Calling all organic chem graduates (aka, peeps who have taken this class)?

organic chemistry is more memorization than math and it focuses on the following areas..

1) nomenclature. learn the functional groups. learn how to name organic compounds.

2) reactions of organic compounds. there are several well known reactions for each functional group. you will need to know them

3) reaction mechanisms. SN1, SN2, EN1, EN2, etc

4) prefered reactions of each functional group. example. does secondary alcohol vs primary alcohol matter in your reaction.

5) instrumental methods of analysis. In particular FTIR and NMR. you will be looking at and interpreting lots and lots of spectra

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why don't you start here..

1) buy the textbook for the class and start reading it now. Work out as many problems as you can in advance of the class

2) take a look at these sites...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_nomenclature

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_group

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_reaction

3) once classes begin, always stay at least a chapter ahead of the instructor.

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questions?

fyi.. I was a TA in college for organic chem. I'll add you to my contacts and await your questions. good luck.

A reasonable goal for you for summer preparation would be to go through the first four or five chapters of your textbook. Typically, most textbooks will cover the following subjects:

1) structure and bonding

2) nomenclature

3) conformations

4) stereochemistry

By go through the chapters, I mean read them and do the problems.

Organic chemistry is a language. Before you can put together sentences, you first have to learn the vocabulary (be prepared: memorization!). These chapters are really fundamental and they will help you get a grip on things when the course starts getting hairy later on. If you grasp them well, you will be able to spend the majority of your time putting concepts together, which is what professors tend to test for anyway.

Good luck!

When i was preparing for my organic chemistry series, i read in advance all organic chemistry book i could lay my hands on...organic reactions, nomenclature, etc..but if i were you, i would focus more on the foundations of chemistry since organic chemistry itself will be taught to you by your professor...it would be easy to follow the lectures if you know the basics of chemistry like electronegativity (trends in the periodic tabe), properties of the elements in the periodic table (especially ofcourse C,H,O,N,halogens), anions and cations, acids and bases, and everything else in general chemistry which i assume you've already taken....

having studied that, i assure you organic chemistry will be smooth sailing...

get use to naming compound (example- 2,5-dimethyl-2-octen-4-ol, etc)

get use to drawing its structure (example- i can't draw it)

get use to hydrocarbon compound (example-alkane, alkene, alcohol, etc.)

get use to hydrocarbon reaction (example-combustion of alcohol, etc)

get use to calculation involving specific heat of... q=mcӨ

and lot more

the most important thing is the experiment in the lab. I love this subject b'coz of its interesting experiment.

-extraction

-distillation and etc.

but if you said organic, of course it is about hydrocarbon. Whatever it is, enjoy the class.

It should be fun learning this subject. (^_^)