PREPARING FOR CHEM 351, ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I

The most significant reasons why students struggle with organic chemistry courses are summarised below:

If you want to prepare for this course, the best things you can do to start with are to review Chem 201 or 211 and 203 or 213 General Chemistry materials such as:

A student is expected to have a good, working understanding of (this means the ability to apply) general chemical principles including (but not limited to):

Only when you are competent with these materials should you read the first couple of chapters of the organic chemistry text.

A GOOD BACKGROUND IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN TRYING TO GET AHEAD

So why do some students underperform ?