Are you knee deep in Organic Chemistry? Looking to replace boring, sterile, formal reading with step-by-step videos and colorful tutorials? Use the guide below to quickly find everything you need on my website.
Match up your professor's Organic Chemistry syllabus to my Orgo Tutorials, Videos, Cheat Sheets, and Practice Quizzes!
Start PRE-LEARNING as much as you can.
This will help you avoid becoming overwhelmed or falling behind throughout the semester.
And the BEST part is, I'm not sending you to your boring textbook. I've linked each topic to my Videos, colorful Study Guides, and Cheat Sheets (where possible) to make it more enjoyable and easier to understand.
How To Use This Guide:
Compare your Organic Chemistry textbook or professor's course syllabus to this list. Find the topics below that correspond to your chapters. Start studying accordingly. Click on any of the hyperlinked material to watch my tutorial videos on the topic.
Don't have a syllabus? The videos are listed in ‘typical' order, allowing you to start from the beginning.
Expectations & Preparation:
- Watch: “How to Prepare for Your Upcoming Semester” or
- Read: Organic Chemistry Preview Guide: What to Pre-Study for the
Upcoming Semester
Follow this Scheduling Guide to create a balanced schedule for studying Orgo, other classes, work, family, personal time, and life!
Follow Along with My downloadable Orgo Cheat Sheet PDF Collection:
Students Currently IN or Prepping For Organic Chemistry 1
Gen Chem Review
- Rebuild your General Chemistry Foundation with the following key concepts for Organic chemistry including:
Subatomic Particles/Atomic Structure, Periodic Table Trends, Atomic Orbitals, Electron Configuration, Lewis Dot Diagram - Review with a Quick Overview of General Chemistry for Orgo
Orgo Basics
- Remaster these potentially ‘skipped' Orgo Basics including:
Ionic/Polar/Covalent Bonding, sp3/sp2/sp Hybridization and Geometry, Formal Charge, Lewis Structures, Intro to Resonance - Learn How to Draw Skeletal Structures. (Typically, a topic not explained well by professors, but VERY important.)
- Understand the details of Resonance, even for tough Radicals and Aromatic Structures.
Organic Molecules – Structure & Naming
- Functional Groups: Guide, Video, Cheat Sheet, & Practice Quiz
- IUPAC Nomenclature: Complete IUPAC Naming Series & Practice Quiz
- How to Use your Organic Chemistry Model Kit
- Isomers: Constitutional, Cis/Trans & E/Z
Acids & Bases
- Acids and Bases: Video series & Cheat Sheet
Molecular Analysis & Stereochemistry
- Newman Projections and Chair Conformations (Read Organic Chemistry or Art Class?)
- Chirality & Stereochemistry, Fischer Projections
Reactions & Mechanisms
- Pre-Mechanism Concepts: Electron Pushing Arrows and Carbocation Stability
- Alkenes: Reactions and Mechanisms, including Markovnikov's Rule, Cheat Sheet and Practice Quiz
- Alkynes: Reactions and Mechanisms, Cheat Sheet
- Free Radicals including Reactions, Resonance, Stability, and Hybridization
- Organic Chemistry 1 Reactions Summary
Synthesis & Retrosynthesis
Topics Taught In Orgo 1 OR Orgo 2 (depending on the school)
- Spectroscopy, including H-NMR, C-NMR, IR and Mass Spec
- Substitution and Elimination (aka SN1 SN2 E1 E2 reactions): Overview Cheat Sheet
- Organometallics, including the Grignard Reaction
- Conjugated systems and the Diels-Alder Reaction
- Molecular Orbital Theory, especially for Reactions in Conjugated Systems
- Aromaticity and Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Reaction Mechanism Videos and Cheat Sheet
Topics Typically Covered In Organic Chemistry 2
- Alcohols /Ethers/Epoxides
- Redox (Oxidation and Reduction): Tutorial series + cheat sheet
- Aldehydes, Ketones, Carboxylic Acids and derivatives – cheat sheet
- Carbonyl Reactions
- Acetal & Ketal Protecting Groups: Reactions & Mechanisms + Practice Quiz
- Enolates and Reactions at the Alpha Carbon, including Aldol and Claisen Condensations, Michael, Malonic and Acetoacetic ester
- Amines
Topics That Can Be Covered In Organic Chemistry 2 Or Biochemistry
- Carbohydrates, including Fischer Projections
- Lipids
- Amino Acids and Proteins
- Nucleic Acids
- Polymers
Taking the ACS Exam?
Many schools or professors offer the ACS standardized exam in place of (or in addition to) your Orgo final exam. The exam is cumulative and can test you on either 1 or 2 semesters of undergraduate level organic chemistry topics. Since multiple choice style questions are different and, dare I say, MORE difficult than open-ended reaction, mechanism, or synthesis type questions, read my article on How to Prepare for the ACS Organic Chemistry Exam.
While I only have a handful of public videos covering beginner topics, all advanced topics have been covered in great detail in my membership site. Click for details: Organic Chemistry Study Hall
