Is performance in general chemistry a good predictor of org. chem performance?

[modonnell]

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So I did really pretty well in gen. chem. I, haven't taken II yet. I got like a 96%, with a 99 point something on the final, so I pretty much mastered that material. Is this a good sign that I will be at least fairly successful in organic chemistry? Because I've heard a lot of scary stuff about that class and am kind of intimidated.

 

[Narmerguy]

It is an indication of your capacity to do well in organic chemistry. Largely your success will be determined by your effort and how much time you put into it. The material itself shouldn't be a problem for you.

 

[HH8911]

So I did really pretty well in gen. chem. I, haven't taken II yet. I got like a 96%, with a 99 point something on the final, so I pretty much mastered that material. Is this a good sign that I will be at least fairly successful in organic chemistry? Because I've heard a lot of scary stuff about that class and am kind of intimidated.

I spent more time studying gen chem than I did ochem, but I got B's in gen chem, and A's in ochem. I've heard that you're usually better at one and worse at the other, but I don't know if this is true. I was scared for ochem too, but I actually found it pretty enjoyable. Get Organic Chem as a Second Language and eat, sleep and breathe it for the next year. Just don't be intimidated, and expect that you will have to devote time to it in order to do well. You'll do fine! 🙂

 

[235788]

None at all. Organic chemistry is mechanisms and kind of like puzzles where as chemistry is largely balancing numbers and understanding why the reaction occurs. I gots A's in orgo and a B's in chem. I liked ochem a lot more.

 

[thelullaby99]

I am one of those people who hated gen chem. I did well on both, however I genuinely think that gen chem and orgo are very different. Imo, the real chemistry starts at orgo. Here's how I study for orgo: I never let myself fall behind in terms of homework and studying. Taking notes help me a lot, as well as asking lots of questions. There's no shame in referencing a solution manual either as long as you're wise to not be too reliant on it. I got A in all of them (gen chem I and II and orgo I and II).

 

[Stumpyman]

The last bit of Gen Chem 1 had Ochem-related stuff, so I guess if you understood that really well it might help.

 

[modonnell]

Thanks for all the responses.

None at all. Organic chemistry is mechanisms and kind of like puzzles where as chemistry is largely balancing numbers and understanding why the reaction occurs

This is kind of what concerns me. Listening to people talk about ochem, it sounds like the class will throw you a lot of curve balls on exams and such. When people say stuff like what you posted does this mean that the "puzzles" of ochem are things that can be solved by mastering the principles of ochem, so that it still comes down to learning and knowing the material? Could somebody please explain to me what exactly is this difference between ochem and gen chem that everybody hints at?

 

[Nymphicus]

School and course dependent but in my experience, no.

 

[hiyaman]

Like an above poster said your performance in gchem 1 is an indication you have a solid foundation for ochem. Since the beginning of ochem is reviewing topics in gchem 1. That said you should not worry about ochem until you get there.

 

[deleted357625]

So I did really pretty well in gen. chem. I, haven't taken II yet. I got like a 96%, with a 99 point something on the final, so I pretty much mastered that material. Is this a good sign that I will be at least fairly successful in organic chemistry? Because I've heard a lot of scary stuff about that class and am kind of intimidated.

its totally diff, but ochem in my opinion wasn't bad at all. But it seems like you have good studying habits so I'm sure youll be fine

 

[hiyaman]

Thanks for all the responses.



This is kind of what concerns me. Listening to people talk about ochem, it sounds like the class will throw you a lot of curve balls on exams and such. When people say stuff like what you posted does this mean that the "puzzles" of ochem are things that can be solved by mastering the principles of ochem, so that it still comes down to learning and knowing the material? Could somebody please explain to me what exactly is this difference between ochem and gen chem that everybody hints at?

Gchem is a course that introduces a lot of chemistry topics to the newbie. Some of those topics are related to the practice of organic chemistry, others not quite so much. Thats the difference, in gchem you are learning about different topics in the huge net that is chemistry. In organic chemistry you are focused on studying reactions involving carbon, learning why reactions go and what they form etc etc.

Each topic in chem is diff.
But ochem and inorganic chem have less math involved than say analytical chem or physical chem.

 

[neuro nephrons]

the only area that I have found thus far to be related would be bonding (van der waals forces, london dispersion pi bond etc etc).....I didn't have a very good background in bonding so it made parts of organic I a little difficult.....it really all comes down to whether or not you are willing to put in the effort. you should be fine

 

[235788]

Thanks for all the responses.



