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How To Apply Memory Techniques In Learning Organic Chemistry
Last updated: October 6th, 2022 |
In the last post we talked about how having a great memory is no guarantee of doing well on many types of organic chemistry exams. As an example I shared the story of one reader, Hussain, who’s developed the ability to memorize an entire deck of cards in just a few minutes, but got a class-average grade in his last organic chemistry exam. We both agreed that knowing how to apply concepts is, overall, much more important for organic chemistry success than being able to memorize.
That being said – what if you really wanted to develop a great memory, and do it in an efficient way? And how would you apply it to organic chemistry? It’s a normal human instinct to want to be able to remember a greater portion of the items we read, and to be able to recall them quickly. Having a system for efficiently retaining and processing information is a tremendous benefit.
This past summer I read the book “Moonwalking With Einstein” by Joshua Foer. It tells the story of how he trained himself to go from having a self-described “average memory” to being able to compete in the World Memory championships. This article gives you a good idea of the process.
The basic technique is to associate things we want to remember with images – not words – and then to mentally distribute those images spatially in a familiar location, such as a childhood home, school, or other familiar place. This is known as the method of loci, or “memory palaces”.
The technique is very effective, and after some practice, easy to implement. After reading the book, I started using it to remember nerdy things like lists of constellations and geological timescales – and found that I could learn these things in my spare time while I was making dinner or about to go to bed. This was a vast improvement over my previous memorization strategy, which was simply to repeat words over and over in my head like a tape recorder until they finally stuck.
I’d always been curious to see if anyone had method of memory palaces in studying for organic and was meaning to write a post about it. After Hussain mentioned using the method of locii to study for his organic chemistry tests, I had no choice but to ask him if he would agree to a brief interview on the subject. Thankfully for us all, he was gracious enough to do so.
So here is brief Q&A on how a memory expert uses these techniques for studying and memorizing items efficiently.
1) How did you get interested in developing a better memory?
There’s an interesting story behind that. I was searching the web looking for hobbies to do in my spare time when I came across this video about Dominic O’Brien, 8-time world memory champion, memorizing a deck of cards in a few minutes. Surprised, I wanted to learn more about mnemonics and memory palaces, so I took a deck of cards and associated each one with a specific symbol. I began by taking 5 cards at random, looking at them one-by-one while visualizing the symbol for each card to create a story in a specific environment, and then I would recall those cards from memory. I gradually increased the number of cards to 10, 15, and more until I could do the entire deck in a few minutes. It took about a month to get to the point where I could memorize the full deck.
I’ve impressed some of my friends at parties by memorizing a deck of cards in a few minutes in front of them. Now, I’m practicing to hopefully enter the US Memory Championship next year. I’m even asking a few of my friends to start a memory team with me or something like that at my college so I’m not just flying solo for the entire ride. And, plus, I don’t know anyone else at my university (Indiana University Bloomington) who uses this technique. I’ve come across a few other students who have heard about it, but no one has ever wanted to put it forward.
2) Can you give some examples of how you use this technique in studying for organic chemistry?
Here’s a specific example. Williamson-ether synthesis: Throw a magic wand and a bottle of beer into a well on a hill, and reel up the bucket from the well to find a pair of angel wings.”
In this story, the WELL reminds me of “WILLiamson”, the magic wand is an organohalide, the bottle of beer is an alcohol, and the pair of angel wings represent an ether. Those are just the images that I use.
There are a lot of ways I use visualization/mnemonics for reactions. I like to think of each element as a different symbol. There are a lot of elements, but, fortunately, O Chem only focuses on a few of them, so it’s easy to develop visual cues for each. You need make the effort to really capture the image when you think about each one so that it will stick with you.
Carbon – Ninja (since it’s everywhere)
Hydrogen – A basketball
Oxygen – Hot air balloon
Nitrogen – Monkey
Fluorine – Flute or a Bird (like…Flappy bird)
Chlorine – Tiger
Bromine – Dog
Iodine – Penguin
I like to think of bonds as ropes that tie different elements together. Along each rope, there are two tiny birds that are perched on them. These birds are the electrons.
