Organic Chemistry Exam in Two Weeks

[premedquickscope69]

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Organic Chemistry Exam in Two Weeks

Right now I have a B 🙁.

On the first exam, I half ass studied and got an 89. What has bringing my grade down are the quizzes, which seem so petty. Nevertheless, from today I am determined to get an A on the second exam, which is going to be harder than the first exam for sure. The second exam will cover Halogenation, Cyclohalkane Confirmation, Stereochemistry, Substituition and Elimination. I am going to start studying intensively tomorrow for it. I just purchased Organic Chemistry as a second language and plan to use it a lot. What other things/resources can I do to attain mastery in all of these topics?

 

[•Syzygy•]

must be nice to half ass studying and still be able to pull of an 89. my first orgo exam ever had an average of 40 and highest grade was 70......
guy was an intensive organic chem teacher who decided to teach regular orgo when i came around


just do problems. thats what helps the most with orgo

 

[workaholic181]

Flash cards helped me the most. So for example I'd have a halogenatipn flash card with the mechanism drawn on one side, and on the other I'd write all the key points about that rxn.

IMO, orgo is hard because you can't really anticipate how a rxn might be tested on the exam. You can memorize the Krebs cycle and be ready for micro bio tests, but orgo can manifest itself in so many different problems with different molecules and such. In light of this, try to look at your studying as giving yourself the tools to tackle unexpected orgo problems. If you know halogenation inside and out, you'll be able to apply it come the exam. Good luck Op you can do this!

 

[DBC03]

To do really well at Organic Chemistry, you need to have a solid understanding of the organic elements, their electronegativity, basicity, size, etc. While you will have to memorize some aspects, getting a solid test score is about understanding how the atoms interact and predicting what they may do. The next exam you have has some easier parts (stereochemistry can be easier once you master it), but also the most important (and sometimes most difficult): substitution and elimination. You absolutely must master both of those to succeed in the rest of organic chemistry. But I believe you can! do all of the problems in the Organic Chemistry as a 2nd Language book - do all the practice problems you can get your hands on. I would also recommend watching some khan academy videos on anything you are remotely confused on - they do a good job at explaining how to think through the problems. If you want more practice material, it's possible that I have some PDFs of practice problems saved on a hard drive at home - all normal reactions (you probably will see something similar in your book). The trick is first to see the reaction, try to understand the chemical nature behind why the reaction proceeds in a particular way, then apply that understanding to reactions you have never seen before.

Also keep in mind that you are looking for the highest yield product- many products may form, and sometimes in fairly large quantities. Once I realized that, I was OK with finding the highest yield product from each reaction instead of getting hung up on why it seemed like multiple products could form (they do).

Feel free to PM me if you want any extra practice material or have other questions.

 

[bioboy23]

I just purchased Organic Chemistry as a second language and plan to use it a lot.

Well, you're off to a very good start with getting that book. I think chapters 9 and 10 are substitution and elimination.

Side note, my orgo teacher must be giving it to us really easy because the class is one of the most enjoyable chem classes I've taken and it really doesn't require a whole lot of studying... it kinda makes me nervous lol.

 

[Welshman]

Do all of the practice problems you can, best way to learn it, simply putting in the time