Organic help!!!

[Alanine]

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I'm currently taking organic chemistry I and i was wondering...how did you study for the exams? ESPECIALLY the mechanisms. I'm freaking out over the exam i have coming up soon and i just want to maximize the studying in the minimal amount of time i have.
and if you could, along with your studying technique, mention how you did in the class.
thanks!

 

[ftw]

What book are you using? I was using Wade and I would make copies of the "blue" reaction pages at the end of the chapter. I used that like a dictionary of organic chemistry. I would refer back to alkanes, alkenes, etc. at any given time and compare them. I carried that with me in my binder for school and looked at it throughout the day. I would also draw examples from my professor on my copied notes and compare them to the book's examples.

It's important to memorize/understand the reaction. In the least amount of time? Just bring the notes with you everywhere and look at them briefly many times a day. Obviously organic is a special class that is much harder than many other courses that we take, so you have to figure out a new plan for this course. Best of luck!!

 

[toothytay]

I bought a giant dry-erase board and just did them over and over and over.... knew them like the back of my hand by test day! Good Luck! It really helps, trust me!

 

[LNinlove]

Flashcards for the structures...
I totally did the whiteboard thing too, that worked great!
Repetition is key my friend!

Hang in there...you will make it through no problems! 👍

 

[Alanine]

So i'm thinking memorizing is the key.
and you achieve that through repetition.
gosh...i really CANT wait til its over..i like the class and everything but exam time is WAYYY too stressful.

 

[sketo43]

Organic Chemistry as a 2nd Language by David Klein was very helpful. To learn the reactions, I made an excel spreadsheet with 3 columns: reactant, reagent, product. I would randomly sort the spreadsheet, then hide one of the columns (by making the text in that column white). When I printed it out, it was like having a worksheet to test my knowledge of all the reactions. I did these spreadsheets SO many times that I learned the reactions backwards and forwards. I did really well in my ochem class, and it was my best section on the DAT.

 

[wantVCUdental]

Hello, my undergrad program was Organic Chemistry so i have taken many many organic courses.

Orgo I, II and III are very easy because they follow patterns. When you draw out mechanisms, ask your self, is it logical? For example, look at the electronegativities, usually electrons are coming from oxygens and nitrogens. They attack nucleophilic atoms, like a carbonyl carbon.

So just draw out the mechanism 2-3x and at each step, think about if it makes sense. Then it will stick better. Don't photographically memorize it, because you will miss the point of why the reactions happen the way they do.

Good luck

 

[The Anhedonia]

yeah the whiteboard is a definite necessity. go to the library, find an empty classroom, or even buy one, but you just need to repeat repeat repeat drawing those mechanisms until you don't need the book to do all of your formalism.