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Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 3331 - Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry 1) covers chemistry of the compounds of carbon with emphasis on energies and mechanism of reactions, synthesis, and the structure of organic molecules as described by the UH catalog (link). Please see your adviser and catalog for details regarding prerequisites and credit. This course is required for many science majors and pre-health students. Based on our Earning an A guide (link), this is a Category V course. Memorization of nomenclature, reaction and mechanism is necessary.
what you need
Below or a list of items you will need for lecture. These items can be bought on campus. However, you may find these cheaper on sites like Amazon.
TEXTBOOK (LINK)
solutions manual (link)
Lectures will follow those given by the syllabus and provided textbook. Solutions manual for textbook problems
molecular model kit (Link)
Optional, but may be useful molecular model kits to aid you in visually displaying common functional groups, accurate bond angles, bonding, ring structures.
what to expect
You may find Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry 1 to be very different from general chemistry. There are few if any calculations that you will be doing. Rather, you will be spending the majority of your time memorize rules and reactions that you will then have to apply.
exams and homework
Exams will make up the majority of your grade, but certain professors may also have homework, quizzes, and/or attendance (see syllabus). Exams will be in person and are a significant percentage of your overall grade. Based on past semesters, there are usually 3 midterms and 1 final. You will be given 90 minutes for midterms and 3 hrs for the final. The exams will usually be broken into different sections of nomenclature, facts, reactions, mechanism, synthesis, and spectroscopy.
Grading
Based on previous semesters, this course is curved. The curve is not uniform with modest curves at the top (e.g., A = 88-89+) and more generous curves near the bottom grades (e.g., C = 60-65). Again, these are just examples with each semester being different.
resources
Earning an A (General)
Learn how we earned A’s in college. Here, you will find a general guide of the steps we took that put us in the best position to succeed.
exams
Mock exams for organic chemistry. These exams have been designed to be similar to those administered. They are NOT actual exams.