MIT 5.12: Organic Chemistry I
5.12 is MIT's first organic chemistry course — structure and bonding, stereochemistry, and the core reaction mechanisms of organic molecules. It's the gateway to the chemistry and chemical biology majors and a pre-med staple, with OCW versions providing notes and exams for self-learners.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with MIT. This is an unofficial study guide.
Build my 5.12 study planWhat makes it hard
Orgo at MIT carries the same fundamental challenge as everywhere — the subject is mechanistic reasoning, not memorization — compressed into MIT pacing. Students who build a mental library of electron-pushing patterns find the exams systematic; students who memorize reagent tables face an exponentially growing pile that collapses by the second exam.
What you'll cover
- • Bonding, hybridization, and resonance
- • Acids and bases in organic chemistry
- • Stereochemistry
- • Substitution and elimination reactions
- • Addition reactions of alkenes
- • Reaction mechanisms and arrow pushing
The 5.12 study guide
How to study for MIT 5.12, step by step.
- 1
Push every arrow yourself, from day one
Watching mechanisms feels like understanding; drawing them is understanding. Re-derive each lecture mechanism on blank paper the same day — electron flow has to live in your hand, not your notes.
- 2
Organize by mechanism family, not by reagent
Dozens of reactions reduce to a handful of mechanistic patterns. File each new reaction under its pattern and the pile stays manageable; file by reagent and it grows without bound.
- 3
Train stereochemistry as a spatial skill
Build or draw the molecules until R/S assignments and chirality reasoning are automatic. Flat memorization of 3D facts is the most common silent failure in orgo.
- 4
Do daily problems and autopsy every miss
Twenty minutes of mechanism problems daily, with each wrong answer traced back to why the electrons preferred the other path. The autopsy is where the pattern library gets built.
- 5
Build the pattern library with Fennie
Upload the 5.12 syllabus or OCW materials and Fennie's Daily Plan delivers daily mechanism practice organized by pattern family, with flashcards and quizzes generated from your actual course content. Free to start.
Start my 5.12 plan free
How Fennie helps with 5.12
Fennie's Daily Plans make 5.12 the daily mechanism practice orgo actually rewards, organized by pattern family rather than reagent lists. Chat through why electrons prefer one pathway over another, and drill flashcards built from your real lecture notes — in the order your course covers them.
FAQ
Is 5.12 hard?
It's a different kind of hard than MIT's math-based courses — pattern recognition and spatial reasoning over derivation. Daily arrow-pushing practice makes it systematic; memorization strategies collapse mid-term.
Do MIT pre-meds take 5.12?
Yes — 5.12 is the standard first organic chemistry course in pre-med pathways at MIT, typically followed by 5.13.
Can I self-study organic chemistry with 5.12 on OCW?
The OCW versions provide lecture notes, problems, and exams that outline the course well. Supplement with a mechanism-focused textbook and very high problem volume — orgo is learned by hand.
Pass 5.12 with a plan, not a cram
Upload your 5.12 materials and Fennie generates a Daily Plan paced to your deadline — plus chat, flashcards, and quizzes built from the actual course content.
Get started free