<p>Does it matter whether i take Chem 33 winter quarter with ex-31x people or chem 33 in spring with Chem31A people?</p>
<p>also</p>
<p>does anyone suggest math51A (with the extra unit and office hours)</p>
<p>So I've actually heard that its better to take Chem33 in spring quarter than in winter but I'm still taking it in winter cuz I haven't taken any science so far this year and I want to take some before spring. I heard the spring teacher is better and that its easier to get higher marks but I can't tell you from my personal experience.</p>
<p>It looks like Chem 33 is being taught by Stack and Kohler in Winter and Wender in Spring. I have had both Stack and Kohler before; I think they are very clear lecturers, and they are good enough to keep me awake 90% of the time. I have never had Wender.</p>
<p>As for the curves and when it's easier, my guess would be that it would be easier with Chem31A people because they are less likely to be premed/engineering/etc. I don't have data on this.</p>
<p>It's true. It's a lot easier and Wender drops your lowest test. In fact, Wender designs the class to help you get a better grade. But that's not the reason why you went to college, is it? My friends who took 33 in the spring got solid A. Granted, I didn't get a solid A in 33 when I took it in the winter, but in the end, it comes down to you. Did you come to college to prepare for medical school? Or Did you come to college to learn and be challenged? I'm not saying that both are exclusive.</p>
<p>Also, taking 33 in winter, simply because of the challenge, will prepare you far better for 35 than taking 33 in spring, IMO. And 33 is definitely doable in winter. Yes, it's a pain in the ass to walk/bike/fly/whatever through the rain to get to office hours and section, but it's definitely doable. Unless you live in Serra, in which case you can just visit the resident chem major. :-P</p>
<p>Oh, and a huge piece of advice: get Klein's Organic Chemistry as a Second Language, 1st Semester. AND READ IT RELIGIOUSLY. It will seriously be your lifesaver in the course.</p>
<p>And consider not buying the stupid Vollhardt and Schore book and just going to Swain if you really need to look at it, because honestly, the authors of that textbook don't use it in their own classes. That should tell you something of the sad quality of the book. Its explanations suck, and the only reason it's minorly useful are for its practice problems, and even then, the types of problems in the text don't really reflect the type that's given on the exams. During the first/second week of the course, go to Swain library (across from Mudd) and see for yourself--check out and read both the Vollhardt book and the McMurry book on reserve; McMurry's book is far superior.</p>
<p>A note about molecule kits: the ones that come pre-packaged in with the book are pretty crappy quality, and they're small, annoying, and difficult to work with. So go ahead, spend the extra $50, and get a molecule set that'll actually help you. MolyMod kit--available in Stanford Bookstore, on the first floor, in the back bookshelves in the chemistry section.</p>
<p>Wow, that was a heck of a lot...hope this helps you chem 33 folks...</p>
<p>Wow thanks for all the info jwj!
I was just about to buy the Schore book online! Now in retrospect I'm going to wait. I'm also going to buy the MolyMod kit. You came just in time!</p>
<p>Haha, glad I saved someone from boosting Dr. Vollhardt's salary. He drives a Ferrari already, for goodness' sake. Oh, and people have noticed that, oddly enough, the times when he buys a new Ferrari correspond closely with the times when he and his buddy Schore release a new edition of their book... :-P</p>
<p>Anywho, yeah, get the MolyMod kit, it's far easier to work with than the kit the book comes with, and it's actually a lot better for visualizing molecule structure.</p>
<p>A few other thoughts on Chem 33:
Professor Stack has often taken a bit too long to teach his half of the course, sucking up an extra two weeks or so that he really doesn't need. Last year, Professor Kool was forced to cram everything in the last 2-3 weeks of the course, and we were learning new stuff in the review session. Insane, right? Yeah. Hopefully, Professor Kohler (really nice, young, relatively new to the department, and my academic advisor) won't have to resort to that, but just keep in mind that the pace of the course will likely accelerate after Professor Stack's portion.</p>
<p>GO TO OFFICE HOURS RELIGIOUSLY: Seriously, you wouldn't believe how much clearer the course material becomes after going for an hour and talking things out with your classmates/TAs/profs.</p>
<p>PRACTICE LIKE A MADMAN/MADWOMAN: Practice won't make perfect, but the more practice problems you do the better. And look through the book problems in both Vollhardt and McMurry. Oftentimes the profs will take questions almost directly out of the texts, so you'll have an edge.</p>
<p>VISUALIZATION IS KEY: Use your molecule kit extensively. First off, the profs let you use it on the tests, so you want to be familiar with making molecules quickly. Second, it helps you get a feel for the different sizes of atoms/molecules and the different spacings let you get an idea of where reactions can happen, which is basic knowledge needed for the entire organic chem series.</p>
<p>Hmm...yeah, that's it for now, I'll post more later if I think of it.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
Haha, glad I saved someone from boosting Dr. Vollhardt's salary. He drives a Ferrari already, for goodness' sake. Oh, and people have noticed that, oddly enough, the times when he buys a new Ferrari correspond closely with the times when he and his buddy Schore release a new edition of their book... :-P
[/QUOTE]
Hehehe less money for the Cal professor yes! </p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
GO TO OFFICE HOURS RELIGIOUSLY: Seriously, you wouldn't believe how much clearer the course material becomes after going for an hour and talking things out with your classmates/TAs/profs.
