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Preparing for organic.
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A funny irony is that gen chm could easily become harder than orgo chem any day if they made you memorize formulas and not use calculators and have no multiple choice tests and make you understand things like log tables.
Actually I wanted to say that the person who said that tip about Carbon and 4 bonds..........HAHAHAHA. Right ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually I wanted to say that the person who said that tip about Carbon and 4 bonds..........HAHAHAHA. Right ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A really uesful tip a physics grad student told me was to treat orgo like a math class. DO A LITTLE BIT EVERY DAY. seriously as long as you don't cram the night before you should be okay with learning the reactions. So far it has worked with me, and I'm in a class with all chem majors.
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Sorry, I was typing toooooooooo fast and meant to say gen chem can be harder than OCHEM if the purpsoses there by suited the proffesors to make it harder than OCHEM by taking away calculators, making us understand log tables, taking away multiple choice and the formula sheets they give us at our university.
Sorry about that. didn't notice when I was typing.
Sorry about that. didn't notice when I was typing.
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Formula sheets? Multiple choice? I've never heard of a general chemistry class having any of those. Our general chemistry tests consist of four parts. The first is a long response discussion on various theoretical aspects underlying what we've learned, and the remaining three are a series of progressively more difficult calculation problems. Multiple choice? I wish!
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Smuwillobrien,
I guess it depends on where you go to school at. Our university is kinda stupid like that and gave multiple choice tests with formulas on the first page and a periodic table along with the use of calculators.
It was kind of lame because the teachers didn't teach you anything really.
The orgo classes and biochem are sooooooo much better.
I guess it depends on where you go to school at. Our university is kinda stupid like that and gave multiple choice tests with formulas on the first page and a periodic table along with the use of calculators.
It was kind of lame because the teachers didn't teach you anything really.
The orgo classes and biochem are sooooooo much better.
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My freshman year I went to school that is pretty proud of its chem dept (and known for it...at least within the state)...and we had multiple choice tests...most people i've talked to had the same....its pretty common.....although we certainly had no formula sheet...but heck...there are what...maybe 10 formulas in all of gen chem...the problems were just set up in such a way that you had to know what you were doing to be able to get the answer (very tricky professor...but ultimately very fair...)
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Ok, let's try and get back on topic, which is helping this young soul figure out how to approach O-Chem.
O-Chem is a hard class, it requires extreme attention to detail and persistent studying.
That said, it is possible to do well in O-Chem, even if you're not a total science geek. I was a humanities major and I still did ok in this class.
First, don't take the semesters at the same time. You've got to do one before you do two. Initially, it is all memorization, of terminology and spatial relationships. If your school does not supply them, purchase a structural model kit. It will allow you to visualize the molecules in 3-D, this becomes important when trying to grasp the idea of isomerization. The first half of first semester is all memorization. Do it, go to class, pay attention. Duh. The second half of the first semester, and all of second semester, is learning reactions. Orgo is like a game, which gets exceedingly more complex. It starts out with ten rules, then twenty, then thirty, with 30 more subset rules to the first ten, etc. So if you didn't learn the first ten rules, you're screwed, but if you did, you're golden. Just stay on top of the class. I recomend making reaction flash cards, and keeping them organized. Keep building on these.
Basically, orgo is about tracing electron flow. Seriously, it's that simple. Know that every reaction is either oxidation or reduction.
OIL RIG
Oxidation involves loss (of electrons), Reduction involves gain (of electrons).
Now go out and learn the 250 ways to oxidize or reduce organic molecules. Just pay attention.
O-Chem is a hard class, it requires extreme attention to detail and persistent studying.
That said, it is possible to do well in O-Chem, even if you're not a total science geek. I was a humanities major and I still did ok in this class.
First, don't take the semesters at the same time. You've got to do one before you do two. Initially, it is all memorization, of terminology and spatial relationships. If your school does not supply them, purchase a structural model kit. It will allow you to visualize the molecules in 3-D, this becomes important when trying to grasp the idea of isomerization. The first half of first semester is all memorization. Do it, go to class, pay attention. Duh. The second half of the first semester, and all of second semester, is learning reactions. Orgo is like a game, which gets exceedingly more complex. It starts out with ten rules, then twenty, then thirty, with 30 more subset rules to the first ten, etc. So if you didn't learn the first ten rules, you're screwed, but if you did, you're golden. Just stay on top of the class. I recomend making reaction flash cards, and keeping them organized. Keep building on these.
Basically, orgo is about tracing electron flow. Seriously, it's that simple. Know that every reaction is either oxidation or reduction.
OIL RIG
Oxidation involves loss (of electrons), Reduction involves gain (of electrons).
Now go out and learn the 250 ways to oxidize or reduce organic molecules. Just pay attention.
Did anyone else learn this as:
LEO (the lion says) GER!
I always thought that was clever. 🙂
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YES!!! I thought I was about the only one out there that uses this. Learned it from a professor that taught an elementary chem course i took at the local branch of a university during highschool.
Everyone here seems to prefer this OIL RIG thing...ox. is loss red. is gain..
LEO the lion rocks
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I learned LEO say's GER. I just think that this Leo person is untrustworthy. Like all Americans I trust my Oil Rig.
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hey Northie! that's exactly the outlook i'm trying to keep with this o chem and its working so far. In gen chem, i struggled to get a C-, but on my first o chem test, i got a B. i've decided i'm going to own this class and so far so good. and it also has alot to do with the instructor. my gen chem prof pretty much read the book to us, but this guy is enthusiastic about it and really alot of fun.
