CHEM 1420

If you took 1410, the course is more or less the same structure as that (lecture, optional problem-solving session, expo). In my opinion, I thought it was a similar level difficulty-wise, but since I was used to the format of the course, I did spend less time on this course compared to last semester and ended up with the same grade. The most helpful thing I found when studying for exams was redoing all the Tophat questions - the expo questions are less important because they tend to be more difficult and beyond the scope of the course. I would say your expo group is very, very important for group exams. Not all groups are made equally, but I guess you can't really control that - YOU can be/become the "smart one" in the group! Professor Welch was really understanding about special circumstances given the covid situation, so if there ever is a problem, don't be afraid to let him know. #tCFspring2021

This is a class where not only is the content hard, but the exams are written to be difficult and tricky. You need to do the weekly chapter reading WELL so that you understand the concepts before you go to lectures. It is also SO important to do practice problems before the exams to study, do not just read over your notes it will not be enough to do well in this class. The homework, portfolios, and other assignments besides exams can seriously help boost your grade so do well on them you won't regret it at the end of the semester. Overall you need to teach yourself most of this class, you will not be holding hands with the staff if you're struggling.

I did not like this class. Professor Welch is a nice guy but a lousy teacher. Granted, I took this class during Covid times so it may be different for future students. Yes, he did lecture, and his lectures were good. However, he did not lecture enough. We were expected to teach ourselves chemistry using an online textbook that the intro chem teachers wrote for us. It has some typos and a lot of the content is not written with expectations that students have to teach themselves. I would spend 6-10 hours every weekend reading the textbook, taking notes on it, answering the TopHat questions (30-40 questions), watching his lecture, taking notes on that, and answering lecture questions. There are also textbook assignments throughout the week to do. I was so burnt out by the end of the fall and spring semesters solely because of the unnecessary workload of this class. My AP Chem knowledge definitely helped get me through this class. Btw, DON'T take this class with a Monday lab. You will have to spend 2+ more hours on chem over the weekend if you do this.

I got an A in this class but it required too much time and energy. Take three sets of notes: one for the textbook, one for his lecture, and combine those two and make a study guide for the exam. These study guides will be what you study for the final. Redo all textbook, expo, and lecture questions in preparation for exams. I went to all TA reviews and actively participated in them. If they continue to run these, I would definitely make use of them and ask any questions you may have. The individual parts of the exams (Part 1) are usually pretty straightforward and doable, but the second and third parts are what will ruin your grade. I would spend hours working on the 5 MCQ part of the exam (Part 2) and still get a D on it, so don't waste your time trying to search the depths of the Internet for help on this part. Make sure that your expo group is smart because the third part of the exam revisits those 5 MCQ and your group has to answer those questions together.

If you're trying to choose between Welch and other teachers, I'd probably go with Welch because he is the kindest of the options. Even though his email communication is really slow and sometimes nonexistent, he's pretty understanding if you can't make a deadline or something. Make sure to have a group chat or some friends to check work/ask questions with since the class is heavily reliant on teaching yourself.

I think Welch is a really nice guy and is one of the most accommodating professor's I've had. He definitely wants you to succeed in this course and is sympathetic to your struggles. However, whoever designed this course did a terrible job. The textbook is an absolute nightmare and is ridden with typos and confusing sentences. It will confuse you more often than actually help you through the material. Welch's lectures, on the other hand, only cover the basic material and going off his lectures alone will not prepare you for the test. I did well in the class by putting up with the textbook, going to lecture, and REVIEWING WHAT WAS DONE IN EXPO! I cannot stress that last bit enough.

This class is a definitely harder than 1410. Professor Welch's presentations are no longer helpful and only focus on the easier concepts while you will be left to teach yourself the harder concepts. That being said, he is still the best professor to take this class with. He is very accommodating towards any extensions and is also more then willing to give extra help for understanding. I would 100% recommend him, but be prepared to work hard because Chemistry at UVA is not easy. #tCFspring2022

Welch is really nice but I hated this class (and chemistry in general, so I'm biased here). I feel like sometimes he didn't focus on what was emphasized in the test/Expo, and more on general trends where you had to teach yourself the specifics later on. I felt like I could study for hours, go to TA hours with every question I had (the TAs for this course are great btw and super helpful), etc and still do poorly on the exams. I think time was my biggest issue, so definitely try to have everything organized beforehand to make it easier for yourself.

The format was basically the same as 1410 with the 3-part tests with different weighting for each test, expo, portfolio etc, except there's no final project to boost your grade. HIGHLY recommend going to TA hours about confusing questions on the TopHat assignments because all of it combined is 30% of your grade (!), and it definitely saved me when I did bad on exams. The TAs are all really knowledgeable and totally willing to sit down and go through the questions with you and how to do them. I would also suggest studying the content a bit before going to Expo - for the first few Expos I was pretty much useless because I did the chapters so ahead of time that I basically forgot everything by the time I got to Expo. For the later ones I felt a lot more prepared and able to contribute because I read over my notes, went to office hours, and talked to classmates about confusing concepts.