Sometimes, when I have to memorize things like pKa values or specific reactions, I’ll use these element symbols. For example, to remember that HBr’s pKa is ~ -9, you imagine a dog holding a basketball on its nose and throwing it into a hoop. As he does this, the ball makes a tall, beautiful arch before the ball circles around the rim of the hoop a couple of times and, finally, it sinks in. The arching of the ball’s trajectory followed by the circular motion of the ball remind you of the number 9 since 9 basically looks like a circle with a curved line. Remember the scenery of this visual device, too. Is it in your college’s basketball stadium? Your old house’s basement? Your backyard? Make sure that the visual devices are in places that are very familiar to you. I like to use places like my daily route form my dorm to my first class.
Let’s say you want to memorize the Sn2 mechanism. You could imagine five ninjas arranged in a cross-pattern (similar to the tetrahedral structure) on the roof of a building. There are four ninjas surrounding the middle ninja. They’re defending themselves against a giant tiger, which attacks the middle ninja. Frightened, the cowardly ninja in the back runs away, and the tiger remains with the ninjas.
One important note I’d like to make is that my visual cues don’t have to be exactly the same ones that other people use. When I say the word “frog,” I picture a frog in my head, but it’s most likely not the exact same picture you get in your head. You also have to think about the specifics of the picture (Is it a photo of a frog? A drawing on a whiteboard? A sculpture made out of clay? Where is the frog? Is it on a lily pad or on a log?). Similarly, my visual cues may help my associations, but not necessarily everyone’s. (I actually used Pokemon for each card when I was memorizing a deck of cards, but that’s another story).
3) Doesn’t it take a lot of time to develop all of these associations?
I know all of this is really counterintuitive. You’re probably thinking, “If I had to memorize stuff for O Chem, why should I memorize a whole new set of images and visual cues and try to associate them with chemistry stuff? That’s basically saying I have to memorize more things!” But this isn’t how memory works. Memory isn’t like a bucket that you fill up with water in which each drop of water is a different memory. This would mean that, the more you remember, the harder it is to recollect different things. But, with memory palaces/mnemonic techniques, memory is completely different. Think of memory like you are standing on an island, and you see another island in the distance. You want to get on the other island, but you can’t just swim over because it’s way too far away. Instead, you want to build a bridge to run across to to get to that island. Memory is like building bridges, not filling up buckets. Spending a few minutes every now and then to visualize and make associations is very beneficial in the long run.
4) I love that analogy. Have using memory techniques benefited you in other courses? If so, how?
For other subjects, I have actually used this technique to memorize my speeches for my Public Speaking class. While the rest of the students use notecards and visual aids, I have my speech memorized. Along with boosting my confidence and reducing my anxiety, it helps me with my delivery since I’m better able to present the topic of my speech to my audience. I’ve used it in my Molecular Biology class to memorize entire biological systems (such as DNA Replication, the role of different cells in embryogenesis, etc.)
Now that I’m in college, I’ve been associating visual images for a lot of the things I learn. It’s mostly in subjects like sciences that require a lot of abstract thinking, but I also make sure to understand the theory behind everything (obviously you can’t rely only on memory to do well in school). It helps you with active recall, which is something most students struggle with.
5) Anything someone should know before trying to implement this? And are there any books or guides you’d recommend?
I don’t think there’s any secret trick or hack to making it work because it does take practice. I believe that most people have really great memories that they need to exercise and train in order to maintain. However, we, as a society, have been lead to believe that memorization is incredibly difficult and we won’t remember anything. In addition, our ancestors who lacked paper and other ways of writing information had amazing memory abilities (such as the Roman rhetorics and scribes). Our brains hold the remnants of these memorization capabilities, but most of us are either unaware of them or too afraid to try to use them. A lot of it is really about trusting yourself that you can memorize.
Some other resources I’ve used:
-Great book, must-read.
http://joshuafoer.com/moonwalking-with-einstein/
-Forum for meeting other memory wizards.
http://mnemotechnics.org
-Memorize ANYTHING:
http://www.memrise.com/home/
00 General Chemistry Review
01 Bonding, Structure, and Resonance
- How Do We Know Methane (CH4) Is Tetrahedral?
