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OrgoCards: Organic Chemistry Review
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Our Price: $21.99 Prices subject to change.
Customer Reviews
Rating:  - Maybe for review later, but not for studying
As a Biochemistry graduate who took Organic Chemistry and went on to TA it for two years, I found these to be unhelpful in the process. The material was structured somewhat sensibly, but in a order very different from our textbook. This made using them more work than it was worth, as our in book chapter summaries were far more useful. These have sat on the shelf and collected dust for years and I don't foresee them ever becoming useful. On a side note - they have a horrendous chemical smell from something in the production process.
If you're looking for something to help you succeed in O-Chem, buy a Molecular Model kit or a Study/ Solution guide for your textbook. These will actually be helpful, while these study cards will likely be of little use in conjunction with a course.
Rating:  - What a colossal waste of money!
These cards don't help at all. They are basically just an abridged text book (paragraphs and all) printed on 200+ separate cards. In fact, my textbook has more useful summarization tables, examples and diagrams. Furthermore the cards themselves are bulky and cumbersome to hold. If I hadn't taken the plastic off, I would take them back.
Rating:  - Little of Everything
They have a little bit of everything, pointing out things I might forget. If I sneak peaks in class I can ask clearer questions.
They supplement notes prepping for exams, and quick reference doing homework.
Rating: - OK If you have the time
Not an awful idea, but customizing these cards for my organic class was a little more than time consuming. I also think it would be more beneficial to make my own. However, as a review, this item is awesome! Great for the GMAT, GRE, or any other graduate level exam.
Rating: - Seems nice, but pretty complex
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.
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