Struggling with organic chem reactions

[babytomato]

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I'm about halfway done with watching Chad's ochem videos on coursesaver. I've been getting down the alkene/alkane reactions and a few others but it's starting to get confusing because there are so many reactions/rules/exceptions. Was it easy for you guys to memorize the reactions? Is there a better way to remember them?

 

[IdleKoala]

I'm about halfway done with watching Chad's ochem videos on coursesaver. I've been getting down the alkene/alkane reactions and a few others but it's starting to get confusing because there are so many reactions/rules/exceptions. Was it easy for you guys to memorize the reactions? Is there a better way to remember them?

The best thing I can recommend is to do practice problems. I learn the best from doing problems, getting them wrong, and learning why. So I would start doing practice problems ASAP. Also, DAT Bootcamp has a list of all the most important organic chemistry reactions. I studied that list daily and it really helped me. Best of luck.

 

[babytomato]

The best thing I can recommend is to do practice problems. I learn the best from doing problems, getting them wrong, and learning why. So I would start doing practice problems ASAP. Also, DAT Bootcamp has a list of all the most important organic chemistry reactions. I studied that list daily and it really helped me. Best of luck.

Thanks for the tips! I'd love to get scores like yours btw haha. Do you feel like the Bootcamp list helped you answer most of the OC questions? I heard the GC questions are getting more conceptual but what about OC?

 

[IdleKoala]

Thanks, i've been very blessed! The list was good for reaction problems definitely, but there are a lot of other questions in organic chemistry besides reactions. Yes this is something that supersizes a lot of people, most people think that its going to be all calculation problems, but in my experience it was about 1/3 calculation problems and 2/3 conceptual. This was good for me, cause I suck at doing math quickly. Bootcamp exams do a really good of replicating this and prepares you really well.

 

[babytomato]

Thanks, i've been very blessed! The list was good for reaction problems definitely, but there are a lot of other questions in organic chemistry besides reactions. Yes this is something that supersizes a lot of people, most people think that its going to be all calculation problems, but in my experience it was about 1/3 calculation problems and 2/3 conceptual. This was good for me, cause I suck at doing math quickly. Bootcamp exams do a really good of replicating this and prepares you really well.

Yes indeed! Thanks for letting me know. I've heard all good things about the Bootcamp practice tests.

 

[Daniel Schruth]

OC can be challenging because there are so many different reactions that can appear on your tests. Rather than just trying to memorize a list of reactions, I'd encourage you to jump right into doing problems, using the reaction list for reference. This will allow you to be learning more actively, and the reactions will likely stick with you better. Another form of active learning for the reagents/reactions is to rewrite them on note cards or a piece of paper. The act of rewriting them may help you memorize them better. Good luck!

 

[babytomato]

OC can be challenging because there are so many different reactions that can appear on your tests. Rather than just trying to memorize a list of reactions, I'd encourage you to jump right into doing problems, using the reaction list for reference. This will allow you to be learning more actively, and the reactions will likely stick with you better. Another form of active learning for the reagents/reactions is to rewrite them on note cards or a piece of paper. The act of rewriting them may help you memorize them better. Good luck!

Thank you!