Well, I’m a few weeks into Organic Chemistry with Exam #1 scheduled for Monday. I’ve done all the problems out of the back of Chapter 1, and so far, it seems straightforward enough. So when’s the other shoe going to drop in this class? With all the horror stories I’ve heard about it, I’m starting to get a little paranoid… 
| QUOTE (Boeing @ Sep 10 2003, 06:28 PM) |
| Well, I'm a few weeks into Organic Chemistry with Exam #1 scheduled for Monday. I've done all the problems out of the back of Chapter 1, and so far, it seems straightforward enough. So when's the other shoe going to drop in this class? With all the horror stories I've heard about it, I'm starting to get a little paranoid....
|
Hi there,
Here is a link to my experience with Organic Chemistry. As you can see, my experience was anything but terrible. Organic Chemistry
Good luck
Natalie
actually, I found OChem fun, but challenging = so the other shoe sort of depends on how far you've gotten so far.
what did they cover in Chapter one beyond nomenclature for alkanes?
Have they started basic reactions yet? S1, S2, E1, E2 ?
As long as you stay on top of your readin assignments, use your ball and stick model to understand the concenpts and attend study groups the other shoe should stay on.
Try not to fall behind, it is hard to catch up.
The initial stuff like nomenclature and basics of structure is quite straightforward. It will get more interesting when you start combining stuff. But I loved organic chemistry - yes, it got harder and more complex but it was ALWAYS fun and as long as you keep up, do the problems, put lots of effort into the corresponding labs etc. I hope you will find it rewarding too. O-chem was the most fun I had in my prereqs. It's just interesting.
I already feel behind in Organic. It’s two weeks into classes, and our instructor was gone for a week and told us to finish up chapter 1 on our own while he was gone. Hopefully, he’ll lecture over the material.
Our first chapter starts with a refresher on Lewis structures and formal charges and bond angles.
Here’s my problem: All of the above were covered in the second half of Gen Chem at the CC I’m attending. I took the second half of Gen Chem at SAU where all of that was covered in the FIRST half of Gen Chem. So basically, I’ve had none of it, and I’m trying to catch up. So far, I’m doing okay, but I feel a little shakey about everything.
Physics and Organic together? What was I thinking? 
That just sux Ash! My school (especially one prof, Dr Anderson) does a really good job with lecture notes. They are all online. For a supplement you may want to check out some of his notes. They are all downloadable, and in powerpoint. Just go to http://www.uccs.edu. Click on academics. Page down to chemistry and click on that (it’s on the left hand column under letters, arts, and sciences). Click on current web courses along the top banner of the dept homepage. Then page down and look for the link to Chem 331-001 Organic Chemistry I, section 1 Anderson. Chapter 1 notes would cover all that gen chem stuff. If you still need more you could also check out the page for Chem 103-001, Gen Chem I, section 1 Anderson. I think parts of the notes for chapters 2,3, 4, 7, 9, 10 and 11 would be helpful for a review of some of the gen chem stuff you need for organic. Looking at what we’ll be doing in orgo making sure you have the foundation in the gen chem stuff is definitely important, and if your prof is gonna skip over it make sure you get them down on your own by either going back and reading stuff in your old gen chem book(s), getting some tutoring help, and/or checking out these notes.
Good luck!
–Jessica, UCCS
A few years ago I was walking through the mall and walked into the now defuct store, World of Science. There were videos there that reviewed everything from general biology to organic chemistry and general chemistry.
If you do some hunting on Amazon.com, you may find these videos.
They may be helpful. If they are, let me know because I need to review orgo before I take the MCATs.
| QUOTE (Ash-O-Rama @ Sep 12 2003, 12:51 PM) |
| Physics and Organic together? What was I thinking? |
I feel the same way too Ash. Just keep on working as best you can.
Jessica, thanks for the link!
| QUOTE (Mary Renard @ Sep 11 2003, 01:53 PM) |
| The initial stuff like nomenclature and basics of structure is quite straightforward. It will get more interesting when you start combining stuff. But I loved organic chemistry - yes, it got harder and more complex but it was ALWAYS fun and as long as you keep up, do the problems, put lots of effort into the corresponding labs etc. I hope you will find it rewarding too. O-chem was the most fun I had in my prereqs. It's just interesting. |
Mary,
I agree with you. There's something about it that's very intellectually satisfying. I'm actually looking forward to Monday's test (which I certainly never did for Physics!).
