Award-Winning Private Organic Chemistry Tutoring in Charlotte, NC

"Today we worked on material from chapter 3 in the student's text book. This chapter dealt mostly with physical properties, such as boiling point, as well as functional groups. For questions related to functional groups we used previously discussed concepts of unsaturation to determine structures. For boiling point we discussed the comparison of intermolecular forces between compounds. We came up with a systematic strategy for comparing the boiling points of two compounds. First, we determine which forces are present, then compare the strength of the forces. He was able to apply all concepts proficiently. "

"We covered Newman projections, line point notation for writing alkanes, formal charge, and resonance. Newman projection was the most difficult for the student today. The student felt more confident after our session."

"We had a general overview of NMR spectroscopy. The concepts included chemical environments, chemical shifts, and coupling. His textbook seems to be a little too focused on the spectroscopy theory, which would be more appropriate for an upper division physics class. He struggles with three dimensional structures. That will be something he needs to practice. It will be a crucial skill for chemistry, and for math and science classes in general."

"For our first session, we covered some of the fundamentals that carried over from general chemistry. For example, we looked at drawing out structures (except this time we did in line structure format as opposed to Lewis dot structure) and identifying formal charges on carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. She is a very capable student; after a few examples she was able to work through problems on her own with minimal guidance from me. Her biggest threat is feeling intimidated by the material - and feeling intimidated by chemistry in general - but I reassured her that organic chemistry will not be impossibly difficult, especially since she is seeking help early on in the semester. I suggested she work more through constitutional isomers and translating from Lewis dot structures to line structures. "

"The session focused more on the chapter 2 concepts and went over hybridization theory, LCAO, and went over pi and sigma orbitals in reactions. He had some difficulty understanding the orbital concepts but has a good understanding of bonds in general. He initially had trouble understanding anti orbitals and the energy associated with that but was able to get a better grasp of it at the end of session. Other recommended homework and reading have been assigned. "

"We did a general chemistry review, discussed electronegativity, inductive effects, briefly reviewed resonance structures, covered orbital hybridization in depth, discussed Lewis dot structures, constitutional isomers drawings, talked about line angle drawings, tips on doing well in the class, and common mistakes students make. "

"In our first session, we covered the experimental procedure for his melting point lab. We also covered questions on his problem set that included stoichiometric calculations (balancing equations, gram-to-mole conversions, and mole-to-mole conversions)."

"This was our first session. During this time we covered molecular orbital theory in depth, applying it to understand hybridization of single, double, and triple bonds in organic molecules. The student seemed to struggle most with understanding orbital shapes and how this affects interaction between orbitals, but she remained positive and attentive throughout the session. In order to reinforce concepts, I first explained hybridization of sp3 orbitals. When discussing sp2 hybridization, I gave the student more responsibility for explaining the theory. When discussing sp hybridization, the student was responsible for applying the previous principles and explaining the process without much tutor assistance. We then used a sample problem similar to her class format, answering questions about hybridization within the molecule using the concepts we had just discussed. I provided the student with more practice examples similar to the one we concluded with. "

"We covered the first 2 chapters concerning naming structures for cyclic/ acyclic alkanes, alkenes & alkynes and benzenes and exercises related to it through the homework database sampling provided by her professor. The student did a good job of grasping information along the way and scored an A overall on the homework. She has good study habits and I believe she will do well in the course. I gave some pointers for naming and identifying structures that could help her when she studies alone."

"We focused on reviewing lectures discussing molecular orbital theory and the underlying concepts behind it. She is a great student. We will continue on with HOMO/LUMO problems and some of the more complicated parts of hybridization. "