Chemistry site of the week

One of the issues that is constantly arising is how a student should draw chemical structures on homework and lab assignments. For this, I recommend organic chemistry drawing software for several reasons.  First, your structures will be cleaner and look better.  Second, some of the programs will actually tell you if you have violated the laws of nature and created a compound that will destroy us all (see previous post on organic chemistry rules of bonding). 

To this end, I recommend the following site: organic chemistry drawing software.  It is free to download and will not only improve the looks of your papers, but could help you with the concepts too.

Always, sometime, never.

Disclaimer:  This posting applies to Undergraduate organic chemistry.  This does NOT apply to crazy physicists who create all sorts of insanity in a laboratory that cannot exist outside a xenon forcefield.   

I am going to give some organic chemistry advice that I like to refer to as:

 ”ALWAYS, Sometimes, NEVER.”

ALWAYS/NEVER:

  – Hydrogen ALWAYS has only one bond to it.

  – Carbon NEVER has more thank four bonds.

  – Alkaline metals (Li, Na, ect) and alkali earth metals (Be, Mg, Ca, ect) can NEVER be negatively charged.

  – Noble gases are NEVER a part of any organic molcule.

  - Electrons ALWAYS flow from negative to positive.

  – Arrows ALWAYS point from negative to positive.

Sometimes:

  – Carbon can have 4 bonds (neutral), 3 bonds (positive, negative), or even 2 bonds (carbene)

  – Halogens USUALLY have one bond, but can occassionally have two.

  – Nitrogen usually has 3 bonds (neutral), 4 bonds (positive) or 2 bonds (negative)

  – Oxygen usually has 2 bonds, but can have only 1 bond (negative) or 3 bonds (positive)

  – Phosphorous is USUALLY an oxophile, meaning if it can react with oxygen, it will.

More organic chemistry help can always be found on the web too.

Is a graduate degree in organic chemistry right for you?

 Part 1:  Applying to schools

So you are thinking about a graduate degree in chemistry?  There are endless opportunities in the field of the physical sciences, and chemistry is one of the biggest players in that field.  With a job in the chemistry, you can help humanity, have a stable, well-paying job, and be challenged mentally everyday.  In this three-part series, we will address what is entailed in applying to science programs obtaining a graduate degree, and what type of job prospects you will be looking at once you are finished. 

Applying and choosing a graduate school.

 

Before analysis can begin, we need to assume that you are majoring in some form of a physical science; this can include physics, biology, chemistry, or biochemistry.  The obvious statement to be made here is that good grades are essential.  One should not shy away from tutoring, if needed.  We recommend a graduate TA at your school or Organic Chemistry Help. In addition to good grades, undergraduate research experience is a huge plus.

 

Once you enter your senior year, you should consider taking the GRE exam.  While all graduate programs in chemistry do not require this, if you are a good test taker, it can only help you in the application process.  Another benefit is that if you do not score as well as you would have liked, you can just choose not to send your scores to the schools. 

In October or November of your senior year, you should start sending out applications to schools you are interested in.  All will require letters of recommendation, one of which should be from your undergraduate faculty advisor.  If you do not know this professor well, it is a good reason to get to know them before the day you ask for that letter. 

If your grades, letters, and/or undergraduate research make you an attractive candidate, then the interesting part begins:  recruiting trips.  Yes, I said it.  Just like a McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball player, you will be flown to almost all schools that accepted you and “wined and dined” for the weekend, with all expenses paid for by the university.  Most schools plan these weekends for Feb-Apr of your senior year and are a great way to see the graduate school you are considering, meet other prospective students and hear about the research that the faculty is doing.  While you should think of these weekends as a mutual interview, be sure to have fun too.  However, here are some questions it might be useful to have answered:

 

1.  What % of students are on RA (research assistant fellowship) by their third year?

2. Will my funding be yanked should I need longer than 5 years to complete the program?

3.  What is your % of international students in the program?  (This is not a racist question.)

4. What % of students obtain a PhD?  MS?

5. What is the average length of time to complete the program?

6. To Professors:  Would you consider yourself “hands-on” or a “hands-off” professor?

7. To Professors: What is your main source of funding?

8. To Professors: May I see some of your recent publications?

9. To Professors: Have you ever denied a student a PhD?

 Once you have seen several schools, you will be more comfortable choosing one.  In our next installment of this series, we will discuss the hurdles one must jump before obtaining an advanced degree in chemistry.