If you’ve signed up to take AS Level or A Level Chemistry, then you will definitely encounter organic chemistry in your course material. Organic chemistry is an important part of chemistry, as an understanding of this scientific field is required if you want to pursue further study in the sciences or a career in one of its varying fields.
While organic chemistry may seem daunting, it doesn't have to be.
In this article, we’ll provide you with some helpful study tips as well as explain how an organic chemistry tutor can help you master complex concepts.
What is Organic Chemistry?
Organic chemistry can be defined as a subdiscipline within the scientific field of chemistry. It focuses on organic compounds and materials, and their structure, properties and reactions.
These three aspects of organic chemistry can be explained as follows.
- Structure: looks at the structural formula of compounds and materials.
- Properties: determine what chemical and physical properties compounds and materials possess.
- Reactions: The process of evaluating and identifying the chemical reactivity that these materials and compounds possess, and how this affects their behaviour.
Is Organic Chemistry Hard?
Organic chemistry is a subject many anticipate being difficult and challenging. While it can be, it doesn’t have to if you are diligent and put in the necessary work that will ensure you understand the subject and are proficient in its concepts.
What’s more, anyone can succeed in organic chemistry if they apply the correct study techniques. This includes enlisting the help of a tutor, as they will be able to help you understand the more complex concepts from the get-go. This will also help you make the entire studying process easier and more manageable.
How to Master Organic Chemistry
Here are a few studying methods that will help you master organic chemistry.
Write Out and Work Through Problems
It is important to write out problems and work through them. This systematic and detailed approach to studying will allow you to follow each step of a solution and you will, therefore, start to understand how molecules tend to behave. This is exceptionally important to do with mechanism problems.
While working through these problems and reviewing them, be sure to focus on understanding the process rather than memorising the problems. While memorising a problem might make you feel as if you have a handle on your work, it won't benefit you in the long term or when it comes to exams. At its core, organic chemistry requires you to apply the knowledge you have gained throughout your course.
To counter the temptation to memorise what you are reading, try to create your own ‘blank problems’ once you have worked through the prescribed problems to test that you understand the methods.
Time Yourself
When practising problems and solving them, time yourself at each step. See if you can improve the speed with which you solve these problems. This will provide you with a certain level of comfort when faced with time limits in exams.
The more confident you are in your abilities, the less daunting an exam will feel. This will also reduce the chances of you hitting a blank during the exam due to stress.
Use Past Papers
Past papers are an invaluable resource when studying for organic chemistry. These past papers will give you a wealth of new problems to solve so that you may test your knowledge effectively.
When working through past papers, try not to look at the memorandum. Rather, use the memorandum to mark your own work. This will give you the opportunity to identify where you went wrong and where you can improve. It will also give you a feel for the marking scheme and how marks are awarded.
It can be useful to set a timer so that you become accustomed to the time restrictions set to complete an exam.
Make and Review Notes Regularly
As you work through your course content and attend classes, make notes of important aspects and the concepts that are being discussed. This will ensure that you already have a bank of comprehensive study notes when it comes to exam time.
It is also a good idea to review the notes and summaries you have made once a week. This will help you retain information and ensure that the knowledge you have gained remains fresh in your mind. After all, studying organic chemistry should be viewed as a marathon and not a sprint. It is definitely not a subject that you can cram for just before an exam.
Focus on Understanding
Unlike certain subjects, such as history where memorising events and dates is important, organic chemistry requires true understanding. Above all else, you should focus on how well you understand the concepts. Remember to pay attention to pattern recognition as this will help you decipher a problem and think creatively in order to solve it.
How an Organic Chemistry Tutor Can Help You
As much as organic chemistry and mastering the subject is based on understanding concepts, patterns, and how molecules behave, making sure that you correctly understand these concepts from the get-go is essential.
While you can attempt to work through the concepts yourself, there is a chance that you might waste time trying to figure things out or potentially misunderstand a concept entirely.
A good tutor will be able to guide you through these concepts and ensure that you understand both the basics and complexities of organic chemistry. This will make your studying process a lot easier, as you will have a strong foundation from which to work.
While in a tutoring session, you will also be able to raise any questions you may have, without struggling to find a gap between other questions from your peers. This will ensure that you are able to focus on the areas in which you experience difficulty.
Therefore, an organic chemistry tutor will simplify the process to master this subject, ensuring that you are confident in your understanding and ability regarding its concepts.