- Hybrid Orbitals and Hybridization
- How To Determine Hybridization: A Shortcut
- Orbital Hybridization And Bond Strengths
- Sigma bonds come in six varieties: Pi bonds come in one
- A Key Skill: How to Calculate Formal Charge
- The Four Intermolecular Forces and How They Affect Boiling Points
- 3 Trends That Affect Boiling Points
- How To Use Electronegativity To Determine Electron Density (and why NOT to trust formal charge)
- Introduction to Resonance
- How To Use Curved Arrows To Interchange Resonance Forms
- Evaluating Resonance Forms (1) - The Rule of Least Charges
- How To Find The Best Resonance Structure By Applying Electronegativity
- Evaluating Resonance Structures With Negative Charges
- Evaluating Resonance Structures With Positive Charge
- Exploring Resonance: Pi-Donation
- Exploring Resonance: Pi-acceptors
- In Summary: Evaluating Resonance Structures
- Drawing Resonance Structures: 3 Common Mistakes To Avoid
- How to apply electronegativity and resonance to understand reactivity
- Bond Hybridization Practice
- Structure and Bonding Practice Quizzes
- Resonance Structures Practice
02 Acid Base Reactions
- Introduction to Acid-Base Reactions
- Acid Base Reactions In Organic Chemistry
- The Stronger The Acid, The Weaker The Conjugate Base
- Walkthrough of Acid-Base Reactions (3) - Acidity Trends
- Five Key Factors That Influence Acidity
- Acid-Base Reactions: Introducing Ka and pKa
- How to Use a pKa Table
- The pKa Table Is Your Friend
- A Handy Rule of Thumb for Acid-Base Reactions
- Acid Base Reactions Are Fast
- pKa Values Span 60 Orders Of Magnitude
- How Protonation and Deprotonation Affect Reactivity
- Acid Base Practice Problems
03 Alkanes and Nomenclature
- Meet the (Most Important) Functional Groups
- Condensed Formulas: Deciphering What the Brackets Mean
- Hidden Hydrogens, Hidden Lone Pairs, Hidden Counterions
- Don't Be Futyl, Learn The Butyls
- Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Quaternary In Organic Chemistry
- Branching, and Its Affect On Melting and Boiling Points
- The Many, Many Ways of Drawing Butane
- Wedge And Dash Convention For Tetrahedral Carbon
- Common Mistakes in Organic Chemistry: Pentavalent Carbon
- Table of Functional Group Priorities for Nomenclature
- Summary Sheet - Alkane Nomenclature
- Organic Chemistry IUPAC Nomenclature Demystified With A Simple Puzzle Piece Approach
- Boiling Point Quizzes
- Organic Chemistry Nomenclature Quizzes
04 Conformations and Cycloalkanes
- Staggered vs Eclipsed Conformations of Ethane
- Conformational Isomers of Propane
- Newman Projection of Butane (and Gauche Conformation)
- Introduction to Cycloalkanes
- Geometric Isomers In Small Rings: Cis And Trans Cycloalkanes
- Calculation of Ring Strain In Cycloalkanes
- Cycloalkanes - Ring Strain In Cyclopropane And Cyclobutane
- Cyclohexane Conformations
- Cyclohexane Chair Conformation: An Aerial Tour
- How To Draw The Cyclohexane Chair Conformation
- The Cyclohexane Chair Flip
- The Cyclohexane Chair Flip - Energy Diagram
- Substituted Cyclohexanes - Axial vs Equatorial
- Ranking The Bulkiness Of Substituents On Cyclohexanes: "A-Values"
- Cyclohexane Chair Conformation Stability: Which One Is Lower Energy?
- Fused Rings - Cis-Decalin and Trans-Decalin
- Naming Bicyclic Compounds - Fused, Bridged, and Spiro
- Bredt's Rule (And Summary of Cycloalkanes)
- Newman Projection Practice
- Cycloalkanes Practice Problems
05 A Primer On Organic Reactions
- The Most Important Question To Ask When Learning a New Reaction
- Learning New Reactions: How Do The Electrons Move?
- The Third Most Important Question to Ask When Learning A New Reaction
- 7 Factors that stabilize negative charge in organic chemistry
- 7 Factors That Stabilize Positive Charge in Organic Chemistry
- Nucleophiles and Electrophiles
- Curved Arrows (for reactions)
- Curved Arrows (2): Initial Tails and Final Heads
- Nucleophilicity vs. Basicity
- The Three Classes of Nucleophiles
- What Makes A Good Nucleophile?
- What makes a good leaving group?
