Studying
for Organic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry is all about practice and
more practice.
You are advised to dedicated at least one hour on
practicing problems (this time does not include reading notes and revising).
Most common techniques for studying Organic Chemistry
-
Rewriting your notes in more organized way the same
day
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Practicing problems, not only the ones that have been
assigned in the syllabus but other problems in the book.
-
Form a study group with students you study well with
and meet regularly to solve problems.
-
Solve the problems again and again for better
understanding.
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Come and see me if you are stuck on a problem
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Use other books for practicing problems (you can find
these in the library or get them from me)
-
If you like practicing on the computer then see me
for the software. (Keep in mind
that this is the not the best way to learn to write out mechanisms, but this
is still good for practice.
Learning the course material is your responsibility, I am
there to help you understand concepts and how to apply them.
Your learning is in your hands, the more time you spend on it the better
your understanding will be and the consequently you will earn a better grade.
My job is not to give you answers to all your questions but to guide you
to the answer.
For a full load of 12 credit hours you should be spending
36-48 hours studying on your time. For
every science class of 3 credit hours you need to spend four times the credit
hours (12 hours) practicing and studying. If
you are not committed to put the time and effort required for a class then you
should also be expected to earn a
lower grade in class.
The above is only my advice. If you think you have a better way of studying by all means
follow it.
Student
Voices: (C&E News: page 44 April 16, 2001)
Bottom line: Organic Chemistry is Intense but Doable
Panels advice to students
-
Organic is not as terrible as the rumors say but its labor
intensive
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Read the textbook. It
was my best friend for the better part of the year
-
You have to study a little at a time; you can’t cram
everything in just before a test
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Go to class. Go
to group help sessions even if they are not mandatory
-
Work extra problems. Build
models. Recopy your lecture
notes – you may realize there are things you don’t completely understand
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Model sets are great resource. They’re essential to understanding stereochemistry.
There s nothing better than being able to hold a model in your and
twist it and turn it.
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Working on synthesis ties together everything you’ve
learned
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If you the underlying reasons why stuff happens, you can
figure out a reaction your never studies before
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