Registered for Classes, need Orgo advice!

[PA_dud3]

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So, with transferring and everything I was worried my plans for pre-reqs would be thrown off slightly, but to my surprise I will be able to take everything I need this semester in addition to my Major reqs (2 intro level History courses) with Orgo 1 and Bio 2. I am just kinda bugging out about Orgo. I did well in Gen Chem 1 and 2 (A-/A respectively) and an A in Bio 1 but it was at a smaller private school and on a 15 point scale. I didnt have to study much (and don't often feel the need to beyond assignments and for exams) however I want to really buckle down for Orgo and Bio this semester, in order to maintain my GPA. Is there any recommended strategies or resources to consult with regards to Orgo? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry to be posting this, but thanks in advance!

 

[907914]

So, with transferring and everything I was worried my plans for pre-reqs would be thrown off slightly, but to my surprise I will be able to take everything I need this semester in addition to my Major reqs (2 intro level History courses) with Orgo 1 and Bio 2. I am just kinda bugging out about Orgo. I did well in Gen Chem 1 and 2 (A-/A respectively) and an A in Bio 1 but it was at a smaller private school and on a 15 point scale. I didnt have to study much (and don't often feel the need to beyond assignments and for exams) however I want to really buckle down for Orgo and Bio this semester, in order to maintain my GPA. Is there any recommended strategies or resources to consult with regards to Orgo? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry to be posting this, but thanks in advance!

I did not use it, but I have heard Orgo as a second language is a good resource. Beyond that, if you want to go in to Ochem having nomenclature memorized and feel solid on electronegativities/functional groups/electron affinities and steric hinderence. From there it is just memorizing reaction conditions and knowing what electrons do.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

I started Organic Chemistry as a Second Language before my first semester of organic. It can definitely help, but I found just going to class, taking notes, and doing the homework was all it took to learn the material.

I took general chemistry I & II in 4 weeks each the Summer right before. Suffice to say I probably didn't get the strongest base in chemistry, but it didn't hurt me in organic.

 

[ciestar]

OChem = do as many practice problems as you can. Mechanisms can be difficult, but drawing out those pathways and actually KNOWING it will be invaluable.

 

[907914]

OChem = do as many practice problems as you can. Mechanisms can be difficult, but drawing out those pathways and actually KNOWING it will be invaluable.

Thankfully the back half of Ochem is all just the exact same mechanism using carbonyl chemistry (With each one having a little twist).

 

[ciestar]

Thankfully the back half of Ochem is all just the exact same mechanism using carbonyl chemistry (With each one having a little twist).

Yep, and knowing the backbone of it all is super helpful. You'll struggle with mechanisms without knowing the little twists. At the end of the day, repetition is key in learning things.

 

[907914]

Yep, and knowing the backbone of it all is super helpful. You'll struggle with mechanisms without knowing the little twists. At the end of the day, repetition is key in learning things.

My biggest Ochem study tactic was the reaction web. Start with something simple like an ethane or a cyclohexane and then just draw everything I can do with it. Then, draw everything I can do with each of those products (Including arrows connecting some to each other because they can be turned into each other). After 2 or 3 rounds of that, you have a few full whiteboards, a tired brain, and about all of the repetition you need. If you do this exercise once a week, you will reinforce the old stuff and also realize "Oh hey, I just learned a new and faster way I can do this" #organometalicsisallyouneedever

 

[M&L]

khan academy videos. i swear by them. watch them before the lecture

 

[oceantree]

Hi there!
I just finished the Organic Chemistry sequence and I recommend the following:

• Work on Organic a bit every day before it becomes an insurmountable wall of content. Also good sleep habits/exercise is helpful for all classes, but especially this one because the whole class builds upon itself.
• Chad's Videos playlist . I liked to watch them before at first, but I think after is good because there are some topics that your professor might skip. I like these at 1.75x - 2x speed to churn through these faster. Khan Academy has some nice ones as well.
• Do problems. Skill builders in Klein's Organic Chemistry book are great, as is his organic chemistry is a second language series. I didn't necessarily do all the problems, but I at least looked at most them and tried to see if I knew how I would approach the problem. The solutions manual that Klein's textbook has is amazing.
• Force yourself to be able to recreate the reaction maps from memory without any aids. It will be physically painful because you will be like darn I can't even think of the options I have. This is really important for the synthesis problems that will roll around eventually because you will have to remember the reagents and the result. You won't be able to simply recognize reagents and predict the problem in these types of problems.
• If your professor wants you to draw mechanisms, draw those from memory as well and try to understand why the arrow pushing is happening. It's often electronegativity of a certain atom/molecule. Understand general trends and the exceptions, like movement of high electron density to low electron density.
• If you are doing the ACS exam, use the official study guide and work through problems. I definitely didn't do all of those, but did do the areas I was weak on. You might want to consider working through some of them as you take the class lol. I didn't, but that probably would have made me chiller about the whole thing.

Good luck!!

 

[docdestiny]

I actually agree with @oceantree’s advice. I am currently a tutor for Organic I and II, and I always tell the people I tutor to study for organic topic material on a frequent basis. This gives you time to identify what topics you may be unsure about, such as nucleophilic aromatic substitutions, and seek out resources to provide more clarity. If you have any questions about organic chemistry, you are more than welcome to direct message me.

 

[seanm028]

Chad's Videos playlist

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