- 3 Factors That Stabilize Carbocations
- Equilibrium and Energy Relationships
- What's a Transition State?
- Hammond's Postulate
- Learning Organic Chemistry Reactions: A Checklist (PDF)
- Introduction to Free Radical Substitution Reactions
- Introduction to Oxidative Cleavage Reactions
06 Free Radical Reactions
- Bond Dissociation Energies = Homolytic Cleavage
- Free Radical Reactions
- 3 Factors That Stabilize Free Radicals
- What Factors Destabilize Free Radicals?
- Bond Strengths And Radical Stability
- Free Radical Initiation: Why Is "Light" Or "Heat" Required?
- Initiation, Propagation, Termination
- Monochlorination Products Of Propane, Pentane, And Other Alkanes
- Selectivity In Free Radical Reactions
- Selectivity in Free Radical Reactions: Bromination vs. Chlorination
- Halogenation At Tiffany's
- Allylic Bromination
- Bonus Topic: Allylic Rearrangements
- In Summary: Free Radicals
- Synthesis (2) - Reactions of Alkanes
- Free Radicals Practice Quizzes
07 Stereochemistry and Chirality
- Types of Isomers: Constitutional Isomers, Stereoisomers, Enantiomers, and Diastereomers
- How To Draw The Enantiomer Of A Chiral Molecule
- How To Draw A Bond Rotation
- Introduction to Assigning (R) and (S): The Cahn-Ingold-Prelog Rules
- Assigning Cahn-Ingold-Prelog (CIP) Priorities (2) - The Method of Dots
- Enantiomers vs Diastereomers vs The Same? Two Methods For Solving Problems
- Assigning R/S To Newman Projections (And Converting Newman To Line Diagrams)
- How To Determine R and S Configurations On A Fischer Projection
- The Meso Trap
- Optical Rotation, Optical Activity, and Specific Rotation
- Optical Purity and Enantiomeric Excess
- What's a Racemic Mixture?
- Chiral Allenes And Chiral Axes
- Stereochemistry Practice Problems and Quizzes
08 Substitution Reactions
- Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions - Introduction
- Two Types of Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions
- The SN2 Mechanism
- Why the SN2 Reaction Is Powerful
- The SN1 Mechanism
- The Conjugate Acid Is A Better Leaving Group
- Comparing the SN1 and SN2 Reactions
- Polar Protic? Polar Aprotic? Nonpolar? All About Solvents
- Steric Hindrance is Like a Fat Goalie
- Common Blind Spot: Intramolecular Reactions
- Substitution Practice - SN1
- Substitution Practice - SN2
09 Elimination Reactions
- Elimination Reactions (1): Introduction And The Key Pattern
- Elimination Reactions (2): The Zaitsev Rule
- Elimination Reactions Are Favored By Heat
- Two Elimination Reaction Patterns
- The E1 Reaction
- The E2 Mechanism
- E1 vs E2: Comparing the E1 and E2 Reactions
- Antiperiplanar Relationships: The E2 Reaction and Cyclohexane Rings
- Bulky Bases in Elimination Reactions
- Comparing the E1 vs SN1 Reactions
- Elimination (E1) Reactions With Rearrangements
- E1cB - Elimination (Unimolecular) Conjugate Base
- Elimination (E1) Practice Problems And Solutions
- Elimination (E2) Practice Problems and Solutions
10 Rearrangements
11 SN1/SN2/E1/E2 Decision
- Identifying Where Substitution and Elimination Reactions Happen
- Deciding SN1/SN2/E1/E2 (1) - The Substrate
- Deciding SN1/SN2/E1/E2 (2) - The Nucleophile/Base
- SN1 vs E1 and SN2 vs E2 : The Temperature
- Deciding SN1/SN2/E1/E2 - The Solvent
- Wrapup: The Key Factors For Determining SN1/SN2/E1/E2
- Alkyl Halide Reaction Map And Summary
- SN1 SN2 E1 E2 Practice Problems
12 Alkene Reactions
- E and Z Notation For Alkenes (+ Cis/Trans)
- Alkene Stability
- Alkene Addition Reactions: "Regioselectivity" and "Stereoselectivity" (Syn/Anti)
