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Anybody got any advice about succeeding in Organic Chemistry? I searched for previous threads but didn't come up with a lot. Thanks.
organic
- Thread starter teddybear
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The same advice I'd give you for any other class: go to lecture, keep up with the reading, and seek help the moment you fall behind (if you fall behind) or don't understand. You will do much better if you realize you are having trouble early and seek out a tutor or increase your studying than if you just try to slide through even though you are having problems. That, of course, assumes that you will have at least some problems with the material, which you may not. But if you constantly monitor your progress and keep up with everything, you'll probably be fine either way.
That being said, most people I have taught Organic Chemistry to have said that they generally don't get the "big picture" until sometime during second semester. For many people, first semester is a lot of memorization, but if you work hard enough, you can get to the point where the interactions of the molecules just make sense. When people get to that point, many can just look at an equation and know what happens, and things get much easier. So work hard but don't freak out if you feel like you don't understand WHY the reactions happen the way they do - you probably will understand that once you take a few more months of Organic.
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So work hard but don't freak out if you feel like you don't understand WHY the reactions happen the way they do - you probably will understand that once you take a few more months of Organic.
I agree about the "big picture" thing, its just too in depth to really grasp at the beginning. However, I would say that the actual material is pretty simple (in and of itself) it is just that there are mountains of these "simple" reactions to understand/memorize. Therefore, the best advice would be to keep up with the material and dont put off studying till an exam. (otherwise from lecture to lecture you might be thinking, "this isnt that hard" and then you realize there is a tsunami of info about to hit you at an exam)
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In addition to the great advice that was given about studying, you MUST get this book:
The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms
Once you start learning reactions, this book will teach you all you need to know. It's one of the main reasons I did so well (A's for both orgo I & II)
The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms
Once you start learning reactions, this book will teach you all you need to know. It's one of the main reasons I did so well (A's for both orgo I & II)
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it's not bad at all. what you need to do is, immediately after doing a reading/lecture, do problems that test the concepts/mechanisms/nomenclature you just went over. later on that night, before bed, go over it again.
orgo is arguably the single most hyped up class in college. it's like any other difficult course. since it is the first real 'hard' class underclassmen take, and since so many different majors (and thus a large % of students) have to take it, orgo not surprisingly gets the bad reputation of being a killer course.
you'll find that you'll enjoy it, because, unlike bio, it's not memorizing facts and receptors and cell types and bla bla bla, but deals more with applying concepts to new problems. this makes it exciting. ya rly.
in fact, i enjoyed orgo so much that i switched from a mol bio/cancer research lab to an organic synthesis lab. best decision of my college career thus far.
orgo is arguably the single most hyped up class in college. it's like any other difficult course. since it is the first real 'hard' class underclassmen take, and since so many different majors (and thus a large % of students) have to take it, orgo not surprisingly gets the bad reputation of being a killer course.
you'll find that you'll enjoy it, because, unlike bio, it's not memorizing facts and receptors and cell types and bla bla bla, but deals more with applying concepts to new problems. this makes it exciting. ya rly.
in fact, i enjoyed orgo so much that i switched from a mol bio/cancer research lab to an organic synthesis lab. best decision of my college career thus far
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its only hard because idiots think its a MEMORIZATION class when it is CONCEPTUAL
basically, if someone tells you the class is hard because they have to MEMORIZE 100 MECHANISMS, just ignore them.
here's how to succeed in the class: learn WHY the mechanisms work the way they do.
basically, if someone tells you the class is hard because they have to MEMORIZE 100 MECHANISMS, just ignore them.
here's how to succeed in the class: learn WHY the mechanisms work the way they do.
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QFT (but I guess personally I wouldn't call the others idiots... Just misled... Or something).
Our professor taught it that way starting day one of the first semester (conceptually, rather than by memorization)... "Know WHY things happen, then you won't have to memorize later. It's more work at the front end, but it allows for significantly less work at the back end when you understand it rather have memorized it."
