<p>Would anyone like to drop a few comments on what this series is like? I'm in the process of trying to pick out a schedule for next fall.. So far, it's Chem 237 and Biol 200.. I'm not sure if that's what I should stick with and just add another 5 credit class or delay the chem series until next winter. What are your thoughts? I've heard it's very different from gen chem but what exactly comprises o chem? Also, how do 237, 238, and 239 differ from each other?</p>
<p>I really hope I can get my questions answered here.. haha if not, i'll just ask an advisor. Thanks, anyway!</p>
<p>O-chem is indeed much different than General Chemistry…You’re going to have to remember a ton of reactions…alcohols, ethers, epoxides, amines, amides…and then you’re going to have to conceptually be able to understand and explain the mechanistic pathways that these reactions go through…such as…a claisen reaction…you’re given an ester…and under basic conditions, the alpha hydrogen is abstracted thereby creating a nucleophile of the original substrate, generated nucleophile attacks carbonyl carbon of original substrate, the attached methoxide or ethoxide or whatever is attached to the ester now leaves because it is a better leaving group or equivalent leaving group to the base catalyst…Just to give you an idea of how the whole series works…Overall night and day between general chem…you’ll never really calculate anything, unless your professor wants you to integrate H NMR peaks…so…any other questions?</p>
<p>I’m not sure who’ll catch my joke, vettovet you probably will, but you’ll for sure learn how to draw a perfect hexagon haha. I draw benzene rings like everyday… -___- I’m in hs but have learned some o chem. Its not fun stuff.</p>
<p>Eventually, once the molecules get big enough, you’ll just draw a zero with a line through it and then write ortho, meta, or para next to it with the groups coming off…or you’ll just make up your own shortcuts…but yeah you’ll draw lots of pentagons and hexagons…</p>
<p>I have heard that the last thing you want to do in o-chem is try to memorize everything. It’s really just about understanding the concepts; if you do that, you won’t need to memorize anything.</p>
<p>A friend of mine told me that “if you go in with a bio mindset, you will have a hard time, but people with a math/CS mindset will thrive.”</p>
<p>Sure there’s alot of memorization, but as stated above you have to fully understand the concepts covered…I think of organic chemistry as a puzzle…you have to employ logic (math type thinking) with the material you have memorized (which reactants to use and why)…So its a culmination of both memorization and logic…If your a whiz at puzzles you’ll enjoy it…</p>
<p>Would anyone be generous enough to provide some tips/hints on how to prepare? I didn’t do so stellar during the gen chem series. I would like to improve that by a lot. Plus, I hear ochem is where people’s gpa start to drop sharply, but I really can’t afford that to happen… Any and all comments will be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>probably what helps best with me is just understaning how all the functional groups work, you wont understand this now but for example a keytone has a double bonded oxygen in the middle, where as an aldehyde a double bonded oxygen on the end. and then if you know all the basics on how things work, then its like you can apply it to more complicated problems and its not tough. id say there is lots of memoraztion as to what methane, ethan, propane, etc etc is, but when it comes to drawing structures, you really just need to know the rules and how it works.</p>