[/QUOTE]
Ouch that's going to be tough. I have a problem with asking for help especially in chemistry (I've never had to ask for help in chemistry-yes I know I have an ego problem). I'll try working on that.</p>
<p>Haha, you have an ego problem, eh? Don't we all at some point? Most of us are at Stanford for a reason. :-) Just think of it as, oh, iunno, going to help your classmates cuz you're that awesome. I mean, if you're in your TA's office hours and there are several of you, obviously he/she can't help all you guys at the same time, so you'll be working with your classmates as much as or more than with your TA. Answer other people's questions while you're waiting, and see how much you really know. I've gone to office hours without a single question of my own and used other people's questions to test myself--can I answer what they're asking? Once I can do that, I know I'm doing pretty good.</p>
<p>And believe me, when you're covering half or more of a chapter a day, which sometimes happens, you'll want help. Working by yourself only gets you so far, and too many people realize this way too late.</p>
<p>Oh, and I thought of one more piece of advice: when you enter the course the profs will tell you that you should focus on learning basic concepts and applying them to harder problems. Riiight. Just memorize the crap outta everything you can, cuz honestly, in 33 you really haven't learned enough to be able to apply concepts in the first place. Trust me on this one: until you really get a solid idea of the basics, just memorize. It'll make your life easier.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
Just think of it as, oh, iunno, going to help your classmates cuz you're that awesome.
[/QUOTE]
Well when you put it that way...:D</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
Trust me on this one: until you really get a solid idea of the basics, just memorize. It'll make your life easier.
[/QUOTE]
Ahh bummer. I hate memorizing especially science because I so much prefer understanding concepts. Oh well memorize it is.</p>
<p>Memorizing will make it easier for you to see trends later =]</p>
<p>^I'll take your word for it :)</p>
<p>I really have trouble memorizing things too...</p>
<p>Make flash cards, write the reactions down a gajillion times, do what you have to, but even the TAs will tell you in the end: just memorize it. For most people there simply isn't enough time to get a proper feel of the reactions--it takes a hell of a lot of practice. In the beginning few weeks you do have to focus on concepts such as atom size/arrangement, but in the last part of the course when they teach you reactions, just memorize like there's no tomorrow.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info jwj!
I'll try to beat my ego down even more (I always held that memorizing chmemistry was for people not as smart as me in chem-yes I know I know I have a mega chemistry ego problem lol)</p>
<p>Eh, don't worry too much about it. I think I know where you're coming from. When people who haven't taken organic yet think of chemistry, they think of high school chemistry, i.e. Chem 31A/B/X, i.e. general chemistry, i.e. numbers and calculations and crap I don't particularly like because I think it's boring. :-P</p>
<p>In that kind of chemistry, yeah, learn the concepts, and any problem they throw at you, you can do blindfolded and upside-down. Organic, on the other hand, is purely the types of reactions that occur. There are no numbers, other than maybe your test grade (which you will hopefully revel over). There's just a bunch of reactions that you have to know. And the quickest way through the material is memorizing. Lemme put in a quick plug again for the lifesaving book that you really should buy: Klein's Organic Chemistry as a Second Language, 1st Semester. This book is AMAZING. It beautifully sums up in a few pages what Professor Stack takes a week to explain. Short, sweet, and a blessing in every way. First floor of the bookstore, in the back shelves in the chemistry section. The best $25 I spend in orgo, other than maybe the 2nd Semester edition by the same author. :-P</p>
<p>I agree with JWJ and Klein. It is AMAZING. I recommend it to everyone I know. I even have has 2nd semester book. It's quite insightful and HILARIOUS. This is what Klein said about resonance structure: "In this chapter, you will learn the tools that you need to draw resonance structures with proficiency. I cannot adequately stress the importance of this skill. Resonance is the one topic that permeates the entire subject matter from start to finish. It finds its way into every chapter, into every reaction, and into your nightmares." Which is SO TRUE.</p>
<p>The analogies he comes up with will make you die of laughter. Klein writes, "Arrow pushing is much like riding a bike. If you have never done it before, watching someone else will not make you an expert. You have to learn how to balance yourself. Watching someone else is a good start, but you have to get on the bike if you want to learn. You will probably fall a few times, but that's part of the learning process. The same is true with arrow pushing. The only way to learn is practice."</p>
