Most chemistry textbooks are specifically for Organic, Inorganic or Physical chemistry - the textbook we used for organic chemistry was Clayden (https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Jonathan-Clayden/dp/0199270295 - there are various editions knocking around) and it’s lovely. Definitely goes into some good detail, but accessible to a first year because it progresses logically with little background assumed.
To have a,good introduction on bachelor level, also useful in master, I advise you:
[Organic Chemistry Book by Jonathan Clayden, Nick Greeves, and Stuart Warren
](https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-Jonathan-Clayden/dp/0199270295)
Very well done book for beginners in organic chemistry, to understand how a reaction is actually working. Because of course before having practical good skills, you have to know well the theory behind
If you have the organic chemistry book by clayden there‘s a pretty good explanation called "pushing electrons“ which does give some nice insight on how organic reactions are driven forward. Just to add to the many comments that were already posted.
You have all kinds of people here, ranging from highschool student to bored phd chemist. I think most of us here are simply passionate about it. If you are interested I recommend Organic Chemistry by Clayden (https://www.amazon.ca/Organic-Chemistry-Jonathan-Clayden/dp/0199270295/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1597352572&sr=8-4)
It is by far, the most well explained chemistry book I have read even when my first language is not english. It's accompanied by good explanations, examples and references that are up to date and they draw links from all the work they can to actual chemistry successes in history.
>Sorry, the sources are in Russian hah
Jokes on them..im can read russian
>So for addition we don't need light and will result in dihologenes, butthe radical reactions do need light and would result in cycles withhalogens in them right?
Yup thats right. Different mechanism and thus different products
>do all halogens need UV light to do radical reactions or no?
Yes. For homolytic cleavage of halogens to occur you need light. The reason iodine doesnt work is not because you cant form radicals. But because the reactions with these radicals are not thermodynamically favourable. The formation of the C-I bond is not energetically favourable to offset the energy required to cleave the C-H bond using an Iodine radical
An amazing book for Organic chemistry is Claydens Organic Chemistry 2nd edition. It covers nearly every topic with great detail. You can use https://libgen.rs/ to download it or buy a hardcopy what every you prefer
> generally reading and working through a book will provide you with greater depth of knowledge and experience than any lecture or lecture + practice problems course could give you
I completely agree, I've learned a lot by working through problems in "Linear Algebra and Its Applications". I'm on page 17 so far, it made me realise how long it'll take to digest the book.
I know from my Experience as a Chemist, if someone with minimal chemical experience read through all of Clayden's textbook on Organic Chemistry then they would probably know much better Organic Chem than I do. (I can't remember if it has problems, that's how much I feel like I wasted my time at University.) Though, this person would be missing on lab experience and having a video view into Inorganic and Physical chemistry would be useful. They would probably need to set their goal first.
(Edit: After checking, it seems Clayden does have practice questions. I can't believe I didn't take advantage of this.)
At least I know that I want to do data science, though I understand the job specifications can vary a lot based on what companies need. That's partly what's causing me some confusion.
My big question is, how badly will I be judged for doing this outside of University and not having a piece of paper saying that I've done the work?
I'm more than happy to work out of a textbook. I'm happy to study for years if I have to. I'll do what It takes, and I've already spent the last couple of months learning using MOOCs. I just want to know if that'll work. (Well, I guess it always has been a calculated risk from the start.)
I'm aware that I can do some networking, when I am done doing all this studying I can join some Meetups, I already have a blog that I write in (perhaps not often enough, but still) and I'm quite active on LinkedIn and the community you can find on there. I know that if I do a couple of Kaggle competitions, that will also help prove the case that I know what I am doing.
What do you think?
Edit: I looked at the link you gave me and it seems to hit the nail on the head in terms of what's useful. But it will take me a long time to work through this, which is fine by me, I just don't know how someone in HR will view it. (Although that's why I mentioned networking above.)
Nah, I meant organic. This one specifically, or a previous edition. A lot of Organometallic stuff is in the organic text books because we use it all the time. Organolithium and Grignards are used widely in organic synthesis, but this will be depictions of how they react and the resulting products, rather than in depth discussion of why. There is some "why" but you might be able to find more "why" in another book. Probably worth a look anyway. The other stuff on semiconductors and the like then yeah find that somewhere else, but if you need to draw out how these things react and get an understanding of the process then CGW will be perfect. The semiconductor stuff you'll probably find that in a physical chemistry book. If you just ask your lecturers then they will be able to recommend a textbook more specific to your course, but the ones they recommend at Nottingham are the above, Shriver and Atkins inorganic then Atkins Physical. If you can find something relevant to the subject by Peter Atkins then you should be alright, especially his physical stuff. I'm using the 9th edition, my parents graduated Chemistry in about 1980 and used an earlier edition I think. He's a mainstay in this area.
No no no no. This is the perfect example of how not to learn. You need to learn how to learn. Learning form videos is a horrible idea if you want to beat the average. Please I tell you this from experience. There are studies out there if you don't believe me. If you're looking for a textbook to read check out http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-Jonathan-Clayden/dp/0199270295