UW-Madison CHEM 343: Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 343 is UW-Madison's first organic chemistry course: structure and bonding, stereochemistry, substitution and elimination reactions, and the beginnings of synthesis. It's the legendary premed gateway, taken by huge cohorts headed for health professions and chemistry-adjacent majors.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with University of Wisconsin-Madison. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
Orgo's reputation comes from a study-strategy trap: it looks like a memorization course but grades like a reasoning course. Exams present unfamiliar molecules and ask you to predict behavior from mechanisms, so flashcarding reactions without understanding electron flow collapses at exactly the moment students feel most prepared. Stereochemistry's 3D reasoning is the other early filter.
What you'll cover
- • Structure, bonding, and resonance
- • Acids and bases in organic chemistry
- • Stereochemistry
- • Substitution reactions (SN1/SN2)
- • Elimination reactions (E1/E2)
- • Intro to synthesis and mechanisms
The CHEM 343 study guide
How to study for UW-Madison CHEM 343, step by step.
- 1
Learn mechanisms, not reaction flashcards
CHEM 343 exams present molecules you haven't seen and ask what happens. Electron-pushing arrows showing why the reaction goes are the transferable skill; memorized product lists are not.
- 2
Build 3D intuition with models early
Stereochemistry filters students in the first half. Use a model kit (or build the visualization habit deliberately) until chirality, conformations, and Newman projections are things you see, not rules you recite.
- 3
Master the SN1/SN2/E1/E2 decision as one framework
Substrate, nucleophile, base, solvent: the four-way competition is the course's centerpiece and a guaranteed exam fixture. Practice deciding the pathway and justifying it on varied examples.
- 4
Draw every practice problem by hand
Orgo is a drawn language: structures, arrows, intermediates. Reading solutions builds recognition; producing the drawings builds the skill exams grade.
- 5
Keep acid-base reasoning sharp
pKa logic decides nucleophile and base behavior all semester. A weekly refresher on acid-base trends quietly improves every mechanism you write.
Today
Today's CHEM 343 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for CHEM 343. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is CHEM 343 at UW-Madison hard?
It's the classic premed filter, but the difficulty is strategic, not innate: students who memorize reactions collapse on exams that test mechanistic reasoning on unfamiliar molecules. Students who learn electron pushing and practice prediction consistently do well.
How should I study for organic chemistry?
Draw mechanisms by hand daily, learn why each reaction proceeds (electron flow, stability, sterics), and practice predicting outcomes on molecules you haven't seen. Build 3D stereochemistry intuition early with models; it's the first filter and it doesn't yield to flashcards.
What's the hardest part of CHEM 343?
The SN1/SN2/E1/E2 competition by most accounts (deciding which pathway wins given substrate, nucleophile, base, and solvent), with stereochemistry close behind. Both reward framework-level understanding practiced across many varied examples.
More UW-Madison courses
CHEM 103: General Chemistry I
CHEM 103 is the first semester of UW-Madison's general chemistry sequence: stoichiometry, atomic structure, periodicity, bonding, and thermochemistry, with lab and discussion sections, serving premed, science, and engineering students at huge scale.
CHEM 104: General Chemistry II
CHEM 104 completes UW-Madison's general chemistry sequence: kinetics, equilibrium, acids and bases, thermodynamics, and electrochemistry, with lab continuing throughout. It's the direct gateway to organic chemistry for premed and science students.