CHEM 1410

Very interesting professor. Just started UVA in the fall of 2016. The class is very doable. Very little homework to be quite honest. We have about one sapling (online hw) ranging from 20-40 questions about every other week. There are 4 midterms and yes there is usually a midterm right before the final (as in one week before the final). Her midterms can be very challenging and unpredictable. Class average varies from exam to exam. It could be as high as a 79% or as low as a 62%. There was not a curve my semester in the class because she only curves if the class average is under an 80%. Her exams are somewhat difficult because she has awkward worded questions that can be hard to determine what she is asking for. She's very unorganized and only offers about 3 office hours a week and if you can't make it she will try to meet with you outside of them. I just think shes very weak on making herself available to students. She says not to use the textbook as a primary source, but I suggest you do. Her lectures sometimes make NO sense and the textbook is very clear cut on the meaning of the concepts and terms.

She was new last semester, and it took a bit for her to get adjusted. I took both Chem and Bio, and I found the workload to be totally manageable. There was a lot of review from high school chemistry in the beginning, but a whole lot of new information too. I don't particularly enjoy chem, but she made it accessible for me. I attended lectures regularly, but they aren't mandatory because she posts class notes online. I didn't read the textbook until second semester with her, and I highly recommend you do the readings. All in all, if you need to knock out a prereq, she's a solid choice. Not too hard, but still a challenging class. Homeworks allow for many attempts at the answer and you can submit it up to 9 days late, so a very fair grading system there. Exams are tough but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. iClicker grades from in-class assignments account for 20% of your final grade; some are announced and some aren't.

I love Lisa! I took both semesters of chem with her and I did very well. In lecture, she writes all of her notes down instead of speeding through a powerpoint, so it isn't hard to keep up when writing notes. She also started posting her lecture notes online last semester. Tests can be tricky - that's probably why some people don't like her. To do well on tests, I suggest doing the readings, redoing HW, solving the integrated problems in the textbook, making study guides, and going to office hours! I only went to office hours the day before the tests, but people always seem to ask the right questions and she gives away some hints. Problem solving questions can also be tricky, but they aren't a big part of your grade and they are a great way to test your knowledge before the exam. Homeworks don't take up much time either. I recommend taking chemistry with Lisa, but be prepared to spend a fair amount of time studying (at least a few days before each exam) if you want to do well.

While the exams were pretty difficult, I found it easy to follow along with Professor Morkowchuk's lectures as she would essentially take notes along with us in class. This made my life much easier because I am a first year and find it difficult to take notes when the professor uses powerpoints as he/she usually goes too quickly. In comparison with Welch's and Metcalf's exams, I find Morkowchuk's exams more straight forward and "easier".

Professor Morkowchuk's lectures were pretty easy and not too hard to follow long in class. She also posted all the notes online which was great but I wouldn't recommend her class. Her midterms are very difficult and nothing close to the easy level examples she uses in class to get the general concept across. She seems to pride herself on the fact her class averages are in between that of Metcalf's and Welch's, but the test averages are usually around 73% and she does not offer corrections or a curve. The range of scores vary so much that some students could get an A+ while the majority get Cs and below (on some of her exams the lowest was like 20%). Her exams are also only a few questions but for 25 points so if you miss one part that's a big blow to your grade, not to mention you don't get partial credit. She's very understanding when it comes to making up an exam due to sickness or injury but that's about it. Take her class only if it's the only time available but otherwise I would recommend taking Columbus or Welch for a better grade and understanding.

I was pretty nervous about having Morkowchuk as a professor for this class because I know a lot of people who don't like her and prefer Welch (because who doesn't lmao) but it was honestly a pretty good class for what it was! Be advised that she does have a different lecture style than most other teachers - she uses a projector to display her own notes as she writes them out - but I honestly found this style more helpful for taking notes (because you can honestly just copy her stuff word for word). Her tests are fair but she does expect people to be able to understand ALL concepts that she goes through in class in-depth, which is why the class average is usually like a 75ish. Also, she was hella pregnant this semester so I don't know if she's teaching this class next year but if she is I'd take her!

An okay class, lectures are somewhat boring but usually concepts are fairly well explained. Textbook is engaging enough and the amount of reading per class is very reasonable. The once-a-week online assignments are quite time consuming and I'm not sure how helpful they are. The assessments are challenging because they have relatively few questions (usually only around 25), and from my experience average grades on tests are usually in the mid-high 70s or low 80s.

Professor Morkowchuk's lectures are fine, but her exams are very difficult with relatively few multiple choice questions - they have become much more difficult since last year. Additionally, the exams are only out of 25 points or so, so if you miss more than two or three you will not get an A on a given exam. One of the exams based nearly 20% of the grade on a topic that was not covered in the homework and was only covered briefly in class. Additionally, Morkowchuk says that if a topic is only covered in the reading that it will not be on the exam and that the textbook is therefore unnecessary - READ IT ANYWAY. Additionally, if you feel confident about what is on the Mastering assignments, that does NOT mean you are prepared for the exam as the question types are usually very different, and as a result it is very difficult to get a feel for what to expect on each exam. You will learn a lot in this class, but I would avoid this professor if possible unless you have prior background with chemistry at this level.

I had to take this class because I had a conflict with Welch's class timing. Biggest mistake ever. This class absolutely wrecked me, even though I had taken AP Chemistry and was very well-versed in chemistry. Morkowchuk thinks you know more than you really do, and although she does a decent job lecturing, her tests and quizzes are almost impossible to do. We had daily clicker questions that counted for participation. Every Friday, we had iClicker quizzes that counted for 10-15% of our grades and the questions, like I said, were impossible. The exams were actually intolerable. She gives you practice tests that deliberately mislead you about what is going to be on the test. Her exams were 10x harder than Welch's exams (because we have access to all the practice exams), and some of the questions were so vague that you don't even know what they're asking. She tests on discrete exceptions that are not heavily emphasized in lecture either. Unless you have a photographic memory, you're kinda screwed. Morkowchuk gets away with being terrible since she's a little better than Metcalf, but not by a whole lot.

I was super worried about taking Professor Morkowchuk's class my first year, but she's actually an amazing teacher and a really nice lady to boot. As long as you are willing to study in this class, it is not bad at all.