Organic Chemistry: What to Expect, Dr. Laurie S. Starkey, Cal Poly Pomona
Welcome to the World of Organic Chemistry! O-Chem has quite a reputation, and some of you
may be embarking on this journey with more than just a bit of anxiety. I don’t think this is a class that
should be feared, but I do promise that it will be a tremendous amount of work for you. That is the real
shock organic chemistry causes. It’s not that the concepts are unusually difficult, it’s that you have to
dedicate a huge amount of time and effort to be able to solve problems on your own. You may have
experienced that some college courses are easy to breeze through, and you can easily pass with a
minimal amount of studying and/or with rote memorization. Organic Chemistry is not one of these
courses. This is typically the first truly challenging course that most students encounter in their college
careers; thus it has earned its reputation as a “weed-out” class. Well, we have a full year of progressive
and cumulative chemistry ahead of us. The sooner you understand and appreciate what it takes to
succeed in Organic Chemistry, the easier your journey is going to be. Here’s O-chem’s big secret:
The most important things you will learn by taking Organic Chemistry:
1) Problem Solving 3) Self-Motivation
2) Time Management 4) Good Study Habits
Yes, you will also learn some o-chem along the way! However, you cannot succeed (or even
pass) Organic Chemistry without mastering the skills listed above. Once you have developed these
skills, you will be prepared for any challenges that lie ahead. Why do medical schools want to see good
grades in Organic Chemistry? Not because they want you to know the details of Organic Chemistry, but
because a good grade indicates that you’ve mastered these underlying skills and, therefore, that you
have a good chance of succeeding in medical school. I will do my best to teach you both Organic
Chemistry and how to be a better student, but you are the one that has to commit to learning both.
What does it take to succeed in Organic Chemistry? Time and effort. Lots of both. In addition to
the three hours you spend in class, you should spend at least nine hours studying o-chem per week. That
means every week, not just when you have an exam coming up. Ideally, you should devote some study
time every day so you can “digest” the material more slowly.
• Come to class! If you can't make it, get the notes from someone in your study group. (my what?)
• Read and work through the textbook. Take notes, try problems, be an active participant.
• Work on all the textbook problems. “Work on” does not mean copy down the problems and then
copy down the answers. It means solve the problem, write down your answer and check it (answers
are at the back of the book or in the Study Guide). This is the only way you can get practical
experience; working problems is essential for exam preparation.
• Review your notes often, ideally before each class. Work through your notes, ask questions.
• Come to office hours. Ask questions about the lecture, your notes, the book, your exam...
How should I study for an exam? Start studying now! If you wait until a few days before each exam,
it'll be too late. Try flashcards to help organize the material and to sneak in some studying when you
have short chunks of free time, like before lecture. The majority of your studying time should be spent
on working textbook problems. To prepare yourself for an exam situation, and to minimize test-taking
anxiety, try solving randomly selected problems and try timing yourself to put on a little pressure. If
you can’t come up with your answers without looking at the solution manual, you aren’t ready for the
test. Finally, review my past exams (see my website) so you have an idea of the format, length and
types of questions to expect. There are no solutions posted to the sample exams so don’t spend any time
working on the old exams, unless you’ve already mastered all the textbook problems and you’re bored.
In that case, turn to your study group to check your answers because I won’t “grade” my sample exams.
If you are repeating this class, expect the exact same grade…unless you do something drastically
different the second time around. Just showing up for another ten weeks of classes and putting in the
same effort as before is not going to magically improve your grade. Treat the class as if you were
starting from scratch and improve those study habits! Remember, Organic Chemistry is cumulative so if
you barely squeak by CHM 314 with a C- or D, you’re setting yourself up for disaster in CHM 315. Do
the smart thing: repeat CHM 314 and build a solid foundation for the subsequent quarters.
