Chad's Prep Chemistry Review: General & Organic Chemistry Video Lessons and Practice Tests [2026]

If you ask science undergraduates how they survived their introductory chemistry sequence, Chad's name comes up repeatedly. For over a decade, Chad's Prep has been a go-to video tutorial platform for college students taking General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry.

While standard university lectures often move too quickly through difficult material, Chad's Prep breaks complex principles into clear whiteboard lessons. Chad strips away convoluted academic jargon and teaches students how to solve problems efficiently.

In this comprehensive 2026 review, we examine the Chad's Prep General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry curricula, assess video lesson quality and practice quiz difficulty, evaluate subscription costs, and explain how to pair Chad's instruction with Master Organic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry as a Second Language, and Pearson+ Chemistry.

Key Takeaways

• Lecture Quality: Features clear, step-by-step whiteboard video tutorials that explain the underlying logic of chemical reactions and calculations.
• Comprehensive Chemistry Coverage: Dedicated course tracks for General Chemistry I and II, Organic Chemistry I and II, and Physics.
• Structured Note Outlines: Includes downloadable, fill-in-the-blank PDF lesson outlines that help students take organized notes during lectures.
• Targeted Practice Testing: Features thousands of custom quiz questions and practice exams that mirror college midterm and final exams.
• Subscription Pricing: Core video content is accessible for free on YouTube and the website; course study outlines and quizzes start at $14 to $19 per month, or $50 to $70 per month for all-access pre-health packages.
• Best Use Case: High-yield conceptual learning and structured exam preparation for visual and auditory learners.

What Makes Chad's Prep Unique?

Many online video resources make the mistake of either oversimplifying concepts into superficial soundbites or burying students under graduate-level theoretical derivations.

Chad finds the balance that university students need. As an experienced educator who has taught thousands of college students, Chad understands exactly where students get stuck on midterms:

• In General Chemistry, students often struggle with ICE tables, buffer equilibria, and thermodynamic cycles. Chad shows you how to estimate calculations quickly and set up equilibrium problems methodically.
• In Organic Chemistry, students frequently fall into the trap of memorizing reactions as isolated facts. Chad connects functional group reactions through nucleophile-electrophile relationships, showing that organic chemistry follows predictable electronic patterns.

Every video lecture is broken down into focused segments (typically 10 to 25 minutes), making it easy to review specific subtopics before exams.

Detailed Course Breakdown

1. General Chemistry I & II

The General Chemistry curriculum covers two full semesters of college-level introductory chemistry:

• Stoichiometry & Atomic Structure: Mole conversions, empirical formulas, electron configurations, periodic trends, and Lewis structures.
• Gases & Intermolecular Forces: Ideal gas law, Dalton's law of partial pressures, Graham's law of effusion, Phase diagrams, and intermolecular attractions.
• Thermodynamics & Thermochemistry: Enthalpy, Hess's law, calorimetry, entropy, and Gibbs free energy calculations.
• Kinetics & Chemical Equilibrium: Rate laws, reaction mechanisms, integrated rate laws, Le Chatelier's principle, and equilibrium constants (Kc, Kp).
• Acids, Bases & Aqueous Equilibria: pH calculations, strong and weak acids/bases, polyprotic systems, buffer solutions, titrations, and solubility products (Ksp).
• Electrochemistry & Nuclear Chemistry: Galvanic and electrolytic cells, cell potentials, Nernst equation, and radioactive decay modes.

Chad's General Chemistry course is especially valuable because he demonstrates mental math shortcuts and systematic problem setups that reduce careless calculation errors.

2. Organic Chemistry I & II

Chad's Organic Chemistry course covers the traditional two-semester undergraduate sequence:

• Foundations: Resonance structures, acid-base chemistry (pKa rules), hybridized orbitals, and bond-line drawings.
• Stereochemistry: Chiral centers, R/S configurations, enantiomers, diastereomers, meso compounds, and Fisher projections.
• Alkyl Halides (SN1, SN2, E1, E2): Nucleophile strength, base hindrance, leaving groups, solvent effects, and carbocation rearrangements.
• Alkenes & Alkynes: Markovnikov and anti-Markovnikov additions, ozonolysis, hydrogenation, and halogenation.
• Alcohols, Ethers & Epoxides: Synthesis, Williamson ether synthesis, acid-catalyzed versus base-catalyzed epoxide ring opening.
• Conjugated Systems & Dienes: 1,2- versus 1,4-addition, thermodynamic versus kinetic control, and Diels-Alder cycloadditions.
• Aromaticity & Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution (EAS): Huckel's rule, ortho/para/meta directing groups, Friedel-Crafts alkylation/acylation.
• Carbonyl Chemistry: Nucleophilic addition to aldehydes and ketones, acetal formation, Grignard reagents, and Wittig reactions.
• Carboxylic Acids & Derivatives: Nucleophilic acyl substitution, acid chlorides, anhydrides, esters, amides, and saponification.
• Enolates & Condensations: Aldol condensation, Claisen condensation, Michael addition, and Robinson annulation.
• Spectroscopy: IR spectroscopy functional group signals, 1H-NMR chemical shifts, splitting patterns, and 13C-NMR interpretation.

