How do I succeed in my Organic Chem class, does anyone have any suggestions?

Answer 1

First accept the fact that simply attending lecture,occasionally perusing the textbook and then cramming for the exams is NOT going to get you through Organic Chemistry. Success in this course requires a major commitment on your part from day one!
The lecture material will follow the syllabus and you should read over that portion of the text scheduled to be covered before it is covered in class. This pre-lecture preparation is very important as it will serve to point out those topics which are confusing to you and which you don't understand. (If it all makes sense on the first read, you shouldn't be taking the course, you should be teaching it!).
Once you have located the trouble spots, make sure that you understand the concepts when presented in lecture. Do not hesitate to ask questions during lecture. If you didn't understand it when you read it and you don't understand it when I explain it, you're not going to be able to handle it on an exam! Remember: Organic Chemistry is not about memorizing, its about UNDERSTANDING!
As soon as possible after the lecture, read the material once again. It should make more sense at this point. Reconcile your class notes with the material in the textbook in order to make sure that you have not copied incorrectly from the board. Flesh out your notes with information from the text which you might have missed in lecture. Do this as soon as possible after the lecture while the material is still fresh in your mind. Your notes need to make sense to you if they are going to be helpful in studying for an exam.
Most serious students of Organic Chemistry prepare flash cards (3x5 note cards) with a reaction substrate and reagents on the front and the product plus any pertinent comments on the back. You will be exposed to (and expected to learn) hundreds of reactions in this course and these cards will be helpful in this endeavor. Once again though your goal must be to understand how, and why, these reactions occur (the reaction mechanism, and the structural features of the substrate which govern what types of reactions it will undergo) and not merely to memorize the individual reactions. Only through understanding will you be able to develop the ability to predict products of reactions involving substrates which you have not previously encountered. This concept of understanding (as opposed to rote memorization) cannot be stressed enough.
Often, students form study groups of two to four meeting several times a week to do problems. This can be extremely helpful. As with any skill involving either physical or mental dexterity, you cannot hope to become proficient without lots of practice. You must do the assigned problems in a timely fashion. Many students become frustrated and give up when they are not able to solve a problem immediately. Don't let that happen to you. Instead view each problem as a challenge. Be willing to look back in the chapter and in your notes to find similar situations and clues to the solution of the problem. Above all avoid the temptation to give up immediately and look in the answer book or to wait until you can ask to see the problem done in class. Check with the answer book only when you have either come up with an answer which you have some confidence in or have committed a significant amount of time to the problem to no avail.If you a. don't agree with the answer book (yes there are some errors in most answer books), or b. don't understand why the answer is what is is, then either e-mail me for an explanation, or bring up the problem for discussion at the start of the next lab or lecture.
In addition to the problems in the book, there is some considerable amount of drill and practice/tutorial material on http://www.tfn.net/~pendarr

Remember "there's no free lunch". Bite the bullet, pay your dues, put in the time and you will be rewarded with success in this course.

Answer 2

Get the notes from the previous section including sample exams.
For example Organic Chem 101 notes sample exams can be found on line at universities like Penn State, Cal Tech.
http://gopher.chem.uic.edu/organic/organic.html
You can buy an Organic Chemistry book with questions and answers

Make Organic Chemistry a daily thing.
Study all the time.
Take good notes.
Do Study Guide Problems.
Go to every class.
Listen in class-it is so much easier if you try to understand the material as it is being presented to you than trying to cram for the test.
Write down everything.
Review class notes the same day after class or immediately before the next lecture.
Make flashcards.
Pay attention in class, try to grasp concepts.
Read textbook before going to class.
Be aware of syllabus.
Don’t try to cram for organic.
Go to correct exam room.

Answer 3

Oh man...I hated that class...failed it actually :'(. But what I would suggest doing is getting class notes, and really studying them. Do all the practice problems you can. That will really help. Try and buddy up with someone who knows what the heck they're doing. Memorize some of the mechanisms, esp the weird ones that come up. If you can get old tests and exams, awesome. Do them. If all else fails, get a tutor. That's what I ended up doing. And it helped, a bit.
But you really have to devote a lot of time and effort into the class in order to be successful in it. The labs are good, gives you an extra few points if you good at them. Just do a lot of practice questions, and read over your notes and textbook. It helps. Good luck!

Answer 4

organic chem is easy n difficult at the same time u think u have it all but the moment u close ur book its gone the best way which i did in my time was to take out time to revise it everyday not only memorizing but also doing written practices this helped me alot i was able to do alot of conversions this way
wrinting practise makes u familiar with all reactionz n formulas
try it
best of luck

Answer 5

I remember that Organic chem is the place where i had to memorize an awful amount of things.

Answer 6

Follow all the good suggestions here and pray a lot!!!

Answer 7

go to every chemistry class and learn every lesson, dont party that much u spoiled little bratt!!!