Dealing With College Organic Chemistry Homework: Tips And Tricks

Just the most basic of chemistry classes is difficult for the majority of students. Those who are looking to get a little bit deeper into the study will likely be taking at least one course in organic chemistry. Organic chemistry is the study of the preparation, properties, reactions, composition, and structure of compounds that contain carbons. Included in this group of compounds is sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen, silicon, hydrogen, phosphorus, and halogens. with the range of applications being so wide and varied, many students require assistance with their homework assignments. Here are some tips and tricks that you may want to keep in mind to get through your semester:

• Instead of using the textbook to study from, read the lecture notes and rewrite them in language you feel comfortable with. Add in any notes that can be used as a prompt to help you remember.
• Get into the habit of building reaction maps to give you help with synthesizing problems. Write up a sheet containing the summaries of reactions that you can refer to when working on homework.
• To keep your mind sharp, use the driving time to and from school or running errands to go through the compounds in your mind. Pick one at a time and think of how the reactions you are familiar with can be used to synthesize them.
• Make flash cards that you can carry with you. Whenever you have time available you can concentrate on memorizing the cards.
• You will need to be able to reproduce drawings that you have learned. Practice these at every opportunity so that they become second nature.
• Every week, take the time to construct an outline of the lecture notes.
• There will be a lot of reading that is assigned as homework. Take the time to make an outline of the important points as you are reading through it every night.'
• Test yourself by practicing with sample problems when you come across them in the study material.
• Use all of the resources that are available to you, including close examination of returned tests, recitations, and your professor. They hold office hours for a reason!
• Consider joining or forming a study group with some of your classmates.
• While memorization is extremely important, even more so is understanding the "why" behind every answer.
• If you have the option to attend extra review classes, make it to as many as you can.
• Ask plenty of questions to whoever can answer them, whether it is your TA, lab partner, study group, or professor.