<p>Now, here is my two cent on learning organic chemistry.</p>
<p>1 Keep up with your studying day to day –– never let yourself get behind, or better yet, be a little ahead of your instructor. Organic chemistry is a course in which one idea almost always builds on another that has gone before.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Study materials in small units, and be sure that you understand each new section before you go on to the next. Because of the cumulative nature of organic chemistry, your studying will be much more effective if you take each new idea as it comes and try to understand it completely before you move onto the nest concept.</p></li>
<li><p>Work all of the in-chapter and assigned problems. </p></li>
<li><p>Write when you study. Write the reactions, mechanisms, structures, and so on, over and over again. You need to know the material so thoroughly that you can explain it to someone else. This level of understanding comes to most of us (those of us without photographic memories) through writing. Only by writing the reaction mechanisms do we pay sufficient attention to their details:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>1) which atoms are connected to which atoms.
2) which bonds break in a reaction and which bonds form.
3) the three-dimensional aspects of the structure.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Learning by teaching and explaining Study with your student peers and practice explaining concepts and mechanisms to each other.</p></li>
<li><p>Use the answers to the problems in the Study Guide in the proper way:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>1) Use the Study Guide to check your answer after you have finished a problem.
2) Use the Study Guide for a clue when you are completely stuck.</p>
<p>The value of a problem is in solving it!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Use the introductory material in the Study Guide entitled “Solving the puzzle –– or –– Structure is everything (Almost)” as a bridge from general chemistry to your beginning study of organic chemistry. Once you have a firm understanding of structure, the puzzle of organic chemistry can become one of very manageable size and comprehensible pieces.</p></li>
<li><p>Use molecular models when you study.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Orgo is certainly a challenging class but is in no way impossible. Do not be intimidated by what others say about the class. Make sure that you do the textbook readings well before the tests –– I even made my own notes on the chapters. The textbook summarizes the mechanisms and reactions very well. Class helps to re-enforce the textbook. Moreover, the textbook problems are especially helpful at the beginning of the course. DO NOT fall behind...make sure you stay on top of things right at the beginning. Organic Chemistry keeps building on the material that you have already learned. I assure you, that if you keep up, the course will seem easier and easier. I personally feel that the mechanisms and reactions are the crux of the course. I used a combination of flashcards and in-text problems to help memorize reactions. However, as the course went on, I quickly found that instead of memorizing, I was actually learning and understanding the mechanisms and from there it was much easier to grasp the concepts and apply them to any problem. There are lots of resources that are designed to HELP you...The TA's are amazing, the old problems sets and tests were very helpful for practicing before test, and the solutions manual is a good idea.</p>
<p>The best way to do well in Organic Chemistry is to really try to understand the underlying concepts of how and why things react the way that they do. It is much easier to remember a reaction or mechanism if you have a good understanding of why it is happening. Having a good grasp of the concepts becomes increasingly beneficial as the course progresses. It will pay off in the exams, including those in the following quarters. If you understand the concepts well, you will be able to predict how something reacts even if you have never seen it before.</p>
<p>When you study, don't just memorize reactions (A becomes B when you add some acid, Y reacts with water to give Z), THINK about what those reactions let you do. Can you plot a path from A to Z now? Can you do it backward? In multiple manner? You better, because you'll have to do it on the test.</p>
<p>Phew, luckily I get placed out of Chem 31X and Chem 33! Do things get better in Chem 35?</p>
<p>
I think I know where you're coming from. When people who haven't taken organic yet think of chemistry, they think of high school chemistry.
I did take a very small amount of OChem but I guess the amount was too small for it to really give me a taste of OChem (all we did were alkanes, alkenes, alkyl halides, alcohols, esters and carboxylic acids). </p>
<p>Also thanks staticsoliloquy for all your input it really helps thanks!</p>
<p>ed don't you worry chem 35 is harder than chem 33 :D</p>