Protecting Groups in Organic Chem

[badmintondr]

Hey guys, I've been going through the organic chapter for carbonyls and alcohols and couldn't help but ask, are protecting groups really necessary for the MCAT? TBR talks about ketals and acetals as protecting groups and also in another section but it would be classified as a very low probability subject right?

Thanks again! (Hopefully one less thing to worry about)

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[loveoforganic]

Maybe as a protecting group that knowledge wouldn't be likely. Seems like an easier enough mechanism to know though. I don't remember whether it's on the list of MCAT material or not though.

 

[tncekm]

Know it for the MCAT. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing these on some of the AAMC's. Even if I'm wrong, it's only a few minutes worth of memorization...

 

[dohlo]

They talk about it in both Princeton Review and ExamKrackers review books also so I would be familiar with them. The mechanism is pretty basic nucleophillic addition stuff so you should def know it. As far as protecting ability I assume it would come up in a passage, but a sound understanding would probably save you a couple minutes on the test.

 

[Oncoloman]

Ahh Yess. Organic..my first love. The protecting groups are pretty specific but I would know the principals of the mechanisms. Organic is fairly simple when you can master the primary principals. Protectors are not excluded. For the MCAT though everything is fair game. If anything just know why and how the mechanism goes the way it does rather than the actual groups and why is it that one is better than the other. When u find that out memorizing each one is useless. Good luck man!