The key to your success in organic chemistry is in what you learn. Build your foundation to gain this knowledge by carefully studying the book and actively participating in the lectures. The more you apply your developing knowledge to understanding the design of the various organic syntheses and reaction mechanisms, the more you will grow in creativity as a student of organic chemistry.
Studying organic chemistry is like combining the elements of a foreign language class with the elements of a logic, or math, class. As with a foreign language, you must learn the vocabulary (names of compounds, chemical structures, reagents, and reactions), as well as the grammar (electron movements). As with a math class, you must understand the logic (reaction mechanisms). You combine these elements by practicing the grammar and vocabulary; then following the logic as you apply your knowledge to new situations (working the exercises in your book). Finally, you demonstrate your mastery of both the grammar and the logic (by doing well on the examinations your instructor writes).
To succeed in this class, you must develop a consistent knowledge base of concepts, theories, and techniques. In other words, what you learn in the early chapters is essential for your understanding of the material in later chapters. Failure to retain the things that you have studied will make learning organic chemistry seem overwhelming. When you study, make it your central objective to thoroughly understand the concepts, theories, and techniques being covered, then retain them. Could you repeat that, please? When you study, make it your central objective to thoroughly understand the concepts, theories, and techniques being covered, then retain them. These concepts, theories, and techniques are your knowledge base and the foundation for all of your continued efforts in learning organic chemistry.
Developing and maintaining your knowledge base of organic chemistry requires some learning strategies that are different from those used for many other classes. Primarily, learning organic chemistry requires consistent time, effort, and, most of all, thought. Organic chemistry has a reputation for being a difficult subject to master because it covers a lot of information and some students struggle over some of the concepts. Regular study diminishes this difficulty level. Some people can stuff in lists of facts in an all night cram, but few people can learn facts and the accompanying logic, then integrate those facts and the logic with previously learned facts and logic in a last minute effort. The most important move you can make on the road to success in organic chemistry is to establish a regular program of study.
Ideally, a schedule of regular study involves five steps.
Step 1 When your instructor assigns a new chapter, quickly read through it before your instructor lectures on it. Your goal is not to get everything from the chapter in this first reading but to get an overview of the main ideas.
Step 2 Immediately after the lecture, reread the material and work the in-text exercises. If you have difficulty with an exercise, then review your lecture notes and reread the material in that section. Be sure that you understand that section and can work the exercises before continuing.
Step 3 As you read and work the in-text exercises, begin memorizing the important facts from the chapter. Remember that memorizing facts is an essential part, but only a part, of success in organic chemistry.
Studying organic chemistry is like combining the elements of a foreign language class with the elements of a logic, or math, class. As with a foreign language, you must learn the vocabulary (names of compounds, chemical structures, reagents, and reactions), as well as the grammar (electron movements). As with a math class, you must understand the logic (reaction mechanisms). You combine these elements by practicing the grammar and vocabulary; then following the logic as you apply your knowledge to new situations (working the exercises in your book). Finally, you demonstrate your mastery of both the grammar and the logic (by doing well on the examinations your instructor writes).
To succeed in this class, you must develop a consistent knowledge base of concepts, theories, and techniques. In other words, what you learn in the early chapters is essential for your understanding of the material in later chapters. Failure to retain the things that you have studied will make learning organic chemistry seem overwhelming. When you study, make it your central objective to thoroughly understand the concepts, theories, and techniques being covered, then retain them. Could you repeat that, please? When you study, make it your central objective to thoroughly understand the concepts, theories, and techniques being covered, then retain them. These concepts, theories, and techniques are your knowledge base and the foundation for all of your continued efforts in learning organic chemistry.
Developing and maintaining your knowledge base of organic chemistry requires some learning strategies that are different from those used for many other classes. Primarily, learning organic chemistry requires consistent time, effort, and, most of all, thought. Organic chemistry has a reputation for being a difficult subject to master because it covers a lot of information and some students struggle over some of the concepts. Regular study diminishes this difficulty level. Some people can stuff in lists of facts in an all night cram, but few people can learn facts and the accompanying logic, then integrate those facts and the logic with previously learned facts and logic in a last minute effort. The most important move you can make on the road to success in organic chemistry is to establish a regular program of study.
