🧠 Is Organic Chemistry Hard? (Spoiler: Kinda)

Organic chemistry is often perceived as one of the most challenging subjects for students. Unfortunately, this creates a lot of anxiety and misconceptions about its complexity and requirements, particularly for students in adjacent fields like medicine, pharmacy or biology.

But why the bad reputation?

1. Concepts: Yes, organic chemistry is complex! After all, it deals with the literal wizardry of transforming living matter. The complexity (and bad teaching) can make many students feel overwhelmed – amplified by cumulative learning: missing foundational concepts makes it difficult to understand advanced ones.
2. Representation: Organic chemistry requires abstract thinking and relies on molecular drawings that are often not intuitive or tangible. After all, we are drawing 3D things on 2D paper. Fischer projections anyone?! (I hated these)
   (how to change: look at 3D model, simulate it online, practice practice)
3. Process: Teachers rush through content without explaining it properly, leading students to fall behind completely and/or rely on memorization to stay afloat (how to change: try to maximize the support at your uni with open doors, ask more senior students – if no support environment, look online and try to understand the why, write as many things out as you can to build your mental muscle…)

But do not despair – organic chemistry can be more accessible than you might think. Here are some ways to help you address these issues.

These tips are not some crazy 200 IQ approaches, but they require putting in the work – thoughtfully. It’s like getting fit: it’s relatively obvious what you need to do (eat healthy, work out, sleep…), but the challenging part is doing it!

1. Organic Chemistry Concepts

Build the foundation: Whatever level of class you are taking, first go back to your older materials. For introductory organic chemistry lectures this means understanding basic models like the atomic model (electrons, protons, neutrons) and orbitals and hybridization (if relevant in your class). Why do molecules inherently repel each other, and why do reactions occur nevertheless? What is a chemical reaction? Then, revisit concepts like electronegativity, nucleophilicity and electrophilicity (link), …
I might work on a full list of concepts in future.

Understand the functional groups (link): Learn the structures of the most common functional groups in organic chemistry. Sorry, but there is some memorization involved. It’s just like learning a new language: you need to memorize at least new words! For this, you have to understand what a skeletal formula is, and how it differs to normal molecular drawings (next section).
Again, I will go into more details in future but here are two easy exercises:
=> Get a list of the 15-20 most common functional groups and draw their structures in skeletal formulas. Can’t remember a particular one, like the nitro group and its partial charges? Well, simply draw it 5 times for 2-3 days. You will know all of them in no time.
Then, look at them and think about their similarities: For example, a thiol group is like a hydroxyl group (or an alcohol), just that the oxygen is replaced by sulfur which is in the same “group” in the periodic system. An ester is similar to a tertiary amide, just that the -OR group bound to the central carbonyl carbon is replaced by a -NR2 group. Tertiary amides are similar to secondary and primary amides, just that the number of alkyl rests versus hydrogens bound to nitrogen differ.
=> Google “pharmaceuticals” and check out their structures on Google images. Pick a random pharmaceutical – what functional groups can you identify? Which groups are ones you do not know yet? Do they look similar to any which you know already?

Work your way up the complexity of reactions:
😔 The bad news : There are a literal TON of reactions in organic chemistry.
😊 The good news: Thankfully, you don’t have to know all of them, and many of them share the same logic and concepts. Here you should again start easy and build up.
=> Before trying to understand SN1 reactions or more difficult name reactions, first review acid-base reactions and oxidations/reductions. Then, get into additions. Then, substitutions and eliminations (SN2 and E2 first because they are just one step – then, SN1 and E1). After these, you can start to look at name reactions and complex transformations. For example, if you have are discussing electrophilic aromatic substitutions in class, you need to know how much simpler additions and substitutions work!

Focus on conceptual understanding: It’s normal to memorize things at the start, but really strive to understand the “why” behind reactions and mechanisms. For example: Why does a molecule X react in a substitution – where is its nucleophilic group? Why is the reagent Y an oxidant – which atom has a high oxidation number and gets reduced? Why does the reaction occur regioselectively at this position of the aromatic ring – are there electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituents somewhere?

Create mind maps: Look at all the reactions you have studies in your class, and try to connect them based on their similarities. Or, connect different concepts: resonance impacts many other factors like acidity of a molecule. How? Electronegativity impacts intermolecular forces like hydrogen bonds and dipole effects. How? Diastereoisomerism impacts melting and boiling points. Why

Create analogies: Whenever you find a concept confusing or can’t remember it, create an analogy. For example, nucleophiles and electrophiles can correspond to rich and broke people, respectively. Electrophiles would like to borrow the electrons of the nucleophiles, creating a strong attraction. The process of the rich lending money to the poor is the nucleophile giving its electrons to the electrophile.

2. Representation

Master skeletal formulas: Organic chemistry relies on skeletal formulas which omit the explicit indication of carbon and most hydrogen atoms. Remember, each “bend” or end of a line represents a carbon atom, and hydrogen atoms are implied to fill the carbon’s required bonds.

Change your perspective: Molecules can be represented in various ways: Lewis structures, skeletal structures, Newman projections, Fischer projections… Each emphasizes different aspects of a molecule (e.g., stereochemistry). Practice switching between them to strengthen your spatial awareness.
=> Practice converting between full structures and skeletal formulas until it’s your second nature. Make sure you understand where electron pairs are present!
=> Convert between Newman projections and skeletal formulas. Are your Fischer projections your enemy? Well, go and solve literally 20 different problems. You will get the hang of it.

