<p>Organic Chemistry!! :eek: What is the key to success? I have heard it is the hardest class possible? If you have taken the class what tool, if any, benefited you... Thank you!</p>
<p>EagleDude - There was a wonderful thread on this perhaps two years ago. Unfortunately I couldn't find it --- perhaps another "old timer" can remember where it is. What it boiled down to is that there is lots of material to memorize, multiple molecules with the same chemical formulas, and a dizzying variety of topics each worthy of a term paper. (For example, why does the body react so favorably to ethanol and so poorly to methanol?) A few lucky souls have minds that can organize this material, but for the rest of us it's memorize, memorize, memorize. Sorry, no magic bullet here.</p>
<p>Chemistry major from eons ago here- hated to memorize, but needed to. A new vocabulary to figure out in order to succeed. One course to plug away at every day, not to cram for before exams. Lots of building blocks that build a foundation- learn as they are presented and later material will make sense more easily. It's all very logical, but like learning a foreign language. Don't try to only see the big picture- learn every detail. It's like a jigsaw puzzle filled with many small equally important pieces, don't bother wasting time trying to figure out which main concepts to learn and which can be ignored. Think concretely, not abstractly for this course.</p>
<p>My H has taught college-level organic chemistry. His simple advice to his students: Do the homework, methodically and carefully. The previous poster is right. This is not a course that you can succeed in by cramming for the exam. It's an everyday, step-by-step process.</p>
<p>OOooh, one of my favorite topics. There is a reason why med school admissions people put so much emphasis on that organic grade - it mimics the learning process in med school and part of it is like the deductive reasoning process doctors actually use in some parts of practice.</p>
<p>The other posters are right on - organic is like learning Japanese, then having the final exam be to do logic puzzles in Japanese. First you have to memorize, memorize, memorize - the nomenclature (did I mention that my college organic teacher's first career was to sit on the body that came up with the proper names for new compounds? She was a stickler for proper nomenclature, and you learned it!) and the rules. There is no substitute for the memorizing, and you have to do it fast, because then you move on to using the knowledge in syntheses and working problems - that's why it dovetails into med school prior to computers, you have to learn tons of material in a short period of time, then apply that knowledge in a setting of deductive reasoning.
The organic homework and the follow-up memorizing has to be done every night, then it is never so overwhelming, and you know what is going on in class the next day.
Good luck!</p>
<p>If you are making B+/A- in standard level hs chemistry would it be academic suicide to take organic chemistry (also hs)?</p>
<p>The quantity of material to be mastered in organic chemistry is greater than in most other courses, and there is a lot of detail. I know that I found it much more difficult to keep up with the work in organic chemistry than in general chemistry or biochemistry.</p>
<p>A really good case could be made for not overloading your schedule during the semesters when you take organic chemistry. You will probably need to spend substantially more time working on organic chemistry than you do for most other courses with the same number of credit hours. Keep this in mind when planning your schedule.</p>
<p>Triguena,
I took regular chem last year and received a final grade of A-. I am in Organic Chem this year (only 1 semester, the other semester is BioChem). I am having little difficulty, and it's an honors course!
For me, it's mastering the basics and knowing them perfect before moving on. We spent 2 weeks on alkanes and naming before moving on, because if you don't get that, you'll be lost later on! </p>
<p>Can't speak for college level Organic, but I love my class now!</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters. It's a TON of memorization. I don't think it's the hardest course ever - at least, I didn't think it was the hardest course I ever took by far. It might have required the most memorizing, however.</p>
<p>Guys, there is a fundamental difference between college organic chem and high school organic chem.</p>
<p>Heres the old thread</p>
<p>Orgo is one of the best classes you'll ever take. It's truly a class that rewards effort. It's not a class that requires tremendous intelligence but you do need to put in effort and time. The more effort and time you put in, the better your grade. I only wish the MCAT included more orgo. Right now, it's approx. a 80/20 split in the BS section b/w bio and orgo. Should be 60/40.</p>
<p>If you think orgo is hard, wait until p-chem.</p>
<p>I got nostalgic reading the old thread. Morrison & Boyd! One of my friends in grad school said that he was reading it late one night when he got to the comment "everything has a mirror image (except vampires)..." and freaked out. I'm one of those weird people who loved organic, but I did end up taking it in summer school because I switched majors late. (I also never took p-chem so I can't really counsel my daughter about a chemistry major).</p>
<p>The key to success in organic chemistry is to overdo everything: do EVERY homework problem, go to EVERY problem session (even if you think you "know" everything), and seek out EXTRA problems to solve. You need to study the material every day, not just before tests. And although the basic, fundamental theories will help you understand why certain functional groups react the way they do, there is no substitute for rote memorization as well. (After all, there's only so much time on a test...)</p>
<p>There is absolutely no comparison between high school and college organic. Nomenclature will be covered and completed in 30 minutes of a college course.</p>
<p>I agree - p chem is the real weedout course for chemistry majors, but most bio majors and pre-meds won't have to take that. Count your blessings!</p>
<p>Ahh, good ol' Morrison and Boyd, my high school organic chem text! It only got better in college! :) To me, org chem was a ray of light in the dark kingdom of math and physics!</p>
<p>As an org chem major, I second everyone's comments about doing homework, memorizing nomenclature rules, mastering reaction mechanisms, etc. There is a great deal of memorization, but there are rules, too (although with many exceptions). One has to have a very solid grasp of physical chemistry and perhaps inorganic chemistry to be comfortable in org. chem., not the other way around.</p>
<p>In the "advanced" chem class of my youth we used "Hendrickson, Cram and Hammond" rather than "Morrison and Boyd". I have to agree with Crashingwaves. If pre-meds had to take P-chem they'd think Orgo was a walk in the park! I majored in chem and TAed orgo lab for several years before and during med school. I honestly think the fear of Orgo is overblown. I had far more difficulties in advanced calculus and physics than in orgo.</p>