Ideally, a schedule of regular study involves five steps.
Step 1 When your instructor assigns a new chapter, quickly read through it before your instructor lectures on it. Your goal is not to get everything from the chapter in this first reading but to get an overview of the main ideas.
Step 2 Immediately after the lecture, reread the material and work the in-text exercises. If you have difficulty with an exercise, then review your lecture notes and reread the material in that section. Be sure that you understand that section and can work the exercises before continuing.
Step 3 As you read and work the in-text exercises, begin memorizing the important facts from the chapter. Remember that memorizing facts is an essential part, but only a part, of success in organic chemistry.
Step 4 After you finish reading the chapter and working the in-text exercises; develop your logic skill by working the end of the chapter exercises.
Step 5 Prepare for the examination by working more of the end of chapter exercises. Your problem solving skills will show if you grasp what you have studied. Ask questions. Find someone who needs help and teach them what you have learned.
Problem solving in the real world of scientists seldom proceeds in the organized fashion that most textbook authors, classroom instructors, and scientists would have you think. Problem solving requires a lot of struggling, puzzling, trial-and-error, false starts, and dead ends. Chemists do not wait for divine inspiration to solve a problem. Instead, they write down what they know, then analyze and manipulate that information. When the next step becomes apparent, they take that step, then stop again to analyze and manipulate the new information. In this way chemists work toward a solution to the problem. As with them, so with you—the more problems you solve, the easier it will become to solve them.
There are two general strategies for problem solving. The most common form of problem solving is rote problem solving. With rote problem solving, you need to know only the proper formula to reach the correct answer. As long as you remember the formula and make no mistakes plugging in the facts and solving the formula, you will solve the problem correctly. This form of problem solving requires little understanding of the formula. Less common, but far more useful, is conceptual problem solving. Here you need to analyze and rearrange the statement of the problem to identify the underlying concepts involved. Once you identify the underlying concepts, you apply those concepts to the data and solve the problem.
Successful chemists use conceptual problem solving. To succeed as an organic chemistry student, you must also learn how to solve problems conceptually. Skill with conceptual problem solving requires much practice. When working the exercises in this book or those on your quizzes and examinations, seldom can you rely on “divine inspiration” for the solution. You must systematically dissect the exercise and apply the underlying principles of the particular concepts involved to find the solution. Even with this systematic work, many students find that, at first, they come up with the wrong answer to a problem. Don't let wrong answers discourage you; right answers will come more and more readily as you gain a larger foundation of principles and logic to work with.
Step 5 Prepare for the examination by working more of the end of chapter exercises. Your problem solving skills will show if you grasp what you have studied. Ask questions. Find someone who needs help and teach them what you have learned.
Problem solving in the real world of scientists seldom proceeds in the organized fashion that most textbook authors, classroom instructors, and scientists would have you think. Problem solving requires a lot of struggling, puzzling, trial-and-error, false starts, and dead ends. Chemists do not wait for divine inspiration to solve a problem. Instead, they write down what they know, then analyze and manipulate that information. When the next step becomes apparent, they take that step, then stop again to analyze and manipulate the new information. In this way chemists work toward a solution to the problem. As with them, so with you—the more problems you solve, the easier it will become to solve them.
There are two general strategies for problem solving. The most common form of problem solving is rote problem solving. With rote problem solving, you need to know only the proper formula to reach the correct answer. As long as you remember the formula and make no mistakes plugging in the facts and solving the formula, you will solve the problem correctly. This form of problem solving requires little understanding of the formula. Less common, but far more useful, is conceptual problem solving. Here you need to analyze and rearrange the statement of the problem to identify the underlying concepts involved. Once you identify the underlying concepts, you apply those concepts to the data and solve the problem.
Successful chemists use conceptual problem solving. To succeed as an organic chemistry student, you must also learn how to solve problems conceptually. Skill with conceptual problem solving requires much practice. When working the exercises in this book or those on your quizzes and examinations, seldom can you rely on “divine inspiration” for the solution. You must systematically dissect the exercise and apply the underlying principles of the particular concepts involved to find the solution. Even with this systematic work, many students find that, at first, they come up with the wrong answer to a problem. Don't let wrong answers discourage you; right answers will come more and more readily as you gain a larger foundation of principles and logic to work with.
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