I’m in AP Chem right now and I’m wondering if I should take Organic Chem as a junior in high school next year. I’m taking 5 other APs on top of this…Is this a good idea or nah?
By Organic Chem, do you mean HS level Organic Chem or college level Organic Chem?
HS level Organic Chem is relatively easy. Memorize some functional groups and the IUPAC naming system and you’re done. In my school, it has a reputation of being an easy class for “slackers” who don’t want to take a more challenging class like Physics or Physiology to meet the science requirements. Like always, this will vary by school.
College level Organic Chem is (from what I am told) the polar opposite. Extremely hard class that serves as the crucible of pre-meds. With 5 other AP’s, I would not recommend it, not at all.
@BurgerMan1 yup, college organic chem
no. that is not a good idea as it will probably tank your GPA and certainly should not be taken in HS.
Orgo is know as a weed out class for pre-med students in college because it is brutally hard.
Take other challenging HS level classes that you can do well in.
Many people (ESPECIALLY premeds) can’t hack / fail organic chem because they try to memorize everything. To succeed in organic chem you need to have a very good understanding of inter- and intra- molecular forces, as well as an ability to conceptualize things like atomic / molecular stability and structure. There are, of course, reaction types and naming you have to memorize, but if you understand what is going on behind those reactions (i.e., why does this happen as opposed to that) you should be in good shape.
I’m assuming you know the “periodic trends” – If the explanations of those were intuitive to you, then college-level organic chem might seem relatively straightforward.
I think college-level organic chem is pretty straightforward tbh. Most of it is understanding the mechanism of why a specific reaction is happening. These specific reactions occur based on any catalyst, reagents, the functional groups associated with them. Also it is about understanding the intermediates these substrates go through and understanding which intermediate is the best based on stability, resonances form, inductive effects, and etcs. It also based on how electron density is delocalized or not based on the types of bonds that exist in these organic molecules.
The 50-65% averages on my Orgo exams say differently.
can you provide a list of topics learned in this “organic chemistry” class
Orgo I:
Chapter 1: Electronic Structure of Organic Molecules
Chapter 2: Isomers and Stereochemistry
Chapter 3: Conformational Analysis of Alkanes: Ethane and Butane
Chapter 4: Radical Chain Halogenation; Kinetics in Action
Chapter 5: Acids and Bases: Thermodynamics in Action
Chapter 6: Alkyl Halides as Carbon Electrophiles; Nucleophilic Substitutions and Eliminations
Chapter 7: Carbanions as Carbon Nucleophiles
Chapter 8: π Systems as Carbon Nucleophiles
Chapter 9: Organic Synthesis via Carbon Nucleophiles and Carbon Electrophiles
Chapter 10: Benzene as a Nucleophile
Orgo II:
Chapter 11: Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry, Infrared Spectroscopy
Chapter 12: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
Chapter 13: Nucleophilic Additions to Aldehydes and Ketones
Chapter 14: Carboxylic Acids and their Derivatives
Chapter 15: Enol and Enolate Chemistry
Chapter 16: Carbonyl Condensations
Chapter 17: Abiological Polymers
Chapter 18: Carbohydrates and Polysaccharides
Chapter 19: Nucleic Acids
Chapter 20: Amino Acids and Polypeptides
Chapter 21: Lipids and Terpenes
Chapter 22: Pericyclic Reactions
Assuming you were talking to me, of course.
^^ gulp!
A very doable syllabus from bodangles’ organic chemistry class shouldn’t give people any real trouble. Organic chemistry is a thousand times more easier than general chemistry. This is coming from someone whose very proficient in math.
Not a good idea. To what end would you do this?
1: Many colleges do not consider college classes taken during high school for credit at all, and some don't even consider them if they weren't taken for HS credit. That means you'd have to repeat anyway.
2: Whatever anyone else says, you don't know the professor and you don't know your classmates. Organic is very difficult, and the list of topics given there seem very light on reactions, whereas all college organic I know of focuses on reactions way more than chemicals.
3: Are your ECs great? Do you show enough breadth? Too many academics leads to someone who hasn't lived. And colleges don't want that, at least top colleges don't.
4: What does your guidance counselor say? How "normal" for your HS would that course load be?
I would advise my kid not to do it, I’d instead have him take electives, especially if there was a research or competition elective. Or get a quality EC going.
I just don’t see any reason to do it, barring a dual enrollment program where the OP will get an Associate’s degree by the time they graduate (Florida has something like this).
I agree with #1. You should really want to find out if you are going to get college credits for this class.