univ. year 2

[Guest sweetstuff25]

hello, has anyone taken organic chemistry the same term as biochemistry? I personally think this may be tough....don't we need prior knowledge of organic chem before we try biochem or are they totally independent of each other? I also have a choice of taking organic chem during the summer (course is only 20days long)...but will learning it in summer really allow my marks to go up or will i just bomb it because of too much info? thanks for your time! :\

[Guest k8termd]

Hi there

I did my undergrad at Western and I took the first half of organic chem during the regular semester at the same time as biochem. I really struggled with the orgo but didn't have a problem with the biochem. I couldn't fit the second half of orgo into my regular year schedule so I took it in the summer and I did much better. I found I could really focus on orgo without worrying about other courses at the same time.

I don't know if taking the course in the summer will prevent you from using it as a prereq for medical school??? I am at Mac where we didn't need it but maybe someone from another school can comment??

[Guest mying]

It sort of depends on what the people teaching it expect. At Guelph, it was pretty much standard to take Biochem before Organic Chem, or to only take one and not the other, so other than being outchemistried there was no problem taking them in whatever order or combo you felt.

[Guest mitchie41]

I took a 1 semester equivalent of organic chem during the summer, and it wasn't that bad as long as you keep up with the notes on a DAILY basis.

 

Before I signed up for the course, I thought it was going to be a total weeder course, but not that many people dropped from beginning to end.

 

So, if you're looking for a way out of taking two chem courses in a semester, I would definately recommend taking Orgo in the summer.

[Guest UofT Student]

I can't speak for other schools, but for those entering second year at UofT in September, BCH210H (biochem) is offered only in the first semester and CHM247H (orgo) is offered only in the second semester. CHM247H used to be offered in both semesters, but for the upcoming year, UofT has changed the schedule.

 

Of course, those who take the BCH242Y full-year course will be taking it at the same time as orgo during the second semester.

 

For all three courses (BCH210H, BCH242Y and CHM247H), the only prerequisites are first-year courses in chemistry (general plus organic). Therefore, you probably don't need knowledge from biochem to do well in second-year orgo, and vice versa. Keep in mind, though, that this data is correct only for the University of Toronto. Check with your particular school's registrar or course coordinators for more info.

 

I hope this helps!

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I took both at Dalhousie. . . no problem, other than a bit of work.

[Guest Hilde]

Hey I don't think you will experience any problems taking orgo and biochem at the same time. There isn't much orgo in bch 242y. Correction to the above post, in this past school year, orgo was offered in both semesters, just that the spring session was in a better time slot while the winter one was a night class. I don't think you will enjoy orgo at night. What is your program? There are only 3 specialist programs with a full year biochemistry in which case you will be taking orgo and biochem in the same semester (but it really was no big deal). If I were you, I would spend more time on biochemistry because that's where things went wrong for me. BCH was a much much more challenging course! A tip for chem 247H (orgo), know the reactions like the palm of your hand before a test and especially before the final exam, try to do a bit of chem each day for a few weeks instead of cramming. It works well, trust me. In case you're doing bch 242y, try to understand the concepts rather than memorizing. That's all I have to offer right now.

[Guest sweetstuff25]

Thanks everybody for their posts...i'm currently in UofM so its divided up into organic chem 1 and 2, biochem 1 and 2 each half credits. I just might have to take organic chem during the summer because it maybe easier than taking 2 chem courses the same term...i might mix em up...i dunno.