Prep for Orgo next year

[numbersloth]

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Just wondering if any of you did any "prep" for Orgo over the summer/time beforehand? I really like chemistry and I'm decent at it, just want to continue getting good grades. I've already bought used copied of Orgo as a Second language and was planning to just watch some Chad videos.

 

[kal995]

Just wondering if any of you did any "prep" for Orgo over the summer/time beforehand? I really like chemistry and I'm decent at it, just want to continue getting good grades. I've already bought used copied of Orgo as a Second language and was planning to just watch some Chad videos.

I'm in the same boat, I have Orgo in the fall and I've been watching some Khan Academy videos just to get an idea of the material so I'm not walking in blind. I can't speak to its effectiveness, but you aren't alone!

 

[longhaul3]

There's not too much you should worry about beforehand, but if you really feel like you need to keep idle hands busy you could review molecular orbitals and acid/base chemistry from gen. chem. If you want to dive into the new material, I'd suggest trying to learn the rules for nomenclature, which will stay with you throughout orgo and just takes practice.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

Same boat, I'm doing Khan Academy and Chad's Videos when I have downtime. I'm not taking it too seriously over summer (I managed to talk my mom out of making me audit a summer class at our local community college), but genchem was a struggle for me so I want to be prepared for orgo.

 

[CommyO]

not worth it. Don't stress yourself out too much. And prestudying definitely does not work for orgo as I tried it and it was a waste of time if anything

 

[djsbaseball2014]

@numbersloth If i were to focus on any one thing before starting Ochem it would be to get your lewis dot structures down and formal charge calculations. You will get better at it if you arent already proficient with calculating formal charge but you are going to have to be able to know the charges of atoms quickly when you move bonds, etc. Also maybe start practicing drawing resonance structures. Its a very important skill and requires a bit of practice to get to the point where you can see all possible resonance structures of a compound before you even draw them. Best of luck! Feel free to message me if you want anymore tips

 

[SuaveCardigans]

dont burn yourself out on orgo before class even starts

 

[numbersloth]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I'll just make sure to retain my gen chem knowledge but not worry too much! The class is there to learn after all 🙂

 

[Wahed]

i thought orgo was way easier than gen chem. do a lot of practice problems and you'll do great. if you wanna pre-study, memorize the functional groups that are probably in a chart in an appendix of your textbook.

 

[Geo16]

Khan Academy are always on point. Just watch their videos I guess 😛

 

[drmantistobbogan]

I'm one of those people who thinks that organic chemistry was significantly easier than gen chem. Pre-studying is a waste of time, enjoy your summer. If you want to go in prepared, do some gen chem review regarding concepts that are crucial for understanding ochem: lewis structures, resonance, electronegativity, VSEPR theory, orbital hybridization, acid-base chemistry (especially lewis acids/bases), and redox. Your class will be spending a significant amount of time on these subjects though. In fact, many of these concepts, when presented in the context of ochem, make way more sense than they did in gen chem.

 

[lickerwhicker]

the summer before i took Orgo, i prestudied by getting the textbook and making outlines of each chapter. don't do this haha I agree with what some people already said above - enjoy your summer! you're most likely going to forget everything you prestudied and it's honestly a waste of time imo. A few of my friends who prestudied orgo also think the same. The concepts will probably make more sense to you when you actually learn them in class with context. If you insist on prestudying, perhaps look over the major functional groups (carbonyl, alcohols, carboxyls, aldehydes, ketones, esters, ethers, etc.) and watch a few Khan academy videos. You could also practice drawing the structures. But I wouldn't study chapter-by-chapter. Idk about other people, but my orgo class did not talk about any Gen Chem topics except for maybe VSEPR, so don't feel like you need to have a solid grasp on Gen Chem to do well in Orgo.

 

[stickgirl390]

Just practice drawing hexagons. Trust me, it will help.

 

[SuaveCardigans]

Just practice drawing hexagons. Trust me, it will help.

I got so f'ing good at hexagons, especially with pi bonds or circles in the middle

 

[779163]

If I wanted to prep in advance, I would watch Khan Academy and practice with "Organic Chemistry as a Second Language." At the very least, you will have mastered the fundamentals (e.g. resonance, acid/base, mechanisms) and the class will be much easier.

 

[Blanky]

Orgo a second language was the perfect move. Read the chapters with basic structures and the basic acid base stuff.