Orgo Reactions Questions

[fneverforget]

Did you guys memorize the various reactions in the kaplan Orgo book? What reactions should I memorize for Orgo? I asked my MCAT instructor and she told me if I wanted to do extremely well on the MCAT (35+), I should memorize the Orgo reactions. For those of you who have done well, or have kids that have done well, can you help me out? I don't know how else to study for the MCAT orgo, because the kaplan book is just a long list of reactions from chapter to chapter.

Or should I just focus on the stuff that is found in the kaplan orgo flashcards?

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[BHaus9]

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/85566/data/bstopics.pdf

Organic Chemistry begins on page 13, I believe. As you can see, there are quite a few eligible reactions. However, the MCAT cannot ask you to sketch mechanisms step-by-step, and even if you had the time and capacity to commit all those mechanisms to memory, there are so many more efficient ways to use your study time that it would be insensible to try. If by "memorize various reactions" you simply mean be able to predict products from reactants, then yeah, it's probably in your best interest to make an attempt at that. But rather than rote flash-card techniques, try to understand how electrons and atoms "behave" so that you can reason your way through problems rather than try to pick bits and pieces of information out of the swirling tornado of facts that will be your brain come test day. This will enhance your mastery of the material and at the same time dramatically reduce the amount that needs to be memorized. Easier said than done, though, I get it...

The frustrating thing is that while there's a vast amount of material that COULD be covered, organic questions will comprise a small minority of actual exam questions. I don't mean to encourage you to gloss over reactions, but I do think the amount of time typically spent studying them is disproportionate to their importance on the exam. I'd be surpised if more than 2 questions on the whole exam actually required any knowledge at all of reactions. I may get heat for that one, but that's my perception

 

[circulus vitios]

TPR says only about 20% of the BS section is on organic chemistry, and probably a much smaller percentage is on reaction mechanisms. I asked this question yesterday and the answer I got was to not even bother, so screw it.

 

[BHaus9]

TPR says only about 20% of the BS section is on organic chemistry, and probably a much smaller percentage is on reaction mechanisms. I asked this question yesterday and the answer I got was to not even bother, so screw it.

haha, that's what i was trying to say, just a little more discreetly..