The Nuts and Bolts of Organic Chemistry: A Student's Guide to Success

by Joel Karty

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Product Description

The Nuts and Bolts of Organic Chemistry will help readers change their learning habits so they can master the Organic Chemistry course. This text is designed for readers to use early in the course before they dive too far into a traditional textbook. It prepares readers to think about and use the fundamental concepts; it develops in readers the right mindset for learning organic chemistry. This brief book shows readers that understanding fundamental concepts is absolutely essential for success, and helps them develop a good feel for how to apply those concepts to many different situations. The text helps convince readers that brute memorization is not the right way to approach the course; instead, they should master fundamental concepts and important reaction mechanisms. By following the same philosophy as those who write the MCAT exams, Karty focuses on improving readers’ thinking ability and powers of logical deduction. KEY TOPICS: Why do most students struggle in Organic Chemistry?, Lewis dot structures and the chemical bond, Molecular geometry and dipole moments, Isomerism, Charge Stability — Charge is bad!, Reaction Mechanisms — electron rich to electron poor, Intermolecular forces, Sn1/Sn2/E1/E2 Reactions: The whole story. For all readers interested in understanding the fundamentals of organic chemistry.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4 out of 5 stars

Lucid writing makes for better learning., 2008-08-06
This is a nice, compact companion to your year-long O chem course. I wouldn't rely solely on this book for a comprehensive outline of reactions. It's a well-written book that clarifies a lot of misunderstandings students might have and encourages you to really embrace the subject rather than memorize. When I first read this book, I thought it was clearer than my larger textbook. When asked to predict products of reactions I thought I'd never seen, I recalled a lot of the fundamental principles emphasized over and over in Karty and let out a sigh of relief. I recommend this product to anyone wanting to overcome their fear of Ochem.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Completely Fantastic, 2007-11-17
This is hands down the BEST supplemental text I have purchased for any class, let alone OCHEM. It's because of this book that I did well in Organic Chem I, am doing well in Organic Lab, and expect to do well in Organic Chem II.

If you get this book and really study it - preferably before the semester starts - it will boost your grade by a full letter. Obviously you have to go to lecture, study the textbook, and attend discussion. It's OCHEM after all. This book won't substitute for the class; none can. But if you add this book to your arsenal you can definitely do well in Organic.

Nuts & Bolts will show you how to look at OCHEM in a really conceptual way that will make the entire class less difficult. I actually enjoyed OCHEM after using this book. It can be a neat class and Nuts & Bolts can help with that.

Remember - it's all about the nucleophiles and electrophiles! You can nail OCHEM with this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4 out of 5 stars

Great pre-organic book!, 2007-10-18
This book is a good starting point for organic chemistry. It will give you the right way of organic thinking. However,it is not good for exams. You should have it and read it before you orgo class.

4 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2 out of 5 stars

Very disappointed, 2007-09-05

This book has obviously been of tremendous help to many readers, but I found myself becoming more confused about Organic Chemistry than when I started reading. I felt overwhelmed by a great deal of information that didn't seem to tie back to the Org class I'm currently taking. Perhaps my learning style is just different from others who posted. Or maybe this is a book that should be read over the summer ahead of the school year, when there's plenty of time to reread sections that the student doesn't understand on the first pass.

With a full-blown headache, I'm packing this book up and returning it.
The only reason that I didn't go with one star is that Dr. Karty writes well, which is always appreciated.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Prepare or Review, 2007-08-18
Great for any chemistry student to review gen chem and prepare for Organic. Covers an understanding of operating mechanisms in place of memorizing loads of information. A key to chemistry success.

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