Also, don't get too stressed about the part 2/3 of the exams. I'm pretty sure everybody bombed one of those sections for at least 1 test (I know I did) but at the end of the day, it's just 1 class and just 1 grade so don't freak out.

This is the worst intro class I have ever taken at UVA. I firmly believe that unless you have some sort of chemistry background before this class, you will struggle. The exams are made incredibly hard for no reason, especially considering that they are open note and open resource and STILL difficult. Exams are 3 portions: an individual portion of about 15-30 questions, an individual portion with no time limit and 5-6 very difficult questions you're expected to research to answer, and a third portion which you do with your expo group. The second part of these exams was so ridiculous I don't think it should be included at all. The course also contained tophat chapters of up to 30+ questions due every Monday before you actually have learned the material you're being asked questions on. There is also an expo portion of the class where you meet every week to do questions as a group. You additionally have to do LBLAs and BITs (both tophat question assignments due each week) and a portfolio for each chapter due immediately before an exam. This class has so much work involved that is so unnecessary, and much of it does not contribute to the learning of the material. I had an incredibly difficult time in this class even with the amount of time and effort I put into it. Many of the concepts my friends or expo group members would help me with were things they had previously learned in chemsirty courses and remembered, rather than actually things they learned in this class. Be prepared for a lot of work.

This class is much, much harder than chem 1410 (in my and many of my classmates' opinions), so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The focus is on weird, big concepts ranging from batteries to nuclear chemistry to kinetics. Welch is a pretty good lecturer for this sector of chemistry, but you will need to do a lot of outside prep before exams. The textbook readings are LONG for this semester (usually longer than 1410), and took me quite a bit of time. Prepare yourself for a lot of math...

Utilize your classmates when you are allowed. Make sure you have a clear understanding before the exams - I made equation sheets of each unit as I learned them so I had all my math in one place. Definitely utilize office hours for tophat questions. My biggest advice is to use expo and chapter question homework as a cushion - spend a lot of time on them. I usually had a high tophat grade in 1410 (97-100) which gave me a little wiggle room to do poorly on one or two exams. However, this semester I slacked and had 92-93 (which is high yes, but could be better with the resources of office hours and google), which forced me to work really really hard before exams.

The exams were not awful, though the group questions are much harder than semester 1. The final was not too hard, but be prepared to study a lot and know a lot of big picture ideas. Overall, although 1420 is way different and harder than 1410, an A is attainable if a proper amount of time and effort is put in.

I got an A in this class, but it was much harder than last semester purely because of Part 2 and Part 3 being more difficult. I separated my review on my opinions on Welch as a professor and my advice for success.

Instructor:
When deciding if you should pick Welch, remember that he is a good person but an okay professor. He is a professor that will work with you on strategies to improve or just work one on one. I personally really liked him as a person, but he is not lenient in grading. There were instances (specifically with part 2) where a very low percentage of students got a question correct, but he didn't remove the question or think about editing it. His lectures are also not very clear or concise.

Advice:
1) Go to Welch's office hours:
I know this is basic, but I can't stress this enough. I recommend asking him specifically your conceptual questions and not the TAs. He often guides you to the main ideas of the chapter that you will see absolutely see later on exams.

2) Part 1 of the Exam: (I got As on all the individual sections)
These are mostly math and the big conceptual ideas. Practice LBLAs/BITs/Expos --> do NOT ignore expos because it will come back and suprise you. Make a cheat sheet with formulas, concepts, and explanations. Remember exams are open note and you can refer to this during your exam (and you should). Teach the material to friends or outloud to yourself.

3) Part 2 and Part 3
These were absolutely DREADFUL this semester. My advice is to try to type your thoughts on part 2 to make it easier for part 3. When you type your responses, try to focus on the content you learned in the class. Otherwise, it is unfortunately a game of chance.

4) Not all TAs are created equally
Be careful when asking questions to undergraduate TAs!! They do NOT have the answer keys, so when you ask them question be aware they could be wrong. It is best to go to a few TAs and feel out how much they know. I found a few good ones, but most were horrible. I can't stress being careful enough.

5) The Final
It was a pretty hard final. There were a few odd questions that made it hard to do exceptionally well. I'd say the majority of questions were easy, but then some of them were just not necessary.

If you took 1410 with Welch the previous semester, expect about the same level of course work. The course is almost entirely the same minus the fact that there is no final project. I personally found that the second semester was easier, having taken AP Chem. This semester focuses on thermodynamics, electrochemistry, acid-base equilibrium, and gas laws. Some of the chapter readings have a lot of math in them. Be sure to know how to do the math and know how to solve those problems, as it would be beneficial during Expos and the exams. Like 1410, exams are open-note and open-source. Make a study guide of textbook figures, tables, and equations. It does require to remember some of the concepts from the previous semester, especially with orbitals to understand how new theories work and how reactions proceed. Exams are also the same style as 1410, meaning the first part is individual multiple choice questions and the second and third part are the hard group questions.