Words of wisdom, to say the least!
But in any case, devote enough time to it, as everyone else has said. If you keep up in the class, and you're reasonably intelligent, it can be a lot easier than it's made out to be.
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The most important stuff you'll learn is everything BEFORE you start learning reactions. If you can understand that, then the rest will start to fall into place.
#2: REALLY understand Sn1, Sn2 and Elimination reactions. Those will be the first reactions you learn, and they are the most important. If you don't FULLY understand those (and the stuff you learned before that), then you won't understand ANYTHING else.
So put in the work early on. I speak from personal experience. I got a C in Org1, but I took it again and got an A, and also an A in Org2. That's because i took my own advice.
It's NOT hard. It's attainable! Just put in the work, and make an effort to understand concepts from the very beginning of the course.
Good luck!
#2: REALLY understand Sn1, Sn2 and Elimination reactions. Those will be the first reactions you learn, and they are the most important. If you don't FULLY understand those (and the stuff you learned before that), then you won't understand ANYTHING else.
So put in the work early on. I speak from personal experience. I got a C in Org1, but I took it again and got an A, and also an A in Org2. That's because i took my own advice.
It's NOT hard. It's attainable! Just put in the work, and make an effort to understand concepts from the very beginning of the course.
Good luck!
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Know where the electrons are flowing at all times!!!!
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Most of organic chemistry is based on positive and negative charges. Negative charges, consisting of electron-rich species called nucleophiles, are attracted to a positive charge that lacks or is deficient in electrons. Once you understand that simple concept, organic chemistry makes sense and is actually enjoyable. Knowing this concept will help you understand why an alkene will not react with an alkyne, but will instead react with a substance such as HCl. And why does an alkene not react with an alkyne? Because both are electron-rich species and are not attracted to each other. Remember, it is negative to positive. No negative to negative or positive to positive. Almost all the reactions in organic follow this basic pattern.
The people who believe the course involves memorization exclusively are the ones who don't comprehend the above concept and feel that all of the reactions don't make sense. They just memorize that an epoxide will react with an electron-rich species, a nucleophile, but they fail to see the reason why this is true. So, the point is, remember the charges concept.
As for other topics in organic, namely stereochemistry, which covers the spatial aspects of molecules, get yourself a pair of models for you to visualize the structures if you aren't particularly adept in your spatial skills. If you do not have models and have poor spatial skills, I suggest you assign R/S configuration to every molecule you are asked to compare to another and then decide the relationship between the two. You will know what R/S is once you take the course. Do not try to just look at the two molecules on paper, imagine them in 3-D, rotate them, etc... to figure out if they are enantiomers or diastereomers because you may make a mistake. So, your best bet is to go with R/S.
Other than stereochem, reactions and reactivity pattern form the foundation of organic and you will be fine if you remember what I explained above.
The people who believe the course involves memorization exclusively are the ones who don't comprehend the above concept and feel that all of the reactions don't make sense. They just memorize that an epoxide will react with an electron-rich species, a nucleophile, but they fail to see the reason why this is true. So, the point is, remember the charges concept.
As for other topics in organic, namely stereochemistry, which covers the spatial aspects of molecules, get yourself a pair of models for you to visualize the structures if you aren't particularly adept in your spatial skills. If you do not have models and have poor spatial skills, I suggest you assign R/S configuration to every molecule you are asked to compare to another and then decide the relationship between the two. You will know what R/S is once you take the course. Do not try to just look at the two molecules on paper, imagine them in 3-D, rotate them, etc... to figure out if they are enantiomers or diastereomers because you may make a mistake. So, your best bet is to go with R/S.
Other than stereochem, reactions and reactivity pattern form the foundation of organic and you will be fine if you remember what I explained above.
W
WinterLights
If you've gotten A's in all of your other pre-req's, then it shouldn't be that hard to get A's in organic chemistry.
