Class Review: General Chemistry II

General Chemistry II with Lab

CH 121 at Worcester State College

Professor: Dr. Albert Petkus

Schedule: Saturdays from 9 – 3

Grade Achieved: B+

Overall: The class was a straight forward review of general chemistry. The topics were covered in detail, but were not examined to the same extent as in the text. The once a week schedule made it difficult to absorb and recall all of the material and I would not recommend it.

Instructor: The instructor was interested in the material and attempted to tie concepts to practical situations. However, he would often discuss “real-life” topics that were interesting but took away from time dedicated to going through problem examples or something more beneficial. Professor did not use Powerpoint, but relied on the whiteboard for notes. Each topic had an optional problems handout for review at home. During lecture however, the professor did not seem to appreciate having to answer questions.

Grading: I felt that the grading was fair. When an issue arose the professor was generally open to discussion about the grade. There was no extra credit available. The first and second tests had an in-class lecture exam and take-home problems. The third exam was completely in class and was scaled slightly. Achieving an A on a lab was simple so long as you were neat, followed typical format and included all data and calculations.

Materials: The book was not mentioned in class, and was therefore suggested as material for personal review. I found it more confusing than helpful and often relied upon educational tutorials on YouTube instead.

Notes Technique: I recorded the lecture in my notes word for word, and made sure to copy every problem demonstrated verbatim.

Study Technique: To study I used index cards for definitions and formulas, and recorded each point in the chapter summaries from the text, I wrote out the steps to solving each problem type, I practiced problems until I felt I had a strong grasp on the material.