I’m very glad to see that you’re learning organic chemistry! It’s a great subject for the type of exercise you’ve described, as it’s a very visual field of study. As you mention that visualization is a skill you’re working on developing in parallel with your organic chemistry studies, I’d recommend that you get ahold of a molecular model kit. It may sound silly, but having a physical model of a molecule in front of you can make a big difference in how long it takes to grasp why, for example, SN2 and SN1 reactions give different stereochemical outcomes.
Organic chemistry can be a playful subject if you approach it with the right mentality (don’t believe what the pre-meds tell you, and don’t try to memorize your way through the first semester!). If you’re looking for ways to see how it impacts your life, try looking up the chemical structures of over-the-counter medications like aspirin, dietary supplements like vitamin B12 or taurine, or polymers like polyethylene terephthalate. Relating a structure to basic sensory data (the feel of a plastic bottle in your hand, the aftertaste of aspirin) can help the subject matter feel more relevant.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions about learning organic chemistry! It’s good to see someone posting on LW about a subject I feel qualified to comment on, for once!
Haha I may take you up on that! Thank you for volunteering :D These visualization techniques are also helping with my molecular biology class. Very general purpose.
I’m very glad to see that you’re learning organic chemistry! It’s a great subject for the type of exercise you’ve described, as it’s a very visual field of study. As you mention that visualization is a skill you’re working on developing in parallel with your organic chemistry studies, I’d recommend that you get ahold of a molecular model kit. It may sound silly, but having a physical model of a molecule in front of you can make a big difference in how long it takes to grasp why, for example, SN2 and SN1 reactions give different stereochemical outcomes.
Organic chemistry can be a playful subject if you approach it with the right mentality (don’t believe what the pre-meds tell you, and don’t try to memorize your way through the first semester!). If you’re looking for ways to see how it impacts your life, try looking up the chemical structures of over-the-counter medications like aspirin, dietary supplements like vitamin B12 or taurine, or polymers like polyethylene terephthalate. Relating a structure to basic sensory data (the feel of a plastic bottle in your hand, the aftertaste of aspirin) can help the subject matter feel more relevant.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions about learning organic chemistry! It’s good to see someone posting on LW about a subject I feel qualified to comment on, for once!
Haha I may take you up on that! Thank you for volunteering :D These visualization techniques are also helping with my molecular biology class. Very general purpose.