What makes Organic Chem difficult?

[busupshot83]

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In your opinion, what makes Organic Chemistry difficult? I have a friend taking it right now, and he said it has no math-based problems involved.

 

[gryffindor]

In your opinion, what makes Organic Chemistry difficult? I have a friend taking it right now, and he said it has no math-based problems involved.

O-Chem is one of those classes pre-meds like to blow out of proportion as being sooooo difficult, the class that makes or breaks the true pre-meds from the wannabes. At least that's what students at my school made it out as being. I recall hearing all through high school and freshman year of college how Organic was this huge mystery was apprehensive about having to take it. When I started though, I really wondered what the fuss was about b/c if you put in the effort just like every other class, you'll at least pass and maybe even do well.

Organic is all about memorizing and some of the reactions can be a little unusual and tough to memorize if the material doesn't interest you. Just remember, it's something you have to get through to get to dental school, and then you can forget all of it b/c in reality, you won't use it again.

 

[g3k]

Organic is all about memorizing and some of the reactions can be a little unusual and tough to memorize if the material doesn't interest you. Just remember, it's something you have to get through to get to dental school, and then you can forget all of it b/c in reality, you won't use it again.

Then why keep it as a prerequisite??? 🙁

 

[dyarhea]

it's the easiest pre req with the least hassel

 

[rocknightmare]

umm you make organic chem much harder if you memorize. ithink understanding the basic concepts is the key to getting a awsome grade in the class. the mechanisms at first may seem obsecure but they are realitively simple if you understand whats going on.

why a prerequist? b/c it is one of the most fundmental classes in understanding how reactions work in the human body and why things happen. In order to understand biohcemistry and the reactions invovled you need to know organic chemistry.

 

[gryffindor]

Then why keep it as a prerequisite??? 🙁

My best guess they need some way to distinguish the pre-dents on the DAT to help out in the admissions process, since organic is tested on the DAT (I think).

OK, maybe Organic isn't that useless. Some of it does reappear in Biochemistry to an extent. You will hear the words "ketone" and "aldehyde" somewhere in dental school, and technically Organic chem is the class where you would learn what those words mean. Actually, one practical application of Organic would be in local anesthetics ("novocaine") used in dentistry - amide based anesthetics work better than the ester ones. If they told you that in dental school, it would be more difficult to understand if you had no idea what an amide vs. an ester is. You don't actually have to understand the structures to know which is better to use in a clinical scenario when the patient is already in the chair, but if you don't even have the background and know what an amide vs. ester is (as in, they are different chemical group formulations), then it won't ever make sense to you.

All of the pre-reqs you take for dental school show up again at some point, but only to a basic degree. I guess taking the full courses in college is the only way to ensure that you might walk away with the 5% of the really basic material in the course that is going to resurface in dental school. Physics for example - the word "vector" does come up when discussing dentures and extractions, but you don't have to sit and do calculations of the vectors, just understand what it is.

 

[dexadental]

If you put enough time into it, it isn't hard at all to get an A, easily. I found organic like someone said before, to be a mysterious subject that everyone told me was going to make and break me, but it turns out its been one of my most interesting and most fun class I've had yet, but yes I've put alot of time in it, doesn't hurt that I'm a chemistry major either, I guess I'm extra interested in it.

 

[fancymylotus]

In your opinion, what makes Organic Chemistry difficult? I have a friend taking it right now, and he said it has no math-based problems involved.

It's not memorizable.(for the most part,that is) Its concepts,spatial stuff..arrangement,etc. Yes,theres no math,but you have to be able to visualize a lot of the molecules to see how the principles work.

 

[Biogirl361]

orgo was way way way easier than biochem. i agree everyone blows it out of proportion, i was terrified going into that class because of everything i heard, but i got two 4.0's with half the effort i put into getting a 3.5 in biochem.

 

[psiyung]

orgo was easy, and I took it at an Ivy League school. I'm telling you, the difficulty of that class is WAY overrated...

 

[rocknightmare]

i think biochem was easier.. but that was b/c it was more applicable 🙂

 

[fruity_trident]

all the mechanisms?

but i rocked orgo 😀 👍 i loVVVEEED it! 2nd best course school for me 😎
sadly micro...not so much 😱

 

[ItsGavinC]

In your opinion, what makes Organic Chemistry difficult? I have a friend taking it right now, and he said it has no math-based problems involved.

Which is exactly why it was NOT difficult for me. It was my favorite subject. In fact, I STILL read portions of my OChem book just for old times' sake.