- Stereoselective and Stereospecific Reactions
- Hydrohalogenation of Alkenes and Markovnikov's Rule
- Hydration of Alkenes With Aqueous Acid
- Rearrangements in Alkene Addition Reactions
- Halogenation of Alkenes and Halohydrin Formation
- Oxymercuration Demercuration of Alkenes
- Hydroboration Oxidation of Alkenes
- m-CPBA (meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid)
- OsO4 (Osmium Tetroxide) for Dihydroxylation of Alkenes
- Palladium on Carbon (Pd/C) for Catalytic Hydrogenation of Alkenes
- Cyclopropanation of Alkenes
- A Fourth Alkene Addition Pattern - Free Radical Addition
- Alkene Reactions: Ozonolysis
- Summary: Three Key Families Of Alkene Reaction Mechanisms
- Synthesis (4) - Alkene Reaction Map, Including Alkyl Halide Reactions
- Alkene Reactions Practice Problems
13 Alkyne Reactions
- Acetylides from Alkynes, And Substitution Reactions of Acetylides
- Partial Reduction of Alkynes With Lindlar's Catalyst
- Partial Reduction of Alkynes With Na/NH3 To Obtain Trans Alkenes
- Alkyne Hydroboration With "R2BH"
- Hydration and Oxymercuration of Alkynes
- Hydrohalogenation of Alkynes
- Alkyne Halogenation: Bromination, Chlorination, and Iodination of Alkynes
- Alkyne Reactions - The "Concerted" Pathway
- Alkenes To Alkynes Via Halogenation And Elimination Reactions
- Alkynes Are A Blank Canvas
- Synthesis (5) - Reactions of Alkynes
- Alkyne Reactions Practice Problems With Answers
14 Alcohols, Epoxides and Ethers
- Alcohols - Nomenclature and Properties
- Alcohols Can Act As Acids Or Bases (And Why It Matters)
- Alcohols - Acidity and Basicity
- The Williamson Ether Synthesis
- Ethers From Alkenes, Tertiary Alkyl Halides and Alkoxymercuration
- Alcohols To Ethers via Acid Catalysis
- Cleavage Of Ethers With Acid
- Epoxides - The Outlier Of The Ether Family
- Opening of Epoxides With Acid
- Epoxide Ring Opening With Base
- Making Alkyl Halides From Alcohols
- Tosylates And Mesylates
- PBr3 and SOCl2
- Elimination Reactions of Alcohols
- Elimination of Alcohols To Alkenes With POCl3
- Alcohol Oxidation: "Strong" and "Weak" Oxidants
- Demystifying The Mechanisms of Alcohol Oxidations
- Protecting Groups For Alcohols
- Thiols And Thioethers
- Calculating the oxidation state of a carbon
- Oxidation and Reduction in Organic Chemistry
- Oxidation Ladders
- SOCl2 Mechanism For Alcohols To Alkyl Halides: SN2 versus SNi
- Alcohol Reactions Roadmap (PDF)
- Alcohol Reaction Practice Problems
- Epoxide Reaction Quizzes
- Oxidation and Reduction Practice Quizzes
15 Organometallics
- What's An Organometallic?
- Formation of Grignard and Organolithium Reagents
- Organometallics Are Strong Bases
- Reactions of Grignard Reagents
- Protecting Groups In Grignard Reactions
- Synthesis Problems Involving Grignard Reagents
- Grignard Reactions And Synthesis (2)
- Organocuprates (Gilman Reagents): How They're Made
- Gilman Reagents (Organocuprates): What They're Used For
- The Heck, Suzuki, and Olefin Metathesis Reactions (And Why They Don't Belong In Most Introductory Organic Chemistry Courses)
- Reaction Map: Reactions of Organometallics
- Grignard Practice Problems
16 Spectroscopy
- Degrees of Unsaturation (or IHD, Index of Hydrogen Deficiency)
- Conjugation And Color (+ How Bleach Works)
- Introduction To UV-Vis Spectroscopy
- UV-Vis Spectroscopy: Absorbance of Carbonyls
- UV-Vis Spectroscopy: Practice Questions
- Bond Vibrations, Infrared Spectroscopy, and the "Ball and Spring" Model
- Infrared Spectroscopy: A Quick Primer On Interpreting Spectra
- IR Spectroscopy: 4 Practice Problems
- 1H NMR: How Many Signals?
