llsoftll Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Hi all! I'm having a real difficulty with the OChem portion of MCAT, and was wondering if anyone could help me out. It's not a specific question that I'm struggling with...it's actually the whole organic chemistry concept itself. I took General Chemistry 1, 2 and Organic Chemistry 1 at the university. However I am still amazed that I actually passed those courses (and with decent grades...) without even understanding any fundamental concepts. When I read the review books, I seem to follow along with the ideas of substitution, elimination, etc. BUT when it comes the time to do the questions on my own, I'm completely stuck. I understand what a nucleophile is - something that seeks a nucleus, i.e. negatively charged. But when a question goes like: "what is the best nucleophile?" and they list a few compounds attached to a carbon backbone...I go blank. Additionally, the questions such as "Would this reaction progress in SN1, SN2, E1 or E2?" just throws me out. I read the explanation, but nothing makes sense in my head. I don't even know where to begin. Any tips or strategies on studying Organic Chemistry? I feel I'm really really stuck on this subject and need help, desperately. Thank you so much in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharmingHedgehog Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 I hated ochem too! It think it might help to read another book? I know that when I read the Kaplan, Ochem was pretty clear, but they were bad at physical chemistry so I had to look at TPR. The SN1, etc stuff... try making a table. That really helped me a lot (although i can't tell you anything now for the life of me). The nucleophile thing, it's not that it's only negatively charged, it can also be neutral, but the atoms around it is making it seeking a proton (not a nucleus =P) e.g. the atom attached is very electrophilic In addition, you can try getting someone who's good at ochem to explain things to you. It may help to see it from a different perspective Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amalwa12 Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Couple of resources that really help me out when I feel like everything's flying over my head: - http://freelance-teacher.com/videos.htm - http://www.khanacademy.org/ Sometimes when someone explains their thought processes, it makes a lot more sense. I don't understand any of the physics from TPR or EK textbooks but the Khan Academy tutor Salman has really locked the concepts in my head. Look out for similar online resources- there's some much help out there:) Do share if you find anything better than what I've posted. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AP_gooner Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Hi all! I'm having a real difficulty with the OChem portion of MCAT, and was wondering if anyone could help me out. It's not a specific question that I'm struggling with...it's actually the whole organic chemistry concept itself. I took General Chemistry 1, 2 and Organic Chemistry 1 at the university. However I am still amazed that I actually passed those courses (and with decent grades...) without even understanding any fundamental concepts. When I read the review books, I seem to follow along with the ideas of substitution, elimination, etc. BUT when it comes the time to do the questions on my own, I'm completely stuck. I understand what a nucleophile is - something that seeks a nucleus, i.e. negatively charged. But when a question goes like: "what is the best nucleophile?" and they list a few compounds attached to a carbon backbone...I go blank. Additionally, the questions such as "Would this reaction progress in SN1, SN2, E1 or E2?" just throws me out. I read the explanation, but nothing makes sense in my head. I don't even know where to begin. Any tips or strategies on studying Organic Chemistry? I feel I'm really really stuck on this subject and need help, desperately. Thank you so much in advance! I was in the exact same situation as you. 3 General chem courses but only 1 orgo course. After hours of trying to study it, I just said $#%^ it... and I just left organic alone completely. I came out with a 12 in BS. Organic is only 20-30% of the BS section so if you feel confident in your bio ability it's not a huge deal. I would still recommend studying for it (I am now... stupid re-write). Try youtube- "Khan Academy"- really good for conceptualizing some stuff and somewhat easy to follow along! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AP_gooner Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 ^^ hahahaha did not realize you just posted Khan Academy as well. At least the OP will know they're a good source now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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