In organic chemistry for anything that's structure-based it’s imperative that they understand molecules are three dimensional - that they have a spatial requirement. And you can talk about the actual real-world outcomes of that, like drug design and penicillin structure and things which might be what they're actually interested in.
Keep going back to applications in the real world. How is it that geckos can crawl up a wall, and sit on the ceiling without falling off? How is it they’re able to stay there with gluey legs or something? How do they maximise the attractions between the molecules in their feet and the molecules in the ceiling? Show applications that are powerful, and hopefully interesting, of the ideas that are important.
Use things from everyday life. Things that they’re going to be interested in - solar energy, or designer drugs. So it’s mixing up a bit of everyday life with things that make up the interests of the majority of the students and that they are going to find fits with their future studies.