I found it very interesting and loved the fact that there were multiple ways to solve reactions (or to reach products).

Don't fall for the "Ochem is hard" deal until you've tried it yourself. I found it VERY manageable (while I didn't enjoy general chemistry nearly as much and struggled with it initially).

 

[Dr. Steve Brule]

orgo sucks a fatty, i hated that class more than anything, in fact i had to retake 2nd semester cuz i got a D..although i didn't do well in a lot of my classes..too bad drinking wasn't a class 😀

 

[mkbloeser]

I loved Ochem. 2 4.0s and a 25 on my DAT (and didn't even take the 3rd quarter), but I do believe it is one of those things that is a certain way of thinking and many people don't have the natural ability. Of course, like anything it can be developed. I think 90% of it all comes down to knowing the basic electronegativities. With that you can deduce what happens in a reaction without really remembering all the details. A lot of people try to memorize the details without really understanding why the reaction is occurring in the first place and that makes it much harder.

 

[msf41]

To the OP:

Why is O-chem so hard? Unlike some classes that you may have taken, each concept in organic chemistry builds on one another. Electronic structures are the foundation of geometry. Then steric interactions come into play. Then polarity can influence reactivity. On and on it goes.

What makes the class difficult is that if you don't understand one of those concepts along the way other concepts will not make any sense. While some people advocate memorizing I know many people who have ended up bombing out in o-chem because they get half way through the semester and realize that they really don't understand what was going on.

Just keep caught up and always ask "Why does that reaction happen?" If you can answer the "why" questions you shouldn't have problems in o-chem.

 

[jessUMD]

In fact, I STILL read portions of my OChem book just for old times' sake.

ha!

 

[rocknightmare]

you telling me you don't do what gavinc does? i sometimes bring out 1950's biochem books to see what they use to teach in the old days🙂

 

[Comet208]

In fact, I STILL read portions of my OChem book just for old times' sake.

did you include this is your personal statement too?? 😀

 

[dyarhea]

I loved Ochem. 2 4.0s and a 25 on my DAT (and didn't even take the 3rd quarter), but I do believe it is one of those things that is a certain way of thinking and many people don't have the natural ability. Of course, like anything it can be developed. I think 90% of it all comes down to knowing the basic electronegativities. With that you can deduce what happens in a reaction without really remembering all the details. A lot of people try to memorize the details without really understanding why the reaction is occurring in the first place and that makes it much harder.

dont need to take the 3rd quarter of ochem to do well...
probably dont even need the 2nd quarter

 

[DrTacoElf]

It is difficult because you can only memorize so much; at some point you need to make the transition to be able to understand general trends in order to beome a true master of ochem 😀

 

[Neon Black]

I'll agree with most people. Orgo is really not THAT hard. It's a memorize and regurgitation class. That's it and that's all.

To the people who say you shouldn't memorize, I don't get your train of thought. You need to memorize the rules for naming stuff, or all of the reaction mechanisms and what reacts with what to produce something. You can't just automagically figure this out by looking at it.

 

[DrTacoElf]

I'll agree with most people. Orgo is really not THAT hard. It's a memorize and regurgitation class. That's it and that's all.

To the people who say you shouldn't memorize, I don't get your train of thought. You need to memorize the rules for naming stuff, or all of the reaction mechanisms and what reacts with what to produce something. You can't just automagically figure this out by looking at it.

Yes you do need to memorize lots but you should also be able to generalize becuase what will you do if you run across a compound you've never seen before and you need to provide a reaction mechanism?

 

[Garry11]

In your opinion, what makes Organic Chemistry difficult? I have a friend taking it right now, and he said it has no math-based problems involved.

I don't know about other schools, but i attend Brooklyn College in NY and the organic chemistry is the most difficult subject in the whole school. The professor that teaches the course is from Harvard and he makes it so difficult that most ppl try to take it in other schools and those that take it there either withdraw or fail. From my experience its the class that I can't master...I gotten A's in chemistry 1 and 2 but here i'm hoping for a B. I know a B might not sound like you did well but if you come to my school and say you got a B from professor HOwell, everybody knows you did very well and all the dental schools know that organic chem is difficult here. I have friends that gotten C's on organic and gotten over 20's on DAT...Most of the material we learn in Orgo 1, most schools teach it in Orgo 2. Average on the tests is in the 20's or 30's...My advice don't come to brooklyn because all the science classes are difficult much harder than even NYU or other schools around here, since in other schools they drop the lowest midterm grade. NOthing is dropped here and if 1 person gets a 95 the curve is 5 points even if the average is in the 30's...thats what's happening this semester in my orgo class, 2 ppl are killing everybody. hope that helps

