Day 41

I've got some more relevant problem sets now. In fact, the professor posted four problem sets for the class to try out. Two of them were aldehyde and ketone reactions, and two were reaction problems (where they give you the reactant, and a bunch of reagents and you have to predict what the product will be).

Today, my goal is to complete all four problem sets, and then hopefully by tomorrow write last year's midterm to gauge where my preparation stands. I'm going to look over that midterm and pinpoint what my weak points are and spend the weekend refining them. I should be ready by Monday.

For everyone reading this, especially if you've decided to write the July 4th midterm, there is no reason for you not to do every single problem set on my dropbox, for concept covered up to Chapter 25.

I promise you, that if you do every one of those problem sets (just one a day up to July 4th), and actually write the sample midterm as if it was the real thing - you'll raise your actual grade by 10%. I can almost guarantee this.

If you don't feel ready enough to tackle the problem sets, and you know what topics you struggle with, look to the right hand side of this webpage! 

I've uploaded the aforementioned four problem sets to my dropbox in the file "MTWT Problem Sets", which can be accessed here. Enjoy, and good luck! I'll keep posting with my progression.
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Update: Just finished the four problem sets posted online today. There were definitely a few gaps in my understanding, but I think I did a good job in closing those gaps.

What did I learn from the four problem sets?:

1. In the case of enones, soft nucleophiles will attack the C=C bond, and hard nucleophiles will simply attack the C=O directly. If you're confused about what an enone is, take a look at conjugate addition in the sidebar. 
2. The Wittig Reagent, usually CH2PPh3... I highly recommend you take a look at the mechanism and structure on google images - it may surprise you, since it's really unconventional. Once you've got that down, you're absolutely good to go every time you see CH2PPh3, or any alkane with PPh3 stuck to it. 
3. Sodium Hydride (NaH) is usually used to perform basic reactions. On the other hand, the hydride from LiAlH4 or NaBH4 is conventionally used as a nucleophile to attack the C=O bond in a carbonyl. Odd. Apparently it has something to do with orbitals (as it always does).

Obviously there is a lot more involved in the questions, but what I've listed above are some of the new things I discovered!