<p>Awwww, that's really bad news, superwizard. haha.</p>
<p>Wow...how'd you get placed out of 33? That's something I haven't heard of before. o.O</p>
<p>"all we did were alkanes, alkenes, alkyl halides, alcohols, esters and carboxylic acids"</p>
<p>You have basically summed up chem 35 in a nutshell. All those classes of compounds, in full detail of how their reactions work. With problems that start out as "Make compound B from compound A" and usually end up taking you like, 5-6 different steps in one of the gajillion possible orders of steps. I remember one problem that I like to throw at people who think they know what they're doing--I tell them to make a nootkatone from a precursor compound. One of the most entertaining 6-7 step problems, I tell ya. :-P</p>
<p>I'm going to disagree a bit on the memorizing thing. Memorize fairly extensively towards the end of 33 when reactions are tossed about like rag dolls, and then focus on thinking about what those reactions let you do in 35. 35's when you really start getting it, at least so I think... :-/</p>
<p>This whole dicussion just makes me want to already be a stanford student! As an aside to this whole conversation, though, do you guys think it's easier to work in a collaborative environment? I would think it would be easier to do well in a dorm/university environment because you are with the people you take classes with 24/7. <strong>shrug</strong> I've been thinking about it, and I think classes like Physics (my worst class right now) would be a lot easier if I had the help of other people better in the class (or upperclassmen, or TAs, or the professor). :D That's my two cents. Random, but I think it goes with the whole science topic. :)</p>
<p>Yeah, I would say it's easier. I mean, a lot of it still depends on how much time/effort you spend, but yeah, it helps a bunch to talk out the concepts. I really think that's the main value of office hours--talking stuff out with your TA/prof is an invaluable resource that a lot of people don't take advantage of...oh well, their loss, my gain, right? :-P</p>
<p>I really appreciate all this help staticsoliloquy and jwj it really helps a lot!
[QUOTE]
Wow...how'd you get placed out of 33? That's something I haven't heard of before. o.O
[/QUOTE]
If you take A level Chemistry (British external exams) you place out of chem33. I feel like a fool for passing by the opportunity especially because I already did half the exam (it's 6 sections I did 3) but oh well guess I'll just suffer away in OChem...</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
talking stuff out with your TA/prof is an invaluable resource that a lot of people don't take advantage of...
[/QUOTE]
I'm going to make sure I don't miss out!</p>
<p>Just a suggestion on placing out of Chem 33--I don't know if you're pre-med or not, but if you are you might wanna make sure med schools accept that credit. I don't know anything about the external exams, so this might seem silly, but it might save you some frustration later.</p>
<p>Haha, I am not doing pre-med. :D</p>
<p>Yup, the GCE 'A' Level Chemistry examination gives credits for Chem 31X and Chem 33, according to what Prof. Stack says in his email.</p>
<p>Hey one more quick Q: How is chem33 graded? on a curve? if so what's the usual average grade?</p>
<p>Graded on a curve. Heck if I know the average grade, but I expect that like every other course graded on a curve it'll be around a B/B+.</p>
<p>juuust wondering...I'm taking 33 in spring just because I didn't want to have 20 hard units this quarter. do you think taking 33 in spring will make 35 much harder? what should I do to be as prepared as the kids who took 33 winter? also, will it make 36 much harder? I plan to take that in the spring will 33.
haha thanks for all the great advice on books, models, etc!</p>
<p>It will make utterly no difference for 36. For 35, however, it will definitely be harder, I think, because it leaves you with two options:
1) Take 35 in the summer to catch up. The course is not as easy as it sounds when you walk in the door, believe me. That, and you only get 4 weeks to study 10 weeks of material, with a midterm at the end of each week and a final at the end of the month covering material you learned only the day before.
2) Take 35 the following fall. This will really depend on your abilities, but it tends to be difficult because you're probably going to forget everything over the summer. There are far more ties between 33 and 35 than between 35 and 131, which is why it's more of a pain to try and remember everything.</p>
<p>Also, taking 35 in the fall this year left you with Professor Trost for 131 in the Winter...who is not exactly famous for being nice to students...</p>
<p>Ok, so there is a ton of great chem advice in this thread, so I'm digging for some more. Honestly I am not happy with my Chem 33 grade and I've heard 35 is harder. I study like crazy and I understand the material then I still do horribly on the tests. Any advice?</p>
<p>My best advice is to learn reactions in all possible combinations. For example, for the reaction A + B -> D with the help of reagent C (labeled over the arrow), study: A + B -> D needs what C? Using C to make D, what A and B do you need? What does A + B using C give you? Thinking of reactions in multiple ways will help with synthesis problems.</p>
<p>Also sort your reactions by type, for example "adding carbons", "creating double bonds", "decarboxylation", etc.</p>
<p>Then, do lots and lots of practice problems, and don't be afraid to ask TAs and friends for help. Best wishes for 35!!!</p>
<p>Just memorize the crap outta your reagents in 35, and learn to spot patterns in the types of reactions. Go to office hours religiously. Screw the Vollhardt book, and read Klein. 33 is probably more annoying than 35, in my opinion, simply because you're learning random **** without the profs being very good at tying it all together. This seems particularly true this past quarter, when they taught you spectroscopy. I heard this and I thought it was BS, given that spectroscopy requires a hell of a lot of practice even for chem majors, and it's a laboratory technique, not a typical concept. This should be less of a problem in 35, where the focus is purely on reactions.</p>
<p>Hey, I was just wondering if it is common for people to take Chem 35 and Chem 36 together or in separate quarters. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Both are common. I took them simultaneously and thought it was minimally helpful; you could definitely put off 36 if you want to.</p>
<p>Yeah. If you have the time in your schedule, get rid of 36 that quarter, but it's not a big deal. I couldn't sign up in time because the infamous prof running the class put some stupid block on axess.</p>
<p>infamous prof? should we be scared?</p>
<p>Nah. New prof for 36. Not great either, since her English isn't exactly fantastic, and her tests are somewhat anal. But meh, at least she's nice.</p>
<p>can anyone comment on these 2 notecard packets?</p>
<p>Organic</a> Chemistry Study Cards ©2002</p>
<p>Amazon.com:</a> Organic Chemistry (Flash Cards): Books: Flash Anatomy</p>
<p>I'm also, looking at Marye Fox's book for a supplement...is this a good idea?</p>