 

[grinningrice]

umm you make organic chem much harder if you memorize. ithink understanding the basic concepts is the key to getting a awsome grade in the class. the mechanisms at first may seem obsecure but they are realitively simple if you understand whats going on.

why a prerequist? b/c it is one of the most fundmental classes in understanding how reactions work in the human body and why things happen. In order to understand biohcemistry and the reactions invovled you need to know organic chemistry.

I totally agree with you. Memorizing it just makes it so much more difficult and overwhelming.

 

[jonnytight]

I thought organic chem was very logical and easy to understand.....yes there are a lot of reactions to know but you will find that there is a trend that all reactions follow. Ochem was my FAVORATE subject in college...I would even say that if I was to teach, I would teach Ochem. Gen chem (inorganic) was too abstract for me and I didnt like it as much. I found that I understood ochem better if I worked out each mechanism by myself to REALLY know what is going where.

 

[jonnytight]

Also, I didnt take it at an easy junior college either....I took it at one of the best JCs in califorina....its #1 in transfers to the Univ of Cali system (especially UCLA).....one of my professors actually was a UCLA ochem professor also while teaching at my junior college.

 

[favabean]

Why is O-chem so hard? Unlike some classes that you may have taken, each concept in organic chemistry builds on one another...What makes the class difficult is that if you don't understand one of those concepts along the way other concepts will not make any sense

I totally agree. It is very easy to fall behind. Keep up with the concepts as they are taught to you and make sure you understand each concept before moving on to the next.

I found orgo to be very interesting and the labs were so much fun! We made soap, blue crystals, and red dye among other wierd stuff. In all seriousness, though, it is a very doable course providing you don't fall behind.

And I agree that memorizing will only get you so far. Fruity will remember orgo at UofT.....200+ reactions we had to memorize. I had to understand more than memorize and it resulted in one of my best grades.

In fact, despite what the romours said, orgo was not the most challenging course at my university.....biochem was brutal!

 

[Tzips]

I think I'll join the minority around here 🙄 and state that I found orgo quite difficult... the concepts were wonderful and I truly enjoyed learning them, and the labs were not bad at all (they were just waaaay too long), but the tests and labs grades were killers, imho. Orgo 1 - had a lab instructor who personally collected, weighed, and took the mp of all our products to ensure we weren't "fixing" the numbers we put in our nbs (I was, as was everyone else in lab; how else are you supposed to get yeilds even close to the numbers in the text??). Orgo 2 - had a prof who was hysterically entertaining, a good teacher, and one of the top researchers in organo-metallic chem in the US... and who gave tests that, he assured us beat the ones at ivy league schools all hollow; in fact, he told us to use the ones posted on the (forgot which - harvard, AIR) website for practice, and that we should find them jokes. but dr. baker, we do not WANT to be organic chemists... sigh.

Of course, the problems I had were probably exacerbated by the fact that I 1. did not read along, 2. never did problems, and 3. only started studying for each test the night before... 🙄 Never did quite get the reactions down pat.

But considering how I did despite my horrible work ethic, it's probably a very do-able class, if one does put in the work. however, I must disagree with those who say that the class is about understanding and not memorization - I understood quite well, thank you very much, and my problem was that i simply did not memorize all the steps of the Heck reaction well enough. Yes, some reactions are easy to figure out on one's own, but there are many more that are not, and you just have to memorize, which I hate. 🙁

 

[Tzips]

Sorry about the long post, just had so much to say. I hate it when people say, "yeah, orgo was the easiest class I ever took"... like you didn't find bio 1 much easier.

 

[psiyung]

personally, i found bio 1 to be much harder than ochem. Some people are just different, and are stronger at certain things. I'm better with concepts (physics, math, etc) while some in my dental school class rock all the classes because they are good at memorizing.

It's just the nature of the beast

 

[busupshot83]

personally, i found bio 1 to be much harder than ochem. Some people are just different, and are stronger at certain things. I'm better with concepts (physics, math, etc) while some in my dental school class rock all the classes because they are good at memorizing.

It's just the nature of the beast

One of my close friends thought Bio 1 was harder than Calculus 3.... as you said, everyone is different.

