Organic Chemistry I For Dummies (Paperback)

by Arthur Winter (Author) "Regrettably, when many people think of chemicals, the first things that usually pop into their minds are substances of a disagreeable nature - harmful pesticides..." (more)
Key Phrases: seeing double, meta addition, alternative resonance structure, Going Organic, Periodic Table, The Chemistry of Carbon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A plain-English guide to one of the toughest science courses around
Organic chemistry is rated among the most difficult courses that students take and is frequently the cause of washout among pre-med, medical, and nursing students. This book is an easy-to-understand and fun reference to this challenging subject. It explains the principles of organic chemistry in simple terms and includes worked-out problems to help readers get up to speed on the basics.

From the Back Cover
Packed with tips, tricks, and techniques to build your skills

The fun and easy way® to understand organic chemistry

Challenged by organic chemistry? Don't panic! This fun, easy-to-understand guide explains the basic principles in simple terms, providing insight into the language of organic chemists, the major classes of compounds, and top trouble spots. You'll also get the nuts and bolts of tackling problems, from knowing where to start to spotting sneaky tricks that professors like to incorporate.

Discover how to

• Decipher "organic speak"
• Determine the structure of molecules
• Understand chemical reactions
• Develop a strategy for solving problems
• Prepare for exams

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Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (July 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764569023
• ISBN-13: 978-0764569029
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,231 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good ADJUNCT to Orgo, November 17, 2005

By	Benjamin Britton "~BB" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

*****Updated July 2007*************
This text exceded my expectations. I had an Organic Chemistry class that focused on, and taught from, a Physical Chemistry prospective. Great if you've already taked Organic I and II, horrible if you're starting in Organic I.

This text covers the Reactions covered in most traditional organic courses, and also covers the Molecular Orbital Theories usually emphasised in P. Chem. It was more than helpful. :)

Just like Chemistry for Dummies, this text covers all of first semester Orgo 1, scratches the surface of the beginning of semester two, and thats it.

Of course, its not going to cover everything, or it would be a textbook, but it covers the 'need to know' topics, and explains them well.

This is a great adjunct to the text and course. To be honest, it really didn't make any sense until I had taken the course and learned what I was reading.

This has great information that your prof. may have left out, And/Or it usually has a different way of explaining something, which may help or enforce what you've already learned.

For example: The Diels Alder reactions... in my Orgo class, we had a 1/2 page section on it in our notes, did 1 'practice problem', and were told to, "make sure you know this for the test". This book definately saved me here, with a thourough explanation of how, why, what to do, etc. I fully understood the reaction (I read it before class , but none of it made any sence, but going to class turns on the 'light bulb' and reading it before class is a great way to make learning orgo I much easier).

There are a few other adjuncts out there that may help, the standard deviants 3 vhs set, "the deep fried world of organic chemistry" may be helpful.

Have fun in class.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great helper to this poor struggling organic chem student, November 15, 2005

By	ephany77 (Georgia) - See all my reviews

I discovered this book last week, and I only wish I had found it earlier in the term! The book is broken down into easy to understand sections and is written so that you can skip around to whatever chapter you need. The author explains the basic organic terms in the KISS method (keep it simple stupid) which is much less overwhelming than my textbook. He also approaches the subject matter with humor, and doesn't patronize.
I wouldn't say to use it instead of your textbook, but it's definitely a useful supplement. Too bad my instructor didn't have it on her 'recomended reading list' a few months ago when I was buying the necessary books for the class.
[...]

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, July 26, 2005

By	Simeon Burton - See all my reviews

An excellent book

I saved myself many hours by reading this book. This book cuts through all of the countless details that fill up my million-page organic chemistry book and gets right down to the stuff that you really need to know for a test. I learned more from this book than my $100 textbook. The writing is even very funny at times, but the humor never comes at the expense of providing information.

Thankfully, this book is very easy-to-read. The writer addresses the reader directly, and the language is both simple and clear. Our class had already covered a lot of the material before I bought this book, so reading through the whole thing took me only about a week. Still, after reading through this book, all the concepts that confused me initially really started to make sense. The concepts and the connections between the different reactions and ideas clicked. In any case, the problem-solving guides, particularly on nomenclature, resonance, and spectroscopy are worth the cost of this book alone. Once I had worked enough problems using them, I found myself miles ahead of the other students in class.

I think if you read the chapters in this book before going to your class, work a lot of problems in your textbook, you will do well.