Organic Chemistry

Is it possible to learn a semester of first year college O Chem in 3 weeks? I have done a bit of it before, but is it as hard as people make it out to be? Some people say its the 'hardest' chem to learn

Its fucking easy. I do think you need good instruction however. I suppose you can learn it yourself but I think its best to learn from a professor whos passionate about teaching it.

With that being said, you need to do practice problems everyday.

In three weeks? No
It's just too much information, and too many possible scenarios.

You could learn a semester of calculus 1, 2 or 3 in 3 weeks but not organic chemistry

I'm sitting the Australian equivalent of MCAT in March. I've finished all my physics and general chemistry revision so O chem is all I have left to do. I did it in first year of my undergrad but have completely forgotten it, I'm hoping it all quickly comes back to me which makes 3 weeks doable, we'll see I guess.

I guess it depends on how much you've really forgotten.

The mcat isn't really a knowledge test anyway

I want to have a month of just practice tests before the real thing so hence why I want the finish O chem asap without rushing too much. But yeah from the few practice tests I've done the questions only require really basic understanding of the topic, its more application and interpreting graphs/tables.

Then I'll tell you everything you need to know in one post:

Everything is either an electrophile or a nucleophile, and localized electron density predicts reactivity. All reactions happen this way. Look for electronegative atoms and pi bonds and basically anything that has an usual amount of electron density and smash that thing into the atom with the least amount of electron density.

Fastest, most obvious reactions take place unless you add enough heat, in which most stable product forms due to thermodynamics. More stable has less electron density.

That's Ochem.

Thanks user will take that on board. Seems pretty straight forward. ~20% will be O Chem so if I can learn at least half in 3 week then have an educated guess in the exam on the O chem content I didn't cover in time I should be okay.

Organic was the easiest for me out of the chems. Physical chemistry is the hardest IMO

Try and find yourself a copy of Organic Chemistry by Bruice and work from there. I'm not sure to what level you're supposed to understand O chem, but the book covers a large range of topics in a very clear language with lots of exercises for you to check if you understand the topic. It's one of my favourites.

>Physical chemistry is the hardest IMO
Really? I found that the easiest so far. I got A's on all my chem subjects but the amount of O chem I did was minimal so I didn't prioritize it as stuff I really needed to know on exams

Will do, thanks for the recommendation. Only a semester of first year college level is what I need to know. Nomenclature, bonding, alkenes, alkanes, aromatic, benzene rings, alcohols, esters, combustion elimination reactions etc

>Will do, thanks for the recommendation. Only a semester of first year college level is what I need to know. Nomenclature, bonding, alkenes, alkanes, aromatic, benzene rings, alcohols, esters, combustion elimination reactions etc
Definitely contains all of that, and if that's all you need to know (coupled with the fact that you've studied it before) I don't see why three weeks wouldn't suffice.

Fingers crossed! I think I should be alright and whatever I don't cover in time I should be able to learn as I do practice exams

Are you talking about the UMAT?
>2nd year NZ student here who did it last year

He's talking about GAMSAT if he's already done an undergrad

Oh, my bad. How does it compare to the UMAT; a test so bizarre I still can't really understand exactly what it showed

Easiest shit, yes, you can learn it in a week if you study right, study practically all day. also get ADHD meds, they help.

Hey guys I have to do research(6 months) in Chemistry and I have no clue where to begin!

Could any of y'all provide some kind of advice?
Possibly hint at some topic in Organic Chemistry!

Im an undergrad so please keep things as simple as possible!

work through clayden - then you should be set for life

I think the only people who think O chem is the hardest are Bio students who never had to take anything past it.

Nah GAMSAT. Trying to get into post-grad med. In my last year of undergrad this year.

>How does it compare to the UMAT
I've never sat the UMAT but from friends who have sat both they say the GAMSAT is harder. Its 3 section which are reasoning (interpreting literature etc), 2 essays and science.

>Everything is either an electrophile or a nucleophile
Ian Fleming would like to have a word with you.

Maybe the brainlet ones. If you're in a respectable field of biology, you still have to take biochem, analytic chem, ezymology, etc.

Organic Chemistry is fun

2-iso-butyl-Octane

Draw this simple molecule

it looks like an animal with a long tail
and you look like the second one

>2
>isobutyl

Maybe basic undergraduate organic chemistry, but problems get a lot hairier once you start getting into more modern chemistries or thinking about species that engage in one-electron chemistry.