Organic Chemistry Tips, Tricks and Practice Problems

Dr. Jason Dinsmore

Let me know if any of this sounds familiar...

Organic Chemistry – It’s a weed-out course, many students fail, you will fail, it’s hard, it’s time consuming, it’s complicated, you won’t like it, good luck (with sarcasm), you won’t have a life, you may have to take it again, it will wreck your GPA, it may keep you out of medicinal school…and on and on.

The story we hear about something dramatically influences how we see and experience something.

Now, I want to share with you a different story about organic chemistry. And this story is backed up by years of teaching the material.

What's inside

Learning objective

Discover simple tips and tricks to help you ace you organic chemistry class!

Syllabus

Tips and Tricks

Alrighty my friend... make sure to keep these tips in mind when going over alkyl halides

What you'll learn in this video...

- The most important things to think about when working on questions with alkyl halides.

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Organic Chemistry Tips, Tricks and Practice Problems with these activities:

Review Nomenclature Rules

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Reinforce your understanding of naming conventions. This will help you quickly identify and understand the compounds discussed in the course.

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Review IUPAC naming rules.
Practice naming simple organic molecules.
Quiz yourself on common functional groups.

Read 'Organic Chemistry as a Second Language' by David R. Klein

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Gain a different perspective on the material. This book offers a simplified approach to understanding organic chemistry concepts.

View Organic Chemistry as a Second Language on Amazon

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Obtain a copy of the book.
Read the chapters corresponding to the course topics.
Work through the practice problems.

Reaction Mechanism Practice

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Solidify your understanding of reaction mechanisms. This will enable you to predict products and understand reaction outcomes.

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Choose a set of reaction mechanisms.
Draw out the full mechanism for each.
Compare your answers to solutions.
Repeat with different reactions.

Four other activities

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Create Flashcards for Reactions

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Memorize key reactions and reagents. This will help you quickly recall information during problem-solving.

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Identify important reactions from the course.
Create flashcards with reactants and conditions on one side.
Write the products on the other side.
Review the flashcards regularly.

Read 'Organic Chemistry' by Paula Yurkanis Bruice

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Supplement your learning with a comprehensive textbook. This will provide a broader and deeper understanding of the concepts.

View Organic Chemistry on Amazon

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Obtain a copy of the textbook.
Read the chapters relevant to the course topics.
Work through the example problems.

Design a Synthesis of a Target Molecule

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Apply your knowledge to a real-world problem. This will test your understanding of reaction mechanisms and retrosynthetic analysis.

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Choose a target molecule.
Perform a retrosynthetic analysis.
Design a synthesis route.
Justify each step with reaction mechanisms.

Solve Spectroscopy Problems

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Develop your skills in interpreting spectroscopic data. This will help you identify unknown compounds.

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Find practice problems involving NMR, IR, and Mass Spec.
Analyze the spectra to determine the structure.
Compare your answer to the solution.
Repeat with different spectra.

Career center

Learners who complete Organic Chemistry Tips, Tricks and Practice Problems will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Organic Chemistry Tips, Tricks and Practice Problems.

Organic Chemistry

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Comprehensive textbook on organic chemistry. It provides detailed explanations of concepts and mechanisms. It is commonly used as a textbook in many universities and offers a more in-depth treatment of the topics covered in the course, making it a valuable reference for students seeking a deeper understanding.

Organic Chemistry as a Second Language

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Is designed to help students who struggle with organic chemistry. It presents the material in a clear and concise manner. It focuses on the fundamental concepts and provides numerous examples. This book is particularly helpful for students who need a more accessible introduction to the subject.

Organic Chemistry as a Second Language

Paperback

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Organic Chemistry as a Second Language

Kindle Edition

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