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Organic Chemistry Syllabus Companion

Topics List
July 29, 2015 By Leah4sci 13 Comments

Knee deep in Orgo topics? Looking to replace

boring, sterile, formal reading with step-by-step Videos and colorful Tutorials? Use the guide
below to quickly find everything you need.

Match up your professor’s Organic Chemistry syllabus to

my Orgo Tutorials, Videos, Cheat Sheets, and Practice
Quizzes!
Start PRE-LEARNING as much as you can.

This will help you avoid becoming overwhelmed or falling behind throughout the semester.

And the best part is, I’m not sending you to your boring textbook. I’ve linked each topic to
my Videos, colorful Study Guides, and Cheat Sheets (where possible) to make it more
enjoyable and easier to understand.

How To Use This Guide:

 Compare your Organic Chemistry textbook or professor’s course
syllabus to this list. Find the topics below that correspond to your chapters. Start studying
accordingly. Click on any of the hyperlinked material to watch my tutorial videos on the

topic.

Don’t have a syllabus? The videos are listed in ‘typical order’ allowing you to start from the
beginning.
Expectations & Preparation:

 Watch “How to Prepare for Upcoming Semester” or

 Read: Organic Chemistry Preview Guide: What to Pre-Study for the Upcoming
Semester
Follow this Scheduling Guide to create a balanced schedule for studying for orgo, other
classes, work, family, personal time, and life!

Students IN or Prepping For Organic

Chemistry 1:
Gen Chem Review
Rebuild your General Chemistry Foundation with the following key concepts required for
Organic chemistry including:
Atomic particles/structure, Periodic Table Trends, Atomic Orbitals, Electron
Configuration, Lewis-Dot Diagram

Orgo Basics
 Remaster these potentially ‘skipped’ Chem Foundation Orgo Basics Series including:
Ionic/Polar/Covalent Bonding, sp3/sp2/sp Hybridization and Geometry, Formal
Charge, Lewis Structures, Intro to Resonance
 Learn How to Draw Skeletal Structures (typically not explained well by professors,
but VERY important)
 Own Resonance with this Resonance Detailed Video Tutorial Series
Organic Molecules – Structure & Naming
 Learn How to Use your Organic Chemistry Model Kit
 Constitutional Isomers, Cis/Trans & E/Z Written Tutorial!
 Functional Groups: Video, Cheat Sheet, & Practice Quiz
 IUPAC Nomenclature 21-Video Series, My article on MasterOrganicChemistry.com
Acids & Bases
 Acids and Bases Video series – Cheat Sheet
Molecular Analysis & Stereochemistry
 Newman Projections and Chair Conformations
 Chirality, Stereochemistry, Fischer Projections
Reactions & Mechanisms
 Pre-Reaction Mechanism Requirement: Electron Pushing Arrows and Carbocation
Stability
 Alkene reaction and Mechanisms including Markovnikov’s Rule- Overview Cheat
Sheet and Alkene Practice Quiz
 Alkyne reaction and mechanisms – Overview Cheat Sheet
Synthesis & Retrosynthesis
 Synthesis and Retrosynthesis – Orgo 1 Reaction Map
 Sample Organic Chemistry 2 Practice Final Exam
 How to ‘Memorize’ Orgo Reagents Workshop Replay!

Topics Taught In Orgo 1 OR Orgo

2(depending on the school)
 Spectroscopy including H-NMR, C-NMR, IR and Mass Spec
 Substitution and Elimination aka SN1 SN2 E1 E2 reactions – Overview Cheat Sheet
 Organometallics
 Conjugated systems and the Diels Alder Reaction
 Aromaticity and EAS – Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution Reaction Mechanism
Videos and Cheat Sheet

Topics Typically Covered In Organic

Chemistry 2
 Alcohols /ethers/epoxides
 Redox = Oxidation and Reduction – Tutorial series + cheat sheet
 Aldehydes, Ketones, Carboxylic Acids and derivatives – cheat sheet
 Carbonyl reactions
 Acetal & Ketal Protecting Groups
 Enolates and reactions at the alpha carbon including Aldol, Claisen, Michael, Malonic
and acetoacetic ester
 Amines
 Organic Chemistry 2 Practice Final Exam

Topics That Can Be Covered In Organic

Chemistry 2 Or Biochemistry
 Carbohydrates including Fischer Projections
 Lipids
 Amino Acids and Proteins
 Nucleic Acids
 Polymers