CHEM 3410

This was a great class. If you pay attention in class, especially to what he is spending his time on such as figures and concepts, then you will do well. There are 5 problem sets that if you follow along in the book and ask questions during office hours when needed, you will also do well on. I learned a ton in this class.

The semester started ok, but if you didn't read in depth about the material covered in class, you were not going to understand a single thing that he says. I am not one to do readings before class and it got to a point that I would go to class (to tell myself I'm doing a good thing) and not pay attention and do other work. This was fine, but made homework and exams much more difficult. Homework was long, but you usually got 2 weeks to do them and if you checked them you could get pretty good grades. I will say, the one things that probably saved my grade were the TAs. They'll help you a lot with the homework and help you figure out what to study (especially the undergrad TAs). The exams were rough, and this semester they were in class (so only 50 minutes). The first exam average was a 67 (after a 5 point curve I believe) and the second exam average was a 68 (after a 25 point curve), but the there is also a HUGE curve at the end of the class. #tCFfall22

This course is essentially a physics course. If you have a physics and math background, this class is not hard (especially if you've taken modern physics). If you don't have a physics and math background, you might have a harder time. In my experience, physics and math courses require a different way of thinking, and the way to learn these subjects is by doing practice problems. The good news about this class is that Prof Harrison curves generously (added 25 points to one of our exams!), so don't be discouraged if your exam grades are low. We had biweekly homework assignments.

Harrison is a very nice person, but not very helpful as a lecturer. His slides are helpful but he doesn't ever explain the equations, variables used, or basic concepts. If you're confused by something he randomly brings up, it'll show up about three chapters later in the textbook. With that being said, read the textbook (Mcquarrie) to get help on basic principles and what said variables/equations mean, but it can also get pretty dense at times so I'd recommend skimming. Honestly, TMP Chem was my professor for most of the semester, up until the spectroscopy stuff. Go to the grad TA office hours for help on problem sets. Exams average around a 70 after he curves but you should be able to do well on the problem sets (in the 90s). Remember, this class is just a class and it will be over soon. Good luck!
#tCFF23

It really is such a shame when a genuinely nice professor is teaching a class that is so miserable. Look, P-Chem is hard. Quantum mechanics is hard. I'm not denying either. But if you are going to present difficult material, students deserve to be taught in a way that actually makes them comprehend the material.
Substance of the class: 3 lectures per week (recorded!) with one "optional" weekly discussion. Discussion is almost mandatory because you will get major hints on how to study and work for the exams. Your grade is based on two exams (15% each), six problem sets (30% total), a final exam (35%), and participation (5%, this part was never actually explained). The exams are really not terrible - they don't require much calculation - but you have to be able to understand the material. Problem sets are nearly impossible without going to office hours. There was one question which required a Taylor expansion - a concept which was never explained, never hinted at, never covered in class, and something the vast majority of the class hadn't done in years. Which brings me neatly to
The content and instructor: Quantum mechanics is an entirely different way of looking at the world. It requires a totally different thought process, and totally different math. Except the math that is actually required to do quantum mechanics is, for some reason, NOT A PREREQUISITE. Harrison does not care; he plows through and requires it anyway. Lectures are mainly him rambling away about random topics in quantum mechanics that "he thinks are cool" with the entire class looking at him like he has two heads. Equations are not explained, new notation is thrown in at random, and disgusting derivations are done at lightning pace with new math every six seconds. This class ought to require ODE and LinAlg as prereqs at a minimum, and to not do so is downright cruel and unfair to the people trying to learn.
Harrison is really nice, though - very understanding, and if you take the time to get to know him and go to his office hours, very charming, helpful and a genuinely nice man. But he doesn't seem to comprehend that the intuition and knowledge that he's built up over thirty years can't be taught immediately - and the class suffers as a result.
Do your best, buckle down, and go to office hours - you probably will do better than you think. The grade distributions are not that bad - nobody failed last year! But don't expect to understand a single thing you learn.

The content in this class is difficult, and it is essentially a physics class with difficult math that somehow is not a prerequisite. The fact that it is a major requirement is awful and at times painful to endure, but no one really fails the class because of a huge curve at the end. The grade breakdown for the class is: 5% classwork (this was never explained, I'm just assuming that everyone gets full credit for this; 30% problem sets (6 sets total, due every other week); 15% each for 2 midterm exams; 35% final exam.

Prof Harrison is not the best lecturer, but he is kind and understanding when you ask him for help. That being said, lectures are genuinely so difficult to follow at times, but he doesn't seem to realize that, so he will just keep talking unless you ask questions (which no one was really willing to do). As someone who has taken all of the math classes required for the course (linear algebra, ODE, probability, multivariate calculus), I still struggled to understand the derivations and equations at times, and even when I did, the connection back to the conceptual/chemistry part of the class was hard to follow or not very well explained. The midterm difficulty is varied, with exam 1 being not as difficult and covering content from weeks 1-4, and exam 2 being up to about week 9 and somehow much, much more difficult (63% average) LOL, but still doable to get a B or better on exams with a good amount of studying. For the problem sets, (1) the content did not necessarily help with studying for the exams: they are super math heavy and will require you to ask TAs or seek outside resources for help sometimes, and (2) they could be unbelievably long at times. If you pace your week and do a couple questions a day, it will be fine, but if you procrastinate, the problem set could take you between 6-8 hours. I didn't really attend discussion because the few times I went, it was hard to follow Prof Harrison's explanations, but I think attending would've helped me a lot for the problem sets and the exams. I will say that studying for the final actually helped me (finally) understand the earlier content, but the final exam is heavy on understanding the later content. There is a huge curve after the final exam though! Overall, the class is challenging and you will likely struggle at times, but try to attend lectures even though they are recorded, and try to attend discussions and OH, and you will likely do well and get an A. At the minimum, if you do none of these things, you will likely still pass, as the majority of people end up with a A-/B+.