Organic Chem II

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JRock310

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am i the only one here who thinks it is a LOT harder than organic chem I? i really didn't think organic I was TOO terrible...but i am finding that i'm having a MUCH more difficult time with organic II.
🙁
 
Organic I: IUPAC nomenclature, substitutions, eliminations, assigning R and S, newman projections, fisher projections, sterics, basic nucleophile/electrophile reaction mechanisms

Organic II: Every other reaction mechanism


I would agree. Organic II is WAY less conceptual and requires much more memorizing of reactions and mechanisms.
 
am i the only one here who thinks it is a LOT harder than organic chem I? i really didn't think organic I was TOO terrible...but i am finding that i'm having a MUCH more difficult time with organic II.
🙁
I thought it was easier, but that's just me. The funny thing is that I got a lower grade because I had a tougher semester while I was taking Orgo II.
 

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Not really. In fact I think it's much more interesting. I actually enjoy looking at a molecule and trying to figure out what will happen to it under certain circumstances.

I guess it could depend on what you guys are studying right now though, too. We did benzene and aromatics and now were on alcohols.
 
well, right now we just started chapter 12, which is: "alcohols from carbonyl compounds: oxidation-reduction and organometallic compounds." im just having a really tough time with it.

it also doesn't help that i am taking it at a different school than last semester (LONG story) and they were 2 chapters ahead of my orgo I class, so i had to play "catch up" over winter break on my own. it's also a much more difficult school.

🙁
 
I also found Organic 2 to be a lot harder. Lots of memorizing and solving those hard synthesis problems.
 
i actually found it to be the opposite. I guess it took me a while (a semester) to get in the groove. My worst ochem grade was the first one I ever took, i think simply because it was unlike anything i had ever taken before. But by the second semester i was in the groove I guess. And second semester it seemed like everything was happening by a similar mechanism and concepts kept repeating themselves over and over again. Its definitely a dificult class (either semester) tho, so just keep up the hard work and youll make it through.👍
 
i actually found it to be the opposite. I guess it took me a while (a semester) to get in the groove. My worst ochem grade was the first one I ever took, i think simply because it was unlike anything i had ever taken before. But by the second semester i was in the groove I guess. And second semester it seemed like everything was happening by a similar mechanism and concepts kept repeating themselves over and over again. Its definitely a dificult class (either semester) tho, so just keep up the hard work and youll make it through.👍
so do more problems or memorize? Ill probably do both, so far everything looks easy, I got most of the things down; I just finished chapter 11 alkynes.
 
so do more problems or memorize? Ill probably do both, so far everything looks easy, I got most of the things down; I just finished chapter 11 alkynes.
Memorization is the wrong way to go in Organic chemistry. I think that's one reason it takes some a while to get into "the groove of things." Also, some people take a while because they are new to doing problems of the sort (i.e. synthesis questions).

Though O.chem requires that you know different reactions, it is not efficient to do well in the class by memorizing problems. I think it is better to understand concepts etc. and be comfortable with synthesis problems.
 
so do more problems or memorize? Ill probably do both, so far everything looks easy, I got most of the things down; I just finished chapter 11 alkynes.

problems problems problems problems problems........................problems.
 
problems problems problems problems problems........................problems.
That is one way to do it. But again, do not simply memorize the problems.
 
That is one way to do it. But again, do not simply memorize the problems.

i wasnt implying that at all. that would be a complete waste of time and probably more difficult than understanding the concepts....... practice doing problems to give maximum exposure to applying the concepts to situations and questions you have never seen before, b/c thats what it will be like on the test.
 
For me it was easier, but required much more work (read: memorization of reagents).
 
well, right now we just started chapter 12, which is: "alcohols from carbonyl compounds: oxidation-reduction and organometallic compounds." im just having a really tough time with it.

it also doesn't help that i am taking it at a different school than last semester (LONG story) and they were 2 chapters ahead of my orgo I class, so i had to play "catch up" over winter break on my own. it's also a much more difficult school.

🙁
we did that in organic I.. it wasnt too bad, but that's probably because i had it in ochem lab b4 i saw it in lecture.
so far in ochem II it seems as though we are doing analytical chem applications to ochem.. those peaks in those graphs (well, specifically IR) seem so random to me.. maybe i should read the book haha, and maybe blow up the graphs because i cannot see the ##s so i can see some patterns.. meh..i'll have to figure it out soon though.. first exam is coming up.
 
I loved Orgo II because we had no IR, no mass spec, no NMR... and I'm a reaction *****, I love 12-step syntheses 🙂
 
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