Chemistry tutor near me in Chicago, IL

Palak tutored a student from the University of Chicago on biomolecules, covering carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. They discussed their building blocks, bonds, elemental composition, and functions. A significant portion of the lesson focused on carbohydrates, including monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides, with Palak teaching tricks to remember sugar structures and glycosidic linkages. They emphasized the (n-1) water molecule rule for polysaccharide formation and differentiated between amylose and amylopectin. They will move on to lipids and proteins in the next lesson.

Ismail helps Janette understand the citric acid cycle and the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex. They discuss the PDH complex's three enzymes (E1, E2, E3) and five coenzymes (TPP, lipoate, CoA, FAD+, NAD+) that convert pyruvate to acetyl-CoA. Lipoate acts as a mobile arm to transfer substrates between enzymes. The citric acid cycle, starting with acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate, produces NADH, FADH2, and GTP, regenerating oxaloacetate. They also cover the roles of coenzymes and calculating delta G and equilibrium constants, emphasizing the importance of reaction direction.

Jesna tutored Angel on intermolecular forces, including dipole-dipole interactions, hydrogen bonding, and VSEPR theory. They worked through problems related to these concepts. Angel will send Jesna the syllabus for chromatography (Chapter 19) and stoichiometry (Chapters 10 and 11) to prepare for future sessions, and their next session will focus on chromatography.

Simran and Raza reviewed enolate chemistry, biosynthesis pathways including polyketide and fatty acid synthesis, and terpene biosynthesis mechanisms. They practiced identifying isoprene units in terpene structures and discussed the roles of different enzymes and cofactors in these pathways. They will continue with amino acids and alkaloids in the next session.

Simran tutored Alexa on chemical kinetics, covering zero-order and first-order reactions, rate laws, and the Arrhenius equation for activation energy. Alexa practiced solving problems related to these concepts, with Simran correcting her calculation errors and formula application. They scheduled a two-hour session for the next day to continue review, and Alexa will send practice questions beforehand.

Simran tutored Jessica and Yasika, covering topics from Lewis structures and VSEPR theory to chemical equilibrium and thermochemistry. Jessica practiced applying VSEPR theory and determining molecular geometries, while Yasika worked on equilibrium problems, including calculating reaction quotients. They discussed strategies for exam preparation and scheduled a follow-up to review the exam results.