Customer Reviews

Orgocards: Organic Chemistry Review

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The main problem with OrgoCards is that it is not really a set of two sided flash cards. It is simply a shortened text book in card form. The cards are not 3 X 5 index cards and they contain a lot of information on them, much of which is not really necessary. You are better off making your own flashcards.

These Orgocards were extremely useful not only while studying for my organic chemistry course but especially for the MCAT.

I tried making my own flashcards but I found them immediately obsolete after I got Orgocards which contain the critical information in a very understandable and easy to read format. They were also really a critical part of my studying for the bio section of the MCAT since a lot of the detailed info from o-chem had become a bit fuzzy by that point.

A definite must buy.

I used it for studying the o-chem portion of the MCAT this summer. These cards are fantastic, full of details and great summaries and figures. It is too bad that it was not available a year ago when I was studying for the course. Highly recommended!

These cards are overkill, they are simply too extensive. The majority of people buying this product will be applying to medical school or studying for organic chemistry. The problem is that there is much more information than is required on either the MCAT or the big ACS (American Chemical Society) test that is usually used as the Organic Chem 2 final exam.

These cards are not useful as flashcards to review reactions or mechanisms because of their size (twice the size of a normal notecard) and (again) the massive amount of information they have. Bacially, this product is like a textbook in notecard form. This sounds like a good idea, but in practice there is simply too much material to make them a worthwhile review. You're better off using the much more simplistic notecards most people typcially make for organic chemistry.

I bought this under the impression that they were like flash cards that I would make for an exam... containing general ideas, and in the case of organic chemistry, containing example mechanisms. The cards do this, but they also try to do much more.

I found the cards very hard to use for quick studying. Research has shown one of the best ways you retain information is by studying something for a short amount of time (say 15-20 minutes) and then taking a break in between (like a 10 minute break). The cards, to me, seemed unusable if this is how you study, or if you want to quckly review before an exam. They contain far to much information to be useful for quick studying or review. Frankly, I felt like I was reading my text book on individual cards instead of on big pages of paper.

My other big complaint is that the cards are not numbered... there's a "table of contents" card that tells you where each subject (or each kind of mechanism) can be found, but I was expecting there to be an overall numbering system (like card #1, #2 ect.), but no such system exists. As such, it's hard to keep track of which cards go in what order.

Since I've bought this I haven't used it once, save for trying to use it and getting frustrated with the complexity. Being in-depth is not a bad thing, but that's what my text book is for... I want flash cards to be simpler. In the end I've ended up making my own flash cards, just as I've always done.

Overall, they contain a lot of good information, it's just that it's presented in the same way as a text book. Indeed, I thought the cards were harder to use than a text book, because in a text book there's a glossary and index of terms, so if you're looking for something specific it's much easier to find. Couple this with the fact that the cards don't contain much info on IR, NMR, or Mass spectroscopy, and you have you're 2 star rating.

If you can't afford to haul a big text book around, these might be useful to you. They do cover the stuff you need to know. For anyone else, I don't think it's worth it. Besides, if you make your own flash cards to study with, you learn the information even better. So just stick with that.

It appears that some other reviews claim that the cards are great for studying for MCATs, and I could see how this could be true. But if your need is a supplement to your text book and lecture, just make your own note cards.

The portable cards which constitute this 'book' are well-designed. They will assist any student who is taking undergraduate organic chemistry course prepare for revisions. Although that they lacked details in some respects, their coverage did embrace wide areas.
They are particularly useful in learning about the various nomenclature, as well as the physical and chemical properties of a functional group in a given homologous series.
"OrgoCards" impressed me with the way it handled those nucleophilic substitution reactions that members of Carbonyl group undergo. Despite its haphazard lessons on Acylation, its efforts on Alcohols, Aldehydes, Ketones, Esters, and Carboxylic acids are quite commendable.
This "OrgoCards: Organic Chemistry Review" should be seen either as a textbook complement, or a notebook alternative. I will suggest that you consider buying it if your lecturer is the type that is not enthusiastic about giving class-notes.

These cards are very useful and convenient for memorizing, and are carefully edited to include only the important reactions. I especially love that they draw out each reaction's mechanism. They have more details than what flash cards are supposed to have, but I find that most of the details are important and must be remembered (e.g. syn- or anti-; E1 or E2). Your own flash cards may easily miss out those important details.

The orgo card is for reviewing fundamental org chem, NOT a flash card to challenge your memory. The details are sufficient. Explanations are efficient. There's some comparative notes which are refreshing and good for coonecting the dots. Content is chem of functional classes and rxns and mech. Highly recommended for reviewing purpose.

There's some errors, is it typo or testing the reader's understanding of the subject?

I purchased these cards hoping to improve my understanding and also to use them for reviewing before tests in my organic chem 2 class. The cards were not useful for either task. If you don't already understand the material from class the cards won't help clarify material. In addition, many of the reactions were not even covered by my instructor, particularly in the aldehyde/ketone section of the cards. This could confuse the heck out of someone. These cards might help you review but won't help you learn or understand.

Don't listen to the horrible reviews given by people complaining that these cards are "too extensive." The reason these cards are excellent is that they review every important detail of every important reaction you'll encounter in orgo chem. The cards cover both semesters of orgo and integrates the topics very well. My only gripe is that it doesn't cover Diels-Alder reactions for some odd reason. I used these cards to self teach orgo while using LG Wade's orgo chem book (this book is fantastic and teaches you orgo step by step like a child). Flipping through these cards has really helped me visualize the reactions and integrate all the reactions.