How do I get an A in O-chem? I did well in gen-chem, got As

Try to see the overarching mechanistic patterns reactions have in common instead of trying to memorize each individual reaction.

t. orgo tutor

>>8487182
Also yes ochem tends to require more effort than the first year courses. Studying more than 2-3 days in advance helps tremendously.

>>8487182
Also, try to understand the underlying forces or hindrances, such as electronegativity and steric effects. Understanding why a certain mechanism goes a certain way makes them easier to undertand

t. been there done that

>>8487171
why are you taking it?

Do problems in other orgo textbooks concurrently. Try to understand what the significance of each procedure/problem solving protocol is while doing your review problems. Start studying further in advance.

t. Succeeding in orgo

memorise it all bro
chem is just memorisation
t. physicist taking biochem to laugh at brainlets like you

>>8487305

Trying to decide between majoring in math (w/ a chem minor) or just straight majoring in Chem. I like chem a lot, but I also want to do well since I may want to take the MCAT and apply to med school when I graduate.

>>8487182
This, also visit teaching assistants or your chem help center and maybe just ask for challenge problems. Sometimes mine would go beyond our test material but nevertheless helped to get me thinking about methods to approaching problems ie identifying key steps in synthesis

Dude, it's not that hard, just grind the entire chapter text THOROUGHLY, do ALL of the in book problems, and understand the mechanisms. This is NOTHING compared to P-chem or Thermodynamics. Also, why the fuck are you waiting to study until two or three days before the exam? You should be comfortable with the material two WEEKS before the exam and you should be studying up until the exam hits your desk. You're competing with gunner-ass pre-meds (like me) who actually have to 4.0 the class in order to smash the MCAT and get into Ivy-tier med schools on top of all of the other philanthropy and leadership extra-curriculars required to remain competitive.
Read the chapter you're covering before class, do the practice problems, use outside resources like mastering organic chemistry (not Khan, he's not great) and Leah4Sci.

is there a place where I can find copies of old exams for certain professors? biochem is kicking my ass

>>8487474

You misinterpreted my post. I don't wait to study 2-3 days before the exam. I study every day, 2-3 hours a day. I have 3 weeks until my final, and I've been sorta mediocre, despite my efforts, which is why I asked.

I have not done as many book problems as I should've been. There are about 50-70 book problems in each chapter, and I probably only do about 30-40. I leave a good chunk of them out. I will do more of them, thank you

>>8487479

Just ask around your uni. There's always a couple floating around. Don't get caught though, if it's against your academic integrity standards.

I aced both of my Ochem Classes. My strategy was to treat it like a rigorous math class; as in, I tried to make sure I understood concepts before I even thought of resorting to memorization. I treated reaction mechanisms like proofs, was a pretty fun class overall, but not as fun as pure math ;).

You gotta have a good understanding of how/why a certain product may be formed preferentially over another. If you don't understand why something happens, keep studying.

>>8487171
Literally just memorize

That's all first year orgo is, just memorizing and trying to understand trends with no actual rigorous explanations. First year orgo is largely stamp-collecting. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

t. A+ in both Orgo 1 and 2, and 99th percentile on the ACS final exams and current Chem grad student

Where can i find a list of orgo reaction mechanisms for certain additions, etc with maybe useful info like stereochemical effects, etc
Just any useful resource

>>8487408
everyone I've ever met who says shit like this has autism

Study more

>>8487171
Organic Chemistry is a weeder course. Deliberately difficult to weed out the students that are not dedicated enough.
To get an A just work your butt off.

>>8489162
True, you wont really understand until you take physical-organic chemistry