- Homotopic, Enantiotopic, Diastereotopic
- Diastereotopic Protons in 1H NMR Spectroscopy: Examples
- C13 NMR - How Many Signals
- Liquid Gold: Pheromones In Doe Urine
- Natural Product Isolation (1) - Extraction
- Natural Product Isolation (2) - Purification Techniques, An Overview
- Structure Determination Case Study: Deer Tarsal Gland Pheromone
17 Dienes and MO Theory
- What To Expect In Organic Chemistry 2
- Are these molecules conjugated?
- Conjugation And Resonance In Organic Chemistry
- Bonding And Antibonding Pi Orbitals
- Molecular Orbitals of The Allyl Cation, Allyl Radical, and Allyl Anion
- Pi Molecular Orbitals of Butadiene
- Reactions of Dienes: 1,2 and 1,4 Addition
- Thermodynamic and Kinetic Products
- More On 1,2 and 1,4 Additions To Dienes
- s-cis and s-trans
- The Diels-Alder Reaction
- Cyclic Dienes and Dienophiles in the Diels-Alder Reaction
- Stereochemistry of the Diels-Alder Reaction
- Exo vs Endo Products In The Diels Alder: How To Tell Them Apart
- HOMO and LUMO In the Diels Alder Reaction
- Why Are Endo vs Exo Products Favored in the Diels-Alder Reaction?
- Diels-Alder Reaction: Kinetic and Thermodynamic Control
- The Retro Diels-Alder Reaction
- The Intramolecular Diels Alder Reaction
- Regiochemistry In The Diels-Alder Reaction
- The Cope and Claisen Rearrangements
- Electrocyclic Reactions
- Electrocyclic Ring Opening And Closure (2) - Six (or Eight) Pi Electrons
- Diels Alder Practice Problems
- Molecular Orbital Theory Practice
18 Aromaticity
- Introduction To Aromaticity
- Rules For Aromaticity
- Huckel's Rule: What Does 4n+2 Mean?
- Aromatic, Non-Aromatic, or Antiaromatic? Some Practice Problems
- Antiaromatic Compounds and Antiaromaticity
- The Pi Molecular Orbitals of Benzene
- The Pi Molecular Orbitals of Cyclobutadiene
- Frost Circles
- Aromaticity Practice Quizzes
19 Reactions of Aromatic Molecules
- Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Introduction
- Activating and Deactivating Groups In Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
- Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution - The Mechanism
- Ortho-, Para- and Meta- Directors in Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
- Understanding Ortho, Para, and Meta Directors
- Why are halogens ortho- para- directors?
- Disubstituted Benzenes: The Strongest Electron-Donor "Wins"
- Electrophilic Aromatic Substitutions (1) - Halogenation of Benzene
- Electrophilic Aromatic Substitutions (2) - Nitration and Sulfonation
- EAS Reactions (3) - Friedel-Crafts Acylation and Friedel-Crafts Alkylation
- Intramolecular Friedel-Crafts Reactions
- Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution (NAS)
- Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution (2) - The Benzyne Mechanism
- Reactions on the "Benzylic" Carbon: Bromination And Oxidation
- The Wolff-Kishner, Clemmensen, And Other Carbonyl Reductions
- More Reactions on the Aromatic Sidechain: Reduction of Nitro Groups and the Baeyer Villiger
- Aromatic Synthesis (1) - "Order Of Operations"
- Synthesis of Benzene Derivatives (2) - Polarity Reversal
- Aromatic Synthesis (3) - Sulfonyl Blocking Groups
- Birch Reduction
- Synthesis (7): Reaction Map of Benzene and Related Aromatic Compounds
- Aromatic Reactions and Synthesis Practice
- Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution Practice Problems
20 Aldehydes and Ketones
- What's The Alpha Carbon In Carbonyl Compounds?
