Organic Chem Study Tips

Organic Reaction Flashcards Version 2.0 Is Here!

Organic Reaction Flashcards Version 2.0 Is Here!

May 10, 2013

Do you ever study by making flashcards of reactions? You might recall that a few months ago Rich Apodaca (of Metamolecular) and myself released the first version of The Organic Reactions Flashcard App for iPhone, a mobile app for learning organic chemistry reactions. That initial version of Flashcards was pretty basic – 25 reactions and [...]

Tagged as: app, flashcards, iphone, reagents, study tips

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How Tyrell Got The Highest Grade In Her Organic Chemistry Course

How Tyrell Got The Highest Grade In Her Organic Chemistry Course

February 13, 2013

Reader  ”Tyrell” (not her real name) kindly wrote the other week with her story of how she got the highest mark in her organic chemistry course. She had five key suggestions. Here they are: How I Got The Highest Mark In My Organic Chemistry Course, by Tyrell: Immediate review. I would review the material covered [...]

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How Chris Aced Org 1 and Org 2

How Chris Aced Org 1 and Org 2

January 15, 2013

Last semester I had the pleasure of working with “Chris” (a pseudonym) on second-semester organic chemistry topics. Before we met, Chris had already obtained a grade of 99 (!!!) in a large Org 1 class at a prestigious west-coast university. However, he was taking Org 2 with a new, more difficult instructor, and felt he [...]

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Success Stories: How Stu Aced Organic Chemistry

Success Stories: How Stu Aced Organic Chemistry

October 29, 2012

I recently got an email from a reader, Stu (not his real name) who told me he got an A in Organic Chemistry 1, and was on pace to do the same in Org 2. I asked him if he’d be willing to share with the readers of this blog how he did it. I [...]

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From General Chemistry to Organic Chemistry (the PDF)

September 11, 2012

Around this time of year I get lots of emails from students who are starting out in organic chemistry but feel that their general chemistry  background is weak. The common question I get from them is: “What do I need to know from general chemistry in order to prepare for organic chemistry“? As much as [...]

Tagged as: General Chemistry

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“America’s Top TA” Shares His Secrets For Teaching O-Chem

“America’s Top TA” Shares His Secrets For Teaching O-Chem

August 10, 2012

[image photo credit: www.nyapplecountry.com] What does it take to be a great organic chemistry TA? A few weeks ago, Dan Coiro, a graduate of Rutgers University, was awarded the title of “America’s Top TA” in an online contest sponsored by the learning company CengageBrain. This article in NJ.com should give you an idea why:  In [...]

Tagged as: study tips, ta's, teaching

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How John Pulled Up His Organic Chemistry Exam Grades

How John Pulled Up His Organic Chemistry Exam Grades

July 18, 2012

The other week, loyal reader “John” (not his real name) wrote in to tell me how he had pulled up his exam grade in organic chemistry from a 44% on the first midterm to a 90% on the second midterm. I asked him through email to explain the study techniques he used in a little [...]

Tagged as: advice, exams, study tips

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How To Prepare for Organic Chemistry Exams

How To Prepare for Organic Chemistry Exams

June 22, 2012

A common problem students tell me is that they feel that they know the material, but when they write an exam, they don’t do well. It’s hard to isolate the exact reasons for this, but there are certainly cases where students under pressure feel a certain amount of mental “lock-up” which leads them to not [...]

Tagged as: advice, exams, study tips

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Success Stories: How Nathan Aced Organic Chemistry (Without It Taking Over His Life)

Success Stories: How Nathan Aced Organic Chemistry (Without It Taking Over His Life)

June 8, 2012

Loyal reader “Nathan” (not his real name) sent in this note recently on how he managed to do well in organic chemistry without it having a detrimental impact on the rest of his schedule:  I feel that I have been able to do very well in OChem without having it affect my other classes too [...]

Tagged as: advice, interviews, learning vs memorization, memorization, study tips, success stories

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Interview: How Jay Got an A+ In Organic Chemistry

Interview: How Jay Got an A+ In Organic Chemistry

June 1, 2012

“Jay” (not his real name) wrote the other day with this note.  I just finished up Organic II. I wanted to thank you for creating this great resource, it’s helped me immensely not only to have a better grasp and understanding of organic chemistry, but it’s also helped to foster a passionate interest in the [...]

Tagged as: how to do well in organic, interviews, study tips

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