Use molecular models to visualize stereochemistry: Stereochemistry is a tricky topic because because it involves 3D thinking. Physical or digital 3D models of molecules can help you see how atoms are arranged in space.
=> Use online resources like MolView to visualize molecules. Struggling with chirality, enantiomers, and diastereomers? Go to town on the visualization. Rotate, inspect and understand the structures! If you have an university ChemDraw license, use Chem3D!

Practice electron pushing: Organic reactions are governed by electron movement. Curved arrows indicate this electron flow. Whenever you’re learning a new reaction, focus on understanding the arrows, which show how bonds are made and broken. If you can follow the electrons, you’ll have a better grasp on the mechanics of reactions. The same applies to resonance. Pick any molecule of your choice and draw all the different resonance structures. Why resonance structure is the most stable? How does resonance impact the reactivity of the molecule?

Color code drawings for clarity: Use different colors if that helps you. For example, always use red to indicate movement of electrons. Does the reaction involve partial charges? Color code them!

“Play chess” – think several moves ahead: At the beginning, you should write out every single step in a reaction. Once you are at the intermediate level (when you get to practicing retrosynthesis), try visualizing several transformations at once. How would my final product look like if I oxidize the alcohol in the molecule to the aldehyde and perform a Wittig reaction?

3. How to learn organic chemistry

Stay consistent with daily practice: We’ve all been guilty of cramming at some point. However, organic chemistry is best learned through regular practice. Even if you only have 15 minutes, do something related to the course every day—whether it’s reviewing notes, drawing mechanisms, or solving practice problems. The more often you engage with the material, the more familiar it becomes.
=> Every day, read about one new molecule of your choice. Think drugs against neurodegeneration are cool? Research the structures of Alzheimer’s drugs. What are their functional groups? How are they synthesized? Maybe you are into doing sports? Look at the different types of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs that there are! (Do NOT take them, just read about them…)

Activate your little brain cells: Look, we all are guilty of passively consuming information and entertainment. But instead of just reading textbooks or watching videos, actively engage with the content. Draw out mechanisms as you learn them, explain concepts in your own words, or quiz yourself on reaction types and mechanisms. Basically, anything you are not writing down or creating yourself, you will probably not remember!

Test yourself with practice problems: Organic chemistry is problem-solving heavy, so doing lots of practice problems is essential. Don’t be discouraged by mistakes or getting stuck – this is part of the learning process. The rate-limiting step (see what I did there?) might be how many good problems you can find – you know, ones with proper explanations. The quality of your problems will depend on your luck and teacher.
I’m working on a problem book for chemistry myself – but yeah, go to town on Google and YouTube.

Emphasize understanding over memorization: I mentioned this one already – but given we are talking about the learning process here, I wanted to reiterate.

Create your own study materials: Summarize concepts, reactions, and mechanisms in your own words. Create summary sheets, mind maps (see above), or flashcards tailored to your learning style. Experiment and see what works for you! For the things that you will need to memorize (e.g., functional groups, pKa values, named reactions…), you should have a clear approach.

Team up: Organic chemistry is almost always more manageable when tackled with peers. Explain concepts to each other, discuss exercises together, and discuss tricky mechanisms. Your classmates are ahead of you? Great, you can suck out their insights and ask questions. You are ahead of your classmates? Great, help them and in doing so, you will further elevate your capabilities. Are you in university and not against earning an extra buck? Tutor students that are 1-2 years below your level.

Use office hours and ask for help early: If something doesn’t make sense, ask for help right away. Afraid of looking like a moron? Well, the odds are at least half of your class is feeling like morons as well, so don’t feel bad! Visit your professor or teaching assistant during office hours to clarify any misunderstandings. Addressing confusion early prevents small gaps in knowledge from turning into major issues later.

Use multiple resources: Don’t rely solely on one textbook or lecture notes. Different resources may explain the same concept in slightly different ways, and sometimes a different perspective makes things click. Use videos, alternative textbooks, online platforms, and forums to diversify your learning. No access to textbooks? Go to town on LibGen (google it).

Prioritize your effort: As mentioned, building the foundation is key. But once you get into intermediate territory, there are SO many things you could theoretically read about. In the best case, your textbook and/or teacher might have clear objectives or checklists of topics to know. Assess on what you need to work on most, and then go hard.

Is Organic Chemistry Hard?

So, is organic chemistry hard? Honestly – yes, it’s hard.

Is it as hard or terrifying as people make it out to be? No, not really. The great thing is that at some point, every new concept or reaction will be based on something you know already. After enough effort, there will be almost no cases where you really have absolutely no clue of how to approach a problem.

Is it the hardest subject you will study? Maybe, maybe not. Depending on your area of focus, it might come least naturally to you, versus other subjects. If you dislike chemistry and math, physical chemistry will haunt you even more.

To end on a positive: I loved organic chemistry more than any other subject but even I had been struggling with it initially.
Resonance? Confusing as hell. Fischer projections? I couldn’t draw a single one correctly. The abbreviation of -Me for a methyl group (-CH3)? I thought it stood for “a generic metal” (lol).
I asked A LOT of stupid “questions” (or in many cases did not ask them, which slowed down my progress). What had been a guessing game and brain-dead memorization, became almost second nature.

Whatever your journey in organic chemistry, I hope you can figure out how to make it a bit more bearable and more successful – however you define it: just passing, improving your grade, or really going beyond the class and mastering it.

I’m working on materials to help students unlock and practice organic chemistry. So if you are just getting started, stay tuned!