- Nucleophilic Addition To Carbonyls
- Aldehydes and Ketones: 14 Reactions With The Same Mechanism
- Sodium Borohydride (NaBH4) Reduction of Aldehydes and Ketones
- Grignard Reagents For Addition To Aldehydes and Ketones
- Wittig Reaction
- Hydrates, Hemiacetals, and Acetals
- Imines - Properties, Formation, Reactions, and Mechanisms
- All About Enamines
- Breaking Down Carbonyl Reaction Mechanisms: Reactions of Anionic Nucleophiles (Part 2)
- Aldehydes Ketones Reaction Practice
21 Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
- Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution (With Negatively Charged Nucleophiles)
- Addition-Elimination Mechanisms With Neutral Nucleophiles (Including Acid Catalysis)
- Basic Hydrolysis of Esters - Saponification
- Transesterification
- Proton Transfer
- Fischer Esterification - Carboxylic Acid to Ester Under Acidic Conditions
- Lithium Aluminum Hydride (LiAlH4) For Reduction of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
- LiAlH[Ot-Bu]3 For The Reduction of Acid Halides To Aldehydes
- Di-isobutyl Aluminum Hydride (DIBAL) For The Partial Reduction of Esters and Nitriles
- Amide Hydrolysis
- Thionyl Chloride (SOCl2)
- Diazomethane (CH2N2)
- Carbonyl Chemistry: Learn Six Mechanisms For the Price Of One
- Making Music With Mechanisms (PADPED)
- Carboxylic Acid Derivatives Practice Questions
22 Enols and Enolates
- Keto-Enol Tautomerism
- Enolates - Formation, Stability, and Simple Reactions
- Kinetic Versus Thermodynamic Enolates
- Aldol Addition and Condensation Reactions
- Reactions of Enols - Acid-Catalyzed Aldol, Halogenation, and Mannich Reactions
- Claisen Condensation and Dieckmann Condensation
- Decarboxylation
- The Malonic Ester and Acetoacetic Ester Synthesis
- The Michael Addition Reaction and Conjugate Addition
- The Robinson Annulation
- Haloform Reaction
- The Hell–Volhard–Zelinsky Reaction
- Enols and Enolates Practice Quizzes
23 Amines
- The Amide Functional Group: Properties, Synthesis, and Nomenclature
- Basicity of Amines And pKaH
- 5 Key Basicity Trends of Amines
- The Mesomeric Effect And Aromatic Amines
- Nucleophilicity of Amines
- Alkylation of Amines (Sucks!)
- Reductive Amination
- The Gabriel Synthesis
- Some Reactions of Azides
- The Hofmann Elimination
- The Hofmann and Curtius Rearrangements
- The Cope Elimination
- Protecting Groups for Amines - Carbamates
- The Strecker Synthesis of Amino Acids
- Introduction to Peptide Synthesis
- Reactions of Diazonium Salts: Sandmeyer and Related Reactions
- Amine Practice Questions
24 Carbohydrates
- D and L Notation For Sugars
- Pyranoses and Furanoses: Ring-Chain Tautomerism In Sugars
- What is Mutarotation?
- Reducing Sugars
- The Big Damn Post Of Carbohydrate-Related Chemistry Definitions
- The Haworth Projection
- Converting a Fischer Projection To A Haworth (And Vice Versa)
- Reactions of Sugars: Glycosylation and Protection
- The Ruff Degradation and Kiliani-Fischer Synthesis
- Isoelectric Points of Amino Acids (and How To Calculate Them)
- Carbohydrates Practice
- Amino Acid Quizzes
25 Fun and Miscellaneous
- A Gallery of Some Interesting Molecules From Nature
- Screw Organic Chemistry, I'm Just Going To Write About Cats
- On Cats, Part 1: Conformations and Configurations
- On Cats, Part 2: Cat Line Diagrams
- On Cats, Part 4: Enantiocats
- On Cats, Part 6: Stereocenters
- Organic Chemistry Is Shit
- The Organic Chemistry Behind "The Pill"
- Maybe they should call them, "Formal Wins" ?
- Why Do Organic Chemists Use Kilocalories?
- The Principle of Least Effort
- Organic Chemistry GIFS - Resonance Forms
- Reproducibility In Organic Chemistry
- What Holds The Nucleus Together?
- How Reactions Are Like Music
- Organic Chemistry and the New MCAT
26 Organic Chemistry Tips and Tricks
- Common Mistakes: Formal Charges Can Mislead
- Partial Charges Give Clues About Electron Flow
- Draw The Ugly Version First
- Organic Chemistry Study Tips: Learn the Trends
- The 8 Types of Arrows In Organic Chemistry, Explained
- Top 10 Skills To Master Before An Organic Chemistry 2 Final
- Common Mistakes with Carbonyls: Carboxylic Acids... Are Acids!