Between this and Biology, this is going to be a fun semester.
| QUOTE (Ash-O-Rama @ Sep 12 2003, 07:51 AM) |
| I already feel behind in Organic. It's two weeks into classes, and our instructor was gone for a week and told us to finish up chapter 1 on our own while he was gone. Hopefully, he'll lecture over the material. Our first chapter starts with a refresher on Lewis structures and formal charges and bond angles. Here's my problem: All of the above were covered in the second half of Gen Chem at the CC I'm attending. I took the second half of Gen Chem at SAU where all of that was covered in the FIRST half of Gen Chem. So basically, I've had none of it, and I'm trying to catch up. So far, I'm doing okay, but I feel a little shakey about everything. Physics and Organic together? What was I thinking? |
Ash,
In my experience the key to Lewis structures is electronic configuration. Once you nail that, Lewis structures become really easy.
There are two ways to look at electronic configurations, one that I don't like (that my high school chemistry prof used) and one that I do like (that my text from last year and current chemistry prof used). The "bad" way is to think of a cascading list of disassociated terms
1s1
1s1 1s2
2s1 1s2 1s1
2s2 2s1 1s2 1s1
and so on. That leads to this --->
In short order.
Instead, look at the periodic table, and see it as a whole. See that the left two columns are s orbitals, that the rightmost 6 columns are p orbitals, and that the "downwardly indented" transition elements fill d orbitals. That's really all you need to know unless you get into the bottom of the table to deal with the lanthanide/actinide series. Counting the rows downward leaves you the number to pair with the letter.
This way you never try and memorize electronic configuration apart from looking at a periodic table. And when you're looking at a table, electronic configuration opens up like a map.
After that, it's an easy jump to memorizing the rules for drawing Lewis structures.
Good luck!
I too took physics and organic chemistry during the same semesters as well.
I really liked organic chemistry, but never did well in it. I did do very good on the first test of both organic chemistry I and II, but it was down hill from there.
My problem was that I did not understand the prof when he said - 'don't memorize this, but instead understand what it all means.' Good advice, which I followed, but if you don't have a grasp on what the fundamental aspects of chemistry are, that advice will not take you far.
For me, in hind-sight, a better approach would have been to not only understand why thing happened, but also to memorize the basic stuff at the beginning so that it solidified in my mind. I think having lab at the same time would also have helped, as well as a discussion period were problems were worked out.
I am glad there are people here who can say with truthful hearts that they enjoyed Orgo.
For me it was nothing more than a test of wills, an attempt by the edu-powers that be to make something harder than it has to be in order to weed out students - rather than really teaching what could be an interesting and relevant subject. I also took Physics and Bio and did Supplemental Instruction for Gen Chem at the same time. (Perhaps this explains my jaded view)
That said, I had a fine, pleasant and always accessible Orgo instructor. The labs were fun, I liked them much better than Gen Chem’s labs.
As far as the other shoe falling, the first chapter or two are more like review with a new twist. The other shoe does in fact fall. You’ll get blasted with new material quickly and the next topic will demand that you understood all the new stuff before it. Your textbook will start demanding that if it tells you A and B suddenly you should be able to do 687N! If you keep up with the material, ask for help when needed and keep a good attitude, even if you don’t particularly like orgo, you will still end well.
As a general rule, an instructor who tells you not to memorize means well, but is misleading his public. The statement requires interpretation - You must memorize AND understand the theory. The reason they says this is that they are so familiar with the material it is second nature to them and from that perspective, they can answer their own test questions with thier acquired understanding and not current memorizing. So what? As an Orgo student it is all ancient Greco-Latin metaphysical rhetoric with neo-nazi undertones to you. You will need to memorize to augment your fledgling understanding.
Some months into the thing, I started making a running list of reactions in my own brand of shorthand on 4x6 cards and used them to compare new reactions learned and to refresh my memory from chapter to chapter, test to test and semester to semester. I wished I had started my list sooner and kept it better organized, but I started it in desperation response to feeling that I was “losing” the stuff learned earlier in the class.
wmkayak
Above all, refuse to be weeded out! 
infrequent poster, but long-time member
I had heard horror stories about org chem. But after nearly half a semster of structures, 3D, naming, etc., I asked my PHD prof would it get harder? He laughed and said just wait. He did not lie.
Never, never, never get behind in organic. Write up your own reaction cards for better retention. Do all the assigned problems and more. Then remember that MCAT really covers Org I only and med school (I have been told) is somewhat different in regards to chemistry altogether.
For me, as an engineer, it felt like such a waste to memorize hundreds of rxns for Org II. I felt like we should study them, be familiar, but be allowed to have some reference material instead of memorizing.
I mentor in engineering taught me long ago that when someone is paying you to get an answer, the object is to get the correct answer. Accuracy is king, not memorization. With that said, we must all have some foundation of knowledge in sciences.