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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Many kids, especially premeds, try to memorize their way through organic chemistry by memorizing every single reaction.  That isn't a good strategy as there is too much to memorize.  Instead, you need to understand the reactions, why they are happening (the mechanisms), and be able to apply the mechanisms to new situations (i.e., problem solve). Most kids don't understand the reactions well enough to apply that understanding and thus do poorly on tests.  You need to study by pushing arrows and doing a million problems.

The kids who do well in organic chemistry tend to be analytical thinkers who are good at strategy (e.g., board games) and willing to keep going until they understand the content.

--organic chemistry PhD[/quote]

This is exactly right.

What I found is that you cannot use general categories of reactions to figure out what happens when you put X and Y together, because there are too many exceptions, and then you add in various catalysts, and it all goes to pot. Instead, what is required is being really good at stereochemistry, and having the ability to visualize objects in 3-D space. I was terrible at Organic Chem (my worst grade ever, and I have two Masters, one in molecular biology, another in bioinformatics), but had a good friend that was amazing at it. For him, it took no effort; he could [b]visualize what the molecules looked like in 3-D space, how they fold, and what that meant for reactions.[/b] I could not, for the life of me. The vast majority of students either lack the ability like me, or have never had to think that way.[/quote]
This! I took organic chemistry in college and the main challenge for me was visualizing the molecules in 3D. They are of course presented in 2D but the reactions between molecules are not happening in a one dimensional plane. [/quote]

this is fascinating - my DD is an artist and has always been good at visualizing shapes etc- and herself in space (watching someone swing a bat, now flip it for a leftie and make it happen etc) and she finds organic chemistry pretty easy. I’m insanely proud of her, as you can imagine- since she wasn’t a stem kid in high school but became one after a year in college and now is busting up the curve in O chem. 😊[/quote]

Is she left-handed?  I remember reading a while back a finding that there's a sub-population of left-handed females who have very high 3-D mental rotation spatial skills.[/quote]

My dad was left-handed and had a grad degree in O Chem and worked in the field after.  I am not and hated O Chem:).[/quote]

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