 

[Tzips]

personally, i found bio 1 to be much harder than ochem. Some people are just different, and are stronger at certain things. I'm better with concepts (physics, math, etc) while some in my dental school class rock all the classes because they are good at memorizing.

It's just the nature of the beast

ok, point taken. but there isn't ONE class you've taken that was easier than orgo - not tennis, or russian folk dance, or history 101? that is a truly scary thought... but i bow to your superior powers of understanding (but i still don't get how orgo is more of an understanding class than a memorizing one? maybe i just didn't understand it as well as i thought i did 🙁 )

 

[rocknightmare]

i think i am one of those people that thought bio 1 and 2 suxed. the reason there were was too much information with no focus on anything + i took it in my earlier years at college where i had no concept of how to study 🙂

 

[fruity_trident]

Fruity will remember orgo at UofT.....200+ reactions we had to memorize. I had to understand more than memorize and it resulted in one of my best grades.

In fact, despite what the romours said, orgo was not the most challenging course at my university.....biochem was brutal!

oh yess...lots to memorize.. but if u UNDERSTOOD it ...most were similar 😉

biochem was bad...yes..but MICROBIO..omg..i have to take part II next semester 😱

 

[UCDavisdude]

If you put enough time into it, it isn't hard at all to get an A, easily. I found organic like someone said before, to be a mysterious subject that everyone told me was going to make and break me, but it turns out its been one of my most interesting and most fun class I've had yet, but yes I've put alot of time in it, doesn't hurt that I'm a chemistry major either, I guess I'm extra interested in it.

Depends on the professor, It seems like i understand everything in the books, but when it comes to the exam, i cant even get a b. Some professors make exams just way too hard.

 

[psiyung]

ok, point taken. but there isn't ONE class you've taken that was easier than orgo - not tennis, or russian folk dance, or history 101? that is a truly scary thought... but i bow to your superior powers of understanding (but i still don't get how orgo is more of an understanding class than a memorizing one? maybe i just didn't understand it as well as i thought i did 🙁 )

yeah, speech, but thats because Im one hell of a speaker 😀

 

[psiyung]

ok, point taken. but there isn't ONE class you've taken that was easier than orgo - not tennis, or russian folk dance, or history 101? that is a truly scary thought... but i bow to your superior powers of understanding (but i still don't get how orgo is more of an understanding class than a memorizing one? maybe i just didn't understand it as well as i thought i did 🙁 )

Also, orgo is a combination of concepts and memorizing. Of course, you have to memorize the reactions. But you also have to know how to apply them to certain problems (mechanism, synthesis, etc)

 

[psiyung]

oh yess...lots to memorize.. but if u UNDERSTOOD it ...most were similar 😉

biochem was bad...yes..but MICROBIO..omg..i have to take part II next semester 😱

I had micro this semester. It was the hardest class I've ever had

 

[jonnytight]

Psi i have to say thats prob one of the nicest a** i've ever seem 🙂

love the pic!

I had micro this semester. It was the hardest class I've ever had

 

[rocknightmare]

haha jonnytight is right🙂

 

[TaliaTN]

I thought organic was hard. The 2nd semester was much harder than the first. I had to study more in that class than in any other. I ended up with an A and a B, but I took the second semester in the summer with the lab (the lab was hell for me... I wrote a 5-8 pg. lab report for every experiment and we had lab 2 times a week -- it took so much TIME). That summer was hell... I was way stressed but it is over.

Classes always seem a lot easier if its been a semester or two since you took it. For most people, whatever class they are taking right now is the *hardest* one they have ever taken in their life! Me included. But Orgo 2 was the worst!

Talia

 

[Sprgrover]

It is difficult because you can only memorize so much; at some point you need to make the transition to be able to understand general trends in order to beome a true master of ochem 😀

I believe this to be the key to ochem. Yes, there is a lot of information to memorize and consume. I found ochem to be very similar to learning a foreign language: you have to acquire a certain amount of information before you can really converse and understand what is going on. Once past that then you can begin to understand in greater detail what is happening and communicate what you believe is occuring - which (for me, at least) was the essence of second semester ochem. My teacher loved to throw new compounds or reactions into exams and it was up to the class to formulate a response based on our understanding of similar compounds.

In all honesty, organic just takes time and it is that fact that so many people find it difficult. If you are a visual learner, then ochem might be a bit easier for you too.

 

[smchurch]

hey dont stress it is just memorization. i got an A! just apply yourself and dont let the name freak you out!!!