when writing electron pushing mechanisms we skip certain steps involving the inorganic reagents.

 

[aldol16]

It does seem really interesting. If i had more time I might consider taking it. I really don't much about it other than when my o.chem teacher is explaining the 1-4 selectivity of copper lithium reagents, he just says it's inorganic chemistry and beyond our scope, or when writing electron pushing mechanisms we skip certain steps involving the inorganic reagents.

Yeah, so one of the most overlooked ones is how you make a Grignard reagent. Most organic chemistry instructors will just let you invoke the RMgX reagent without making you think how one makes something like that. So it's actually a formal oxidative addition of a R-X bond to the Mg center. You never really learn about this really important reaction.

In inorganic chemistry, it's less about arrow-pushing but more thinking about where electrons really are. For example, there are so-called two-electron, three-centered species which are literally three atoms surrounding/sharing a single pair of electrons. It makes you think about what you really represent when you draw a pair of electrons on paper.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

Inorganic is gen chem. Like the first class in chemistry you will take. You can't take biochem/orgo 1/orgo 2/ etc without taking general chemistry.

and all the chemists on the board just died a little more inside

But in all seriousness, they usually DO count gen chem as "inorganic". I remember seeing one school that required analytical chem/inorganic as an upper division.

 

[JB50]

and all the chemists on the board just died a little more inside

But in all seriousness, they usually DO count gen chem as "inorganic". I remember seeing one school that required analytical chem/inorganic as an upper division.

I was speaking in terms of the transcript but yes, I know that inorganic chem is tecnically an upper level, tough class but I don't think thats how it's being referred to.

 

[aldol16]

But in all seriousness, they usually DO count gen chem as "inorganic". I remember seeing one school that required analytical chem/inorganic as an upper division.

I certainly hope that schools keep the pre-med type out of upper-level inorganic chem courses. I dread teaching Orgo because of the grade-grubbing pre-med type who get 95s on exams and try to argue for a few more points. I love teaching inorganic chem because all the students there are there to learn the material and are truly passionate about chemistry.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

I certainly hope that schools keep the pre-med type out of upper-level inorganic chem courses. I dread teaching Orgo because of the grade-grubbing pre-med type who get 95s on exams and try to argue for a few more points. I love teaching inorganic chem because all the students there are there to learn the material and are truly passionate about chemistry.

Yeah.
I had some in Pchem SOMEHOW and that was a nightmare when i TAed and instructed.