Organic Chem

[bbas]

I know that the difficulty of any course is highly dependant on the school and professor, but what are generally the hardest topics to learn in organic chemistry? My class has covered eight chapters already, and it really has not been as difficult as I expected. So far, I think that my cell bio class is much more difficult. Either we have not covered the material yet that gives organic its bad reputation, or I chose an easy professor. Any thoughts on this?

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[75969]

I know that the difficulty of any course is highly dependant on the school and professor, but what are generally the hardest topics to learn in organic chemistry? My class has covered eight chapters already, and it really has not been as difficult as I expected. So far, I think that my cell bio class is much more difficult. Either we have not covered the material yet that gives organic its bad reputation, or I chose an easy professor. Any thoughts on this?

IMHO, Organic is not as bad as it is made out to be---to answer your question, when you get to synthesis, that's where it starts to get interesting. Synthesis is only complicated because it requires a COMPLETE understanding of every reaction...not to mention a little luck and creativity.

 

[samenewme]

I know that the difficulty of any course is highly dependant on the school and professor, but what are generally the hardest topics to learn in organic chemistry? My class has covered eight chapters already, and it really has not been as difficult as I expected. So far, I think that my cell bio class is much more difficult. Either we have not covered the material yet that gives organic its bad reputation, or I chose an easy professor. Any thoughts on this?

The first eight chapters are easier. Make sure you get all the reagents and reaction mechanisms under your belt SOLIDLY as you go along, and then synthesis won't be so bad when you get to it. There's no singly thing in O-Chem that's conceptually difficult. It's just that you'll suddenly get to a point where you have to have a lot of different facts and concepts at your command all at once. If you do that work as you go along, you'll be fine.

 

[Slide]

It all depends; I didn't do well on the first few tests involving electron pushing mechanisms and stereochemistry, but came time to synthesis and Grignard reagents, I did really well because by then I knew the basics and the topics were applications of the basics. The topics that you probably need to be prioritize when you take Orgo are:
First semester
-Nomenclature
-Stereochemistry
-Sn1/Sn2
-Mechanisms!
-Intro synthesis (Grignard, alkenes, alcohols)
-Spectra (IR, MS, H1 HMR, and maybe C13 NMR)
Second Semester
-Aromatics (know this well! There are many concepts that seem tricky, but are actually pretty basic; the trick is to not get overwhelmed)
-Ketones
-Amines
-Carboyxlic Acids (You better get to learn this functional group well)
-Alpha substitions, condensations, enols, and enolates

The order of the topics you go over range from school to school, but this seems standard for several places. Depending on how fast your class proceeds, you may cover biochemistry second semester, involving carbohydrates, amino acids, and lipids, but usually the professors test general knowledge more than specifics.

Hope this helps. I took orgo last year, and it took me a while to get the hang of it. Ironic thing is that I really like organic chemistry now, compared to biology and physics.