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You have to engage in conversational French with someone. You cannot learn French by simply sitting in lectures and reading the textbook.

Study the general reactions (substitution, elimination, dehydration, etc.) and remember that for every rule there is an exception. If you're not good at memorization (like me), come up with creative mnemonics. There is a lot of vocabulary to learn in Organic Chemistry. You cannot speak German if you do not know vocabulary. Make flashcards if needed, put on your favorite study jam, and flip through the vocabulary and reactions. So now with this new approach to Organic Chemistry, here's a list of the Top Three Habits to cultivate while studying:ġ. At first it seems foreign, but soon it becomes second nature. It's just like when you learned to conjugate estar (or être, or sein). Once you realize this, the complexities of the reactions and elements will seem more simple. There is A LOT of memorization involved in Organic Chemistry.

Learning how atoms interact and react with each other is just like learning how words in a foreign language interact and affect each other. You must approach this class as you would a course in French or Spanish. This is not some science class where you'll succeed through intuitively understanding concepts. The following advice is for students anxiously awaiting their Organic Chemistry class next semester (or later on).īefore you enter the Organic Chemistry classroom this Fall, you must rethink how you view the class. I now have the opportunity to pass on this knowledge as an organic chemistry tutor in Boston. It's all thanks to one powerful piece of guidance my teacher gave me when I came to office hours after my poor performance on the first homework assignment. I'm happy to report that I did indeed make it through that rite of passage, as well as Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry Lab the following semesters. That was my first Organic Chemistry class in 2011. This class is dreaded by all undergraduates whose futures depend on their grade in it.

I look around, I'm not the only one who didn't get it which makes me feel better for some reason. I join in nervously even though I must have missed the point. The punchline of the joke is told, something about H 2O 2 (what is that?) and the kids in the front of the room laugh. There are so many different majors represented here, from the sciences to engineering to the pre-med students. I shift nervously in my seat and look at the full room. The teacher in the front of the lecture hall drones on with her opening joke – something about two chemists walking into the bar. I look at my mug holding the remnant grinds of the coffee I finished in my previous lecture and briefly regret not stopping at the caf é to get a refill. I'm sitting in the middle of the classroom. Spanish, French, Italian.and Organic Chemistry?