How to study organic chemistry | 6 Tips on How to Pass Effectively

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Organic chemistry is a vast subject with many structures, reactions, and classifications.

Passing organic chemistry exams like ACS with average preparation and practice is very tough.

So here are my tips based on teaching graduate students.

Many advise you to practice problems; however, mugging up or practicing the topics hard without understanding the core concept would lead to mistakes in the exam.

Hence, we must study the subject in detail and understand every concept for better grades.

How to Effectively Study Organic Chemistry

Organic chemistry is basically the study of organic compounds.

If you understand the subject well, you will like it and enjoy reading it and writing it passionately in the exams.

To command organic chemistry, one needs to understand the following aspects well.

  1. Types of chemical reactions
  2. Classes of compounds
  3. Different types of bonds and their effect on the molecule.
  4. Reactions to identify the compounds
  5. Nomenclature and numbering of molecules
  6. Isomers, racemic mixtures, etc.
Best Way to Study Organic Chemistry

Types of chemical reactions

The common reactions in organic chemistry include

  1. Substitution
  2. Addition
  3. Oxidation
  4. Condensation
  5. Hydrolysis

So, if you understand the meaning, you are half done.

  1. Substitution reaction:

This means that a chemical moiety is replaced (substituted) with another. These reactions tend to need heat or another force that replaces the chemical moieties.

2. Addition reaction:

  • Here, a chemical moiety is added to another molecule or compound. Here, the structure tends to get larger than before in most cases.

3. Oxidation reaction:

  • Oxidation is a process of adding oxygen or removing hydrogen or even electrons.
  • So, notice these changes in the reaction while learning.
  • In most cases, saturated molecules tend to undergo oxidation to form unsaturated structures.

4. Condensation reaction

  • As the name indicates, two molecules will be combined here to form a single molecule.

5. Hydrolysis

  • This is a reaction where a molecule is broken down due to the addition of water.

Thus, unlike inorganic chemistry, you will find reactions that form complex compounds with multiple covalent bonds and weak intermolecular bonds here.

These reactions lead to changes in either

  • Molecular bonds,
  • Functional groups,
  • Synthesis of complex compounds or
  • Breakdown of complex compounds.
  • They help in the synthesis of new compounds or the identification of a chemical moiety.
  • There are many named reactions after the scientists who discovered them.
  • So, it is important to remember the scientist’s name beside the name of the reaction.

Classes of compounds

  • There are many classes of organic compounds, such as alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, etc.

👉 Find the detailed list of examples of organic compounds.

  • These compounds have specific physical and chemical properties.
  • The types of reactions, their use, and their preparation vary

Some of them are very important and frequently asked about in exams.

Types of bonds and their effects

  • Organic chemistry has a different set of bonds than inorganic chemistry.
  • Besides regular ionic and covalent bonds, there are multiple resonance bonds that decide the chemical properties of the compounds.
  • So, having an idea of the bond would help to determine the progress of reactions, the requirement of reactions, etc.
  • For instance, alkenes and alkynes can be involved in hydrogenation reactions.
  • Resonance compounds, despite having double bonds, cannot be easily hydrogenated because of the structure and bond dynamics.

Identification of compounds

  • This is one of the vast topics in organic chemistry, especially in lab work.
  • These reactions rely on one specific function group or set of bonds to identify the compounds.
  • These reactions are also based on the scientist’s names in most cases.

Nomenclature and numbering of molecules

  • This is quite the hardest and most tricky part of organic chemistry.
  • Many tend to make mistakes in this aspect as they make mistakes in numbering or do not understand the meaning.
  • Also, the presence of functional groups makes it even harder to name and number the compounds.

For example:

  • In a benzene ring, when there is a substitute, the position next to the substitute is called
    • ortho = “straight,”
    • meta = “next,” &
    • para = “similar” positions.
  • If you mug up this instead of understanding the terminology, you always tend to make mistakes.
  • The addition and removal of substitutes at these positions require different energy levels.
  • Adding a substitute in one position is hard, while it is easy in another. 
  • If one understands this, he will not make mistakes regarding them. So understanding the meanings gives a lot of information.

Isomers, racemic mixtures:

Propanol isomers
Isomers of propanol
  • See the name again; “Iso” = same and “mer” = piece.
  • You will find multiple compounds with the same formula but with different structures.
  • This aspect of science is unique to organic compounds.
  • Compounds exhibiting this nature can be classified as dextro-rotatory (+) and levorotatory (-).
  • Also, they will have differences even in the reactions.

Also, read the differences between organic and biochemistry.

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