Chad teaches organic chemistry through visual reaction maps, showing how different reagents convert one functional group into another.

Study Materials & Features

1. Downloadable Fill-In-the-Blank Study Guides

One of the most effective features of Chad's Prep is the companion study outline system. Before watching a chapter playlist, you can download and print a structured PDF guide.

As Chad lectures, you fill in missing terms, draw reaction mechanisms, and solve example problems directly into the template. This turns passive video watching into an active learning session and produces a neat, organized review binder for final exams.

2. Custom Practice Quizzes

Each chapter concludes with a targeted multiple-choice quiz. These questions test your conceptual understanding and calculation accuracy under realistic exam conditions.

Each quiz question includes a written rationale that explains why the correct answer is right and why each distractor is incorrect. If you miss a question, you can immediately review the specific video segment where that concept was taught.

Pricing & Subscription Options

Chad's Prep offers flexible access options:

• Free Video Access: Many of Chad's fundamental lectures are available for free on YouTube and his website, making them accessible to any student on a tight budget.
• Single-Course Memberships: Access to downloadable study guides, chapter quizzes, and practice exams for an individual course (such as General Chemistry or Organic Chemistry) starts at $14 to $19 per month.
• All-Access Pre-Health Packages: Comprehensive bundles covering General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and test prep materials range from $50 to $70 per month.
• Semester & Annual Packages: Discounted multi-month access packages range from $140 to $260 for extended study periods.

Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time through your account settings, with no long-term contracts.

How Chad's Prep Compares to Other Chemistry Tools

Here is how Chad's Prep compares to other top resources featured in our Best Chemistry Study Tools guide:

• Chad's Prep vs Master Organic Chemistry: Chad's Prep provides full video lectures for both General and Organic Chemistry. Master Organic Chemistry is a specialized reference tool with an exhaustive 185+ reaction mechanism encyclopedia and reagent cheat sheets, making it better for quick mechanism lookups while Chad is better for lecture instruction.
• Chad's Prep vs Organic Chemistry as a Second Language: Organic Chemistry as a Second Language by David Klein is a written workbook that trains active arrow-pushing and resonance skills through unassisted exercises. Chad's Prep is a video lecture platform. Pairing Klein's exercises with Chad's videos provides a powerful study stack.
• Chad's Prep vs Pearson+ Chemistry: Pearson+ Chemistry organizes video tutorials around specific college textbooks to help students solve assigned homework problems. Chad's Prep organizes lessons by core chemical principles rather than specific textbook chapters.

Recommended Study Strategy with Chad's Prep

To get the highest grade possible using Chad's Prep, follow this structured routine:

1. Watch Ahead of College Lectures: Watch the corresponding Chad's Prep chapter playlist 24 to 48 hours before your professor introduces the topic in class.
2. Fill in the Study Outlines: Print the PDF outlines and complete them by hand during the video. Never watch videos passively without a pen in hand.
3. Take the Practice Quizzes: Complete the chapter quiz immediately after finishing a video section. Review every missed question carefully.
4. Reinforce with Problem Sets: Apply what you learned to textbook homework problems or practice exercises from Organic Chemistry as a Second Language.
5. Review Before Midterms: Use Chad's final review quizzes and summary outlines to test your retention five days before your exam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Chad's videos enough to get an A in Organic Chemistry?

Chad's videos provide an excellent conceptual foundation, but watching videos alone is never enough. To earn an A, you must combine Chad's lectures with hundreds of practice problems, drawing reaction mechanisms on paper without looking at the solutions.

Does Chad's Prep cover college General Chemistry labs?

Chad's Prep focuses on lecture exam theory, calculations, and mechanisms. It does not cover specific university lab procedures, titrations, or lab report write-ups.

Can I use Chad's Prep if my professor uses a different textbook?

Yes. The principles of General and Organic Chemistry are standardized across universities. Chad's course outlines align with all major textbooks, including Wade, Klein, Vollhardt, Brown & LeMay, and Tro.

Final Verdict

Chad's Prep remains one of the best video resources available for undergraduate chemistry students. Its structured lesson outlines, clear whiteboard teaching style, and targeted practice quizzes make it an outstanding tool for mastering difficult chemical concepts.

Read our complete breakdown of the Best Chemistry Study Tools to see how Chad's Prep compares to other top resources, or explore our full library of college chemistry guides and reviews.