ochem class

[Gust]

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Have any of you guys taken organic synthesis? Just curious because my uni will be offering this course and I really want to take it. Is this class basically ochem 3 and what were your thought on the overall class.

 

[tabascosauce]

Greetings chum!

I want to share with you my experience that I think you may find pertinent and revealing.

my university offers ochem1 and ochem2. after that you can explore the world of ochem with three courses: (1) organic synthesis (2) advanced mechanistic ochem aka physical organic chem (3) organic lab methods/analysis

I took #2.

I think u should consider what you liked most about ochem. do you like puzzle solving with synthesis? do you like intellectual masturbation with mechanisms? or do you like being in a lab and analyzing data? i developed a zest for ochem as well when i wore a younger man's clothes. now heres the rub: i dont know anything about ochem anymore. this too shall pass. nothing in this world lasts forever. we are but shadows and dust.

 

[Frazier]

Have any of you guys taken organic synthesis? Just curious because my uni will be offering this course and I really want to take it. Is this class basically ochem 3 and what were your thought on the overall class.

It is not to hard to make a guess that it is a course that focuses primarily on the worst part of Ochem 1&2: synthesis.

I would avoid like plague. 😀

 

[circulus vitios]

Ugh...synthesis. I hate synthesis labs. Fun in theory but they NEVER, EVER work.

Your product should be bright white crystals with an 80% yield.
*Gets a black tar* or *gets a 40% yield*

 

[orthomyxo]

Ugh...synthesis. I hate synthesis labs. Fun in theory but they NEVER, EVER work.

Your product should be bright white crystals with an 80% yield.
*Gets a black tar* or *gets a 40% yield*

More like *gets black tar with 763% yield*

Good thing we aren't graded on technique. 😀

 

[circulus vitios]

More like *gets black tar with 763% yield*

Good thing we aren't graded on technique. 😀

The highlight of my organic synthesis lab was boiling off a solvent to collect a yellow oil after a couple hours of workup. Instead of boiling off it started splattering mucus colored crap all over my hot plate and bench. I gave up and threw everything out. Ended up getting a 100% on that lab somehow because I wrote extensively on what could have went wrong. Still frustrating as hell spending 3 hours and screwing up so hard.

 

[Monocles]

The nice thing about organic chemistry is that you are almost never graded on the amount (unlike quant), as long as you have the general physical properties mostly right, you should do okay. 🙂

 

[orthomyxo]

The highlight of my organic synthesis lab was boiling off a solvent to collect a yellow oil after a couple hours of workup. Instead of boiling off it started splattering mucus colored crap all over my hot plate and bench. I gave up and threw everything out. Ended up getting a 100% on that lab somehow because I wrote extensively on what could have went wrong. Still frustrating as hell spending 3 hours and screwing up so hard.

I once spent 3 hours distilling some garbage to get ONE DROP of product. I was in lab for like 6 hours total, when it was only supposed to run for four. But you should've seen my face when the refractive index was dead on. 😎

But yea, organic chemistry sucks. Just take basket weaving OP.