CHEM 233 & CHEM 235

CHEM 233 (with Dr. Gregory Dake)

• Course Taken: MWF 10am (September, 2013 - December, 2013)
• Format: Class time was used to complete worksheets and students were suppose to watch the online lectures on Connect before each class and do the corresponding reading quiz which had ~5 questions. The online lectures ranged from 15 minutes to 45 minutes. The optional Sapling homework (~10%) could be for marks if the homework grade improved your overall grade. At the beginning of certain lectures, there is a timed quiz. They are typically announced at the end of the previous lecture, but sometimes there are "surprise" quizzes. These quizzes are usually good practice for midterms in terms of difficulty & speed. They are great indicators if you are keeping up with the course. 
• Grading Scheme: In-class 10 minute quizzes (around 14 total), online reading quizzes, optional Sapling homework that can be for marks, 2 midterms, final
• Textbook: Organic Chemistry by Klein (I got my looseleaf + solution manual for $80); I did not use if often, if at all
• Class Average: 72%
• Personal Experience: Dr. Dake's in-class quizzes are excellent representations of the midterms & final especially the ones right before the exams. These quizzes always happen at the very start of lecture, so do not be late. Don't stress if you do poorly since they are not worth a lot of your overall grade. Dr. Dake realizes his quizzes are difficult, so the quiz marking scheme has a "participation" component to them as well. The worksheets we got in-class were useful, but only if you watched the lecture beforehand. Dr. Dake held weekly office hours. While I never went, I heard he is always willing to give extra practice questions to those who ask. He is also great with answering questions on Twitter (and making unhelpful, but amusing remarks about the exams such as "3000 characters on the midterm"). In lecture, he is quite sarcastic, and I found him hilarious. 

• Advice:  PRACTICE! This is not a cram-able course. If you do not understand something, clarify right away. Everything is built on concepts learnt before especially the first month. I suggest redoing your in-class quizzes especially those at the end of term because they are often great practice. Make sure you are used to working quickly since the exams are on the longer side of things. The online problem sets are also great to work through especially with a friend.  

• While it isn't an impossible course, a lot of people struggle with this course. This isn't a course about memorizing specifics, but rather recognizing and applying patterns. Also the new style of teaching (flipped learning) was a bit of a shock, and the amount of material posted online made the entire course feel a bit disorganized. This is definitely a course you should put more effort into. There is always the option of taking CHEM 233 in the summer, so you can devote 100% of your effort into it. 

CHEM 235 

• Course Taken: Wednesday 2pm (January, 2014 - April, 2014)
• Format: The first couple labs are used to teach you techniques and your final product does not count for marks. Basically this is the time for you to mess up and learn from your mistakes. Later in the term, the crystals you make will be judged for quality and ranked among your peers. Don’t be alarmed if your technique mark seems quite low (7/10 is the norm). The lab prep work and reports are extremely simple. There is a practical final (in-lab) and a written MC + open ended final (outside of lab time.
• Textbook: Lab manual available at UBC Bookstore. You need to rip out some pages to hand in. 
• Class Average: 74%
• Personal Experience: I enjoyed this lab. The TA's made the whole experience as stress-free as possible. If you mess up (spill your sample, your crystals won't form), your TA is your saviour. They have tons of tricks up their sleeves to help you savage what you can. 

• Advice: I suggest studying for the written final since there are a lot of specific details asked.