- Planning Organic Synthesis With "Reaction Maps"
- Alkene Addition Pattern #1: The "Carbocation Pathway"
- Alkene Addition Pattern #2: The "Three-Membered Ring" Pathway
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Great Idea indeed,seems you will need a lot of creativity to make it possible .Will try it out indeed.But there’s one thing i can’t register-How do you memorise speeches using this technique?I have anxiety issues, it’s really difficult for me to walk up to the podium.Will be glad if you share your invaluable secret to it.Thanks
its just awsome
Im now doing my entrance coaching and one of the main endless and difficult topic is organic chemistry.
I have just left it for later and focused on other. Now as exams are fast approaching im forced to cover it.
Now this changed my view of thinking.
I didnt know that memorising with visuals would create new limits.
Thanks for posting
I admire your pedagogic approach. Chemistry indeed can be funny (my boring teachers are comming to my mind).
to Arbab:
I assume this advice is implementable for another purposes. Suggest you visiting this site – https://assignmentgeek.com/chemistry.html. Maybe this is exactly what you are looking for.
But i don’t think it will work for a degree student come on i have 150 reactions to remember
How would it be possible to have such an imaginative power to transform reactions into pictures????
Impossible for me at least
Yup i also have 200+ rxns…not enough time i guess..
Thank you, sir, for the memorising technique. I wish i have you as my tutor.
Great tips for learning organic chemistry. It is difficult for students to learn symbols for chemistry so I think that students should try some new tricks to learn by symbols. I would like to suggest a link where students can get help for learning their chemistry subject http://www.selectmytutor.co.uk/subject-chemistry.html
I can’t thank you enough for reminding me about the importance of this concept, I remember first hearing about a “Mind Palace” in Sherlock but did not think it was an easy, possible thing you could construct. I now use 3 different memory palaces to remember all kinds of different loci on the same journey. This will definitely help a lot in life, even in learning organic chemistry! Thanks again
This is fantastic article sharing tips for memorizing. I’m the founder of spellogram.com with the exact same mission to simplify remembering using mnemonics. The hardest part is building new mnemonics in everyday subjects and academic topics. But we are finding good success by sharing each other the mnemonics that you make.
I have my boards exam just after 2 months. I have prepared the inorganic and the physical chemistry part, but the more I want to understand organic, the more I get to nowhere. please help me out.. I don’t know how to have it done or where to begin
Hello I’m in the same situation as I have boards in 2 months
My teacher thought me a technique of studying organic chemistry
It’s like giving time of 30 minutes daily (as we need to keep in touch with the subject so We don’t forget )to memorize reactions of the syllabus chapter wise for example
In day 1 I learn 2 general reactions of preparation of alcohols along with 10 examples each
In day 2 repeat the general reactions of day 1 with any 1 example and proceed for 2 new reactions with 10 examples each
In day 3 repeat day 1 and 2 general reactions with examples and go for 2 more new reactions and so in for day 4..
I I tried and it really works
Hope I helped :)
This 162 page How to Develop a Good Memory For Names, Faces, and Facts will certainly help you in future try it its very detailed step wise process . Its worth keeping the copy of the PDF for yourself and it costs only $10 unlike others , I will put link below check it out – http://www.anphys.com/project/develop-good-memory-names-faces-facts/
These techniques are interesting, and the concepts were originally invented or at least first published by Harry Lorayne. I have been using his techniques for the last 30 or so years. I have used and further developed his techniques to tutor ochem, gen chem, genetics, microbiology, statistics, and for all the courses I took in medical school, graduate school, and, of course, to memorize a girl’s phone number when I am in a bar. I really recommend you look up Harry, tell him I said hi, or just contact me through my website. I have an entire study skills e book called “Conquer Your Classes” ready to go and stocked full with science memory tricks.
uhhh, i think this pre-dates that Harry Lorayne dude by a few millennia… it was discussed by Cicero
Can I try out the ebook u mentioned? Where would I find it?
i want to connect with you
Thank you so much for the post, as always!
From the e-mail: “Two or three years ago I decided I wanted to learn all the constellations along with the names of their brightest stars. Nerdy? You bet. ” Sounds like something I tried to do, so great to know these tips.
Thank you, Hussain for agreeing to the Q&A. (Memrise site was awesome to learn Chinese characters for me.)