This is kind of what concerns me. Listening to people talk about ochem, it sounds like the class will throw you a lot of curve balls on exams and such. When people say stuff like what you posted does this mean that the "puzzles" of ochem are things that can be solved by mastering the principles of ochem, so that it still comes down to learning and knowing the material? Could somebody please explain to me what exactly is this difference between ochem and gen chem that everybody hints at?

Here is an example of what i mean by puzzles:

Question: A->?->?->?->?->F, draw or fill in bubble of plausible method using your knowledge of reaction mechanisms

Understanding cNMRs, IR Specs etc. -- some of these get challenging. Your basically interpreting a "map" and guessing and checking.

Easier one:

Draw election-transfers of A+B-> C+D

General chemistry is largely balancing reactions:

A+B->2C

How many moles of A are needed to make C, What is the limiting reagent etc.

 

[Ansar]

C+ first semester honors gen chem
A- first semester regular ochem

It's just about putting in effort and giving a damn about it...not intense material

 

[SEE13]

So I did really pretty well in gen. chem. I, haven't taken II yet. I got like a 96%, with a 99 point something on the final, so I pretty much mastered that material. Is this a good sign that I will be at least fairly successful in organic chemistry? Because I've heard a lot of scary stuff about that class and am kind of intimidated.

I peer tutor both gen chem and orgo at my school, and I usually end up tutoring the same students for both subjects. What I have found is that the students who do well in gen chem do just as well in orgo. The only exceptions are students who have a lot of trouble with mentally rotating 3D objects, as you need to be able to do that in order to do well on the stereochemistry part of orgo, and it is one of those skills that you either are good at or you aren't. Congrats on doing so well in gen chem, and I think you'll be able to use the same good study habits to do just as well in orgo! 🙂

 

[modonnell]

Hey thanks all you guys for the responses, they informed me and made me feel a little less neurotic. I'm taking the one guy's advice and not worrying too much about the class until I'm in it. This is a very helpful forum by the way.

 

[circulus vitios]

A/A- in general chemistry sequence, B-/B in organic chemistry sequence.

 

[pchemichem]

It's already been stated for the most part, but general chem and organic chem are different beasts. My general chem background was not good at all, but I was able to be in the top 5 of my organic chem class (of about 200 or so students). So even though I did not have the best gen chem background, I put forth A LOT of effort and made it work.

Besides putting in the effort, I find that a lot of what students say about classes being hard is so inaccurate. Was it hard because they did not put any effort in it? last-minute studying? no interest? There's too many variables, and for what it's worth, I found organic chem (and now currently biochem) which students said it was "absoultely horrible, difficult, impossible" to be very manageable.

Just go with it 👍

 

[gravitywave]

gen chem rewards algebra skills
orgo rewards a certain kind of mental dexterity (3D manipulation, synthesis problems, etc)

they are different skills, but 99s on gen chem tests is a good sign that you can do well in orgo. although just as someone who got a 70 could get As in orgo, you might still struggle. you've clearly done all you can do in gen chem to be ready.

 

[thepoopologist]

So I did really pretty well in gen. chem. I, haven't taken II yet. I got like a 96%, with a 99 point something on the final, so I pretty much mastered that material. Is this a good sign that I will be at least fairly successful in organic chemistry? Because I've heard a lot of scary stuff about that class and am kind of intimidated.

Organic Chemistry is an augmentation of General Chemistry. While doing well in G.Chem is a definite plus and will serve you well when you're studying O.Chem, you don't necessarily have to ace G.Chem to ace O.Chem.

 

[nemo123]

In reality, how well you do in some courses has somewhat to do with the professor, not only your mastery of the material. Is the professor for orgo at your school known to be evil or no?

 

[vanillabear55]

like someone else said before- I did well in gen chem 1 & 2 and orgo 1 (taking orgo 2 next semester)
but so far I feel I just get the concepts of orgo a lot better and things 'click'

Got an A- in the lectures for the three chem classes I've taken so far ( A, B+ and A in the three labs)

 

[Skeletorre]

IMO, doing well in general chemistry does help somewhat in organic. There are a good number of concepts that carry over from gen chem. However, the difference is that the problems in organic are completely different than general chemistry. Like the people above me said, a lot of the problems in general chemistry is balancing and finding out the mole in this particular reaction or something along those lines. Organic chem is indeed a puzzle. Basically, for my final, I had to propose mechanisms to get a certain product, predict products, and figure out some stereochem. (Organic I). I didn't take the second semester.

My grades for gen chem I/II: A/A, First semester of organic: A

Some people say if you are good at one, you are probably going to be bad at the other. Well I had to study well for the gen chem, and I studied harder for orgo.