Foreword
2.3 Licensing
All work in this book is released at the moment only under the GNU FDL license. However
this is only one of many similar open content licenses, and may not be the license of choice
for everyone. To take content written by Karl Wick^5 from this book for release under other
licenses please contact the author through this page’s associated talk^6 page.
2.4 How to study organic chemistry
One of the main difficulties students have with organic chemistry is organizing the informa-
tion in their minds. By the second semester of organic chemistry, students will learn over
100 chemical reactions. Consequently, it is vital that students take time to not only organize
the information, but also to understand it. Indeed, excellent organic professors will tell you,
contrary to popular belief, that you do not really need to memorize anything for organic
chemistry, instead you simply need to understand it. By truly learning something, rather
than memorizing it, you will be able to apply concepts beyond what you are memorizing.
Whenyouseesomethinginthetextbook, alwaysaskwhysomethingisthecase. Doresearch,
try to find out the answer. By taking this approach you will enrich your learning experience,
and the information will be ”locked” in your mind.
Each person may have a slightly different method that helps him or her learn organic
chemistry the quickest and with least pain. The basic rule of thumb is to use a method
that you find most helpful and stick with it. Various study methods include flash cards,
molecular model kits^7 , group study, writing chemical reactions on blackboards, others just
take the class over and over until they ”get it”.
The writers would recommend to buy a molecular model kit^8 so you can hold in your hand
and visualize in your mind how the molecules look in three-dimensional space. If you can’t
get access to models or can’t afford them, look online for sites that use the Jmol^9 application
or other rendering software that allow you to virtually rotate molecules.
It cannot be stressed enough that you must be able to visualize molecules in organic chem-
istry. The 3 dimensional structure of molecules often plays a crucial part in reactions. It
can be the deciding factor in whether a reaction even happens, it can decide how fast it
happens, and it can decide what the product(s) of the reaction is going to be. If you can’t
visualize the 3D structure, you won’t be able to understand what’s happening.
5 https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/User%3AKarl%20Wick
6 https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Talk%3AOrganic%20chemistry%3ALicenses
7 https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/..%2FPlaces%20to%20buy%20organic%20chemistry%20models
8 https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/..%2FPlaces%20to%20buy%20organic%20chemistry%20models
9 http://jmol.sourceforge.net/websites/