Organic chemistry has garnered a reputation as being perhaps the most difficult course offered at the undergraduate level, but this need not be the case. The difficulty generally comes from the course moving too quickly, a reality that results in students trying to memorize their way through every topic. This is a sure path to frustration as O-chem is not a collection of reactions to memorize, but rather a series of skills to develop and processes to understand.
In order to succeed in the...
Organic chemistry has garnered a reputation as being perhaps the most difficult course offered at the undergraduate level, but this need not be the case. The difficulty generally comes from the course moving too quickly, a reality that results in students trying to memorize their way through every topic. This is a sure path to frustration as O-chem is not a collection of reactions to memorize, but rather a series of skills to develop and processes to understand.
In order to succeed in the class, it is important to break down each topic into a handful of simple and intuitive chemical concepts that you are already familiar with. From these fundamentals, it is easy to build an understanding of the underlying logic of why reactions proceed the way that they do. I work with students to develop a reliable yet simple process that makes learning the material simple without the inefficiency of trying to memorize everything.
I have a PhD in medicinal chemistry (the organic chemistry of drug design) and I am currently a professor of medicinal chemistry and biochemistry with 20 years experience teaching both semesters of the introductory organic chemistry course. I have also spent many years tutoring students in a variety of topics related to chemistry and pharmacology, but more than any other subject, I enjoy tutoring students in the organic courses. Why? Because there is no greater satisfaction than watching the light bulb go on when a student finally "gets it" and sees the simple logic behind an O-chem problem.
Through my long experience of teaching and tutoring, I have developed a variety of easy to comprehend approaches to problem solving that will make even the most complicated concepts a breeze to understand. It doesn't matter where you are starting from or how lost you feel in the class, by stepping back and building up from the fundamentals, I will give you a collection of tools and techniques that will deliver on our ultimate goal of giving you the confidence and skills needed to master organic chemistry
