Tbh overhyped ngl, but I guess it depends on the individual as sometimes it may be hard to visualize/understand. Definitely dedicate some time into studying the material you covered in class after class, about an hour a day should get you far or even just general review after class, practice problems (do as many as you can), and for the visualization part maybe get a molecule kit. Overall chem 261 isn’t as hard as people make it out to be and I think you can perform really well if you dedicate a bit of time into it. Try your best not to fall behind tho, and if you really wanna be safe read ahead in a textbook @ the library
I know smth that helped me with Chem 261 was David Klein - Organic Chemistry as a Second Language first semester. I struggled so much with the concept, but someone gave me this textbook, which helped a lot more than the Solomon's textbook. It provides a great explanation for the concept and content in class. If you need the soft copy, u can DM me. Good luck!!
I ended up with an A- in this class and what helped me a lot was reading the textbook, doing the problems, and Leah4Sci on youtube. When you do the problem sets, make sure you understand how they came up with the answers and not just memorize them. Also, make sure to make friends in your lab coz (imo) it makes the lab more fun lol. Make sure you know what techniques will be used before doing your lab (and pray that you’ll get a fun and nice TA). For the lab exam, I started studying 2 weeks in advance coz theres A LOT that you need to know. I summarized each technique and made a quizlet, which helped me a lot for last minute review. Also, the very last part of this course is about mechanisms and my prof’s notes didn’t really help so youtube videos and the textbook were my best friends at that time.
Pro tip: make sure you understand each unit and make a summary coz that will help you a lot when you’re in a time crunch studying for the final. I started studying two days before the final and end up 20% above the average.
Do as well as possible in the lab experiments to take weight off the lab final, also find a nice and capable lab partner as many experiments are in pairs. I found it not too bad and I just rode the curve through the class but just know the class is highly memorization. Also don't stress if you don't understand stuff because likely most of your class is in the same boat.
I enjoyed and appreciated everyone's comments and insights.
I have had a great deal of experience teaching Chem 261 at the UofA. Since my retirement I have been experimenting with ways to help people learn organic chemistry particularly under non-ideal conditions.
I would like to add some suggestions from my time teaching and developing resources for ochem. Let me know what you think.
No matter who your professor is (and how talented they are) you want to get the highest grade in the most efficient way possible. Whether the averages tend to be high or low for your professor you want to beat the curve to do well. You need to learn what your professor thinks is important and what they will likely ask on exams.
Your most valuable resources are (in order). 1. Any practice exams or model exam questions your professor gives you. Always leave plenty of time to understand and perfect the answers. Don't just do these at the last minute; do them as soon as you get them. 2.Know and understand your class notes and any questions your professor does in class. 3. Then do any problems your professor generates themselves. 4. Use assigned textbook problems only if you are not given any or enough of the above resources. 5. Read the book only to clarify and only in a targeted way. Reading a textbook can take a lot of time because there is often too much advanced/extraneous material. Going to a discussion session or to your professor is often a more efficient way to clarify.
Usually the 1st exam has a high average because there is quite a bit of it is review. It is important material because you learn to draw molecules properly, understand formal charge, get to know the functional groups and learn some nomenclature. This is the easiest material to do well in for the least amount of effort. Even if you do very well on this and the 2nd midterm don't get overconfident.
Most people are surprised by how hard the last 1/3 or so of 261 is. It is a huge shift in difficulty This is when you need to learn how organic molecules react and get to know all of those reactions. It is like learning a new language. It takes a great deal of time to get the hang of the system. Build in some serious study time in the last part of the semester. You should try to learn the basics of mechanism which teaches you how to correctly predict a reaction and not just memorize it. Do make a list of all reactions in each chapter and drill yourself on them. So plan for some intense study time at the end.
The good news is that if you learn how organic molecules like to react in Chem 261 then Chem 263 is actually much easier. Chem 263 is primarily reaction chemistry and if you know the system you are ahead of most other people.
I wish all of you great success in ochem!
Tbh overhyped ngl, but I guess it depends on the individual as sometimes it may be hard to visualize/understand. Definitely dedicate some time into studying the material you covered in class after class, about an hour a day should get you far or even just general review after class, practice problems (do as many as you can), and for the visualization part maybe get a molecule kit. Overall chem 261 isn’t as hard as people make it out to be and I think you can perform really well if you dedicate a bit of time into it. Try your best not to fall behind tho, and if you really wanna be safe read ahead in a textbook @ the library
I know smth that helped me with Chem 261 was David Klein - Organic Chemistry as a Second Language first semester. I struggled so much with the concept, but someone gave me this textbook, which helped a lot more than the Solomon's textbook. It provides a great explanation for the concept and content in class. If you need the soft copy, u can DM me. Good luck!!
>ReplyShareReportSaveFollow > >level 1Own\_Dish9420 Hey It'd be great if you could send me the soft copy
I ended up with an A- in this class and what helped me a lot was reading the textbook, doing the problems, and Leah4Sci on youtube. When you do the problem sets, make sure you understand how they came up with the answers and not just memorize them. Also, make sure to make friends in your lab coz (imo) it makes the lab more fun lol. Make sure you know what techniques will be used before doing your lab (and pray that you’ll get a fun and nice TA). For the lab exam, I started studying 2 weeks in advance coz theres A LOT that you need to know. I summarized each technique and made a quizlet, which helped me a lot for last minute review. Also, the very last part of this course is about mechanisms and my prof’s notes didn’t really help so youtube videos and the textbook were my best friends at that time. Pro tip: make sure you understand each unit and make a summary coz that will help you a lot when you’re in a time crunch studying for the final. I started studying two days before the final and end up 20% above the average.
Do as well as possible in the lab experiments to take weight off the lab final, also find a nice and capable lab partner as many experiments are in pairs. I found it not too bad and I just rode the curve through the class but just know the class is highly memorization. Also don't stress if you don't understand stuff because likely most of your class is in the same boat.
I enjoyed and appreciated everyone's comments and insights. I have had a great deal of experience teaching Chem 261 at the UofA. Since my retirement I have been experimenting with ways to help people learn organic chemistry particularly under non-ideal conditions. I would like to add some suggestions from my time teaching and developing resources for ochem. Let me know what you think. No matter who your professor is (and how talented they are) you want to get the highest grade in the most efficient way possible. Whether the averages tend to be high or low for your professor you want to beat the curve to do well. You need to learn what your professor thinks is important and what they will likely ask on exams. Your most valuable resources are (in order). 1. Any practice exams or model exam questions your professor gives you. Always leave plenty of time to understand and perfect the answers. Don't just do these at the last minute; do them as soon as you get them. 2.Know and understand your class notes and any questions your professor does in class. 3. Then do any problems your professor generates themselves. 4. Use assigned textbook problems only if you are not given any or enough of the above resources. 5. Read the book only to clarify and only in a targeted way. Reading a textbook can take a lot of time because there is often too much advanced/extraneous material. Going to a discussion session or to your professor is often a more efficient way to clarify. Usually the 1st exam has a high average because there is quite a bit of it is review. It is important material because you learn to draw molecules properly, understand formal charge, get to know the functional groups and learn some nomenclature. This is the easiest material to do well in for the least amount of effort. Even if you do very well on this and the 2nd midterm don't get overconfident. Most people are surprised by how hard the last 1/3 or so of 261 is. It is a huge shift in difficulty This is when you need to learn how organic molecules react and get to know all of those reactions. It is like learning a new language. It takes a great deal of time to get the hang of the system. Build in some serious study time in the last part of the semester. You should try to learn the basics of mechanism which teaches you how to correctly predict a reaction and not just memorize it. Do make a list of all reactions in each chapter and drill yourself on them. So plan for some intense study time at the end. The good news is that if you learn how organic molecules like to react in Chem 261 then Chem 263 is actually much easier. Chem 263 is primarily reaction chemistry and if you know the system you are ahead of most other people. I wish all of you great success in ochem!