3.1
Quality2.7
Difficulty57%
Would Retake88
Reviews57%
Would Retake
88
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
10
4
28
3
22
2
15
1
13
What Students Say
“he only reads off his slides and its really hard to pay attention in class”
CHEM0110 - 2.0 rating“His lectures can be boring at times, but he does his best to lighten the mood by cracking cute chem dad jokes”
CHEM110 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
19%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.43 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM1420
5.0
(1)CHEM1000
4.5
(2)CHEM1410
4.0
(1)CHEM0010
4.0
(1)CHEM0120
3.8
(6)Difficulty by Course
CHEM0010
4.0
CHM107
4.0
GENCHEM1
3.0
CHEM1410
3.0
CHEM1420
3.0
Reviews (88)
If you have taken any chemistry in high school, this class will be a breeze. Ewing is very personable during lecture and gives good information. Tests are very clear and pretty easy.
Dr. Ewing is a nice sweet guy but came from small classes where he taught before his retirement (which he came out of to come to Pitt) he just isn't prepared for a 300+ person class. Accessible outside of class, but tended to rely mostly on my TA for help. If you show up to office hours he will learn your name. Class is easy if you took AP Chem.
Dr. Ewing is a very nice man however if you come in with little chemistry experience (didn't take AP chemistry) it's a struggle. he only reads off his slides and its really hard to pay attention in class. His powerpoints are fairly in depth though and his tests are manageable. You need to have a decent TA however to really understand the material
Dr. Ewing is definitely one of the nicest professors I have. I took honors and AP chem in high school so I'm definitely at an advantage, but he does almost oversimplify everything he has on his slides. I almost never went to lectures, definitely needed to read the textbook/do the homework to understand the concepts and what his tests will be like.
Dr. Ewing is a good guy, but all he does in class is read straight from slides and read the answers to practice problems out of the book, which makes the lectures incredibly boring. He also doesn't explain the more complex stuff that clearly. It's definitely not a hard class though, so if you're mildly confident in chemistry it'll be easy enough.
Dr. Ewing is friendly, but his class is very disorganized. He is unclear about what will be on the tests and makes them up at the last minute. His quizzes are very difficult and don't match what he teaches in lecture. He reads word for word off the powerpoint slides, making going to lecture pointless.
If your willing to actually youll do well. His tests are fair, the home work is graded on participation, and he is probably the easiest gen chem teachers at Pitt...
Ewing is a nice guy, but if you haven't taken AP chem you will probably struggle.
Lectures seemed directionless, shallow, and Ewing mostly reads off the slides. He's really nice and seems to care, but you'll have to teach yourself most of the material by reading the textbook. The class wasn't difficult, but you can't expect to be fed the information.
Dr. Ewing is a great guy and tries to be fun by telling jokes, however he didn't seem ready for a 300+ person lecture. Hes better one on one. I only showed up half the time and when i did, i never paid attention. His slides and problems come right from the book and he reads the slides. Tests were fair. Easy class for only taking academic H.S. chem.
Dr. Ewing came out of retirement before this semester, so he wasn't very prepared and a little rusty. He's a very kind and genuine man who understands that this is his first semester back. His tests are very fair and easy, but his lectures are rough. I only went to lecture on exam days because I was more efficient learning the material on my own.
Extremely difficult class. Does not know what hes talking about
Dr. Ewing was not ready to teach this class, but at least he understood that. I didn't have a strong chemistry background so I did struggle in his class. If you have a strong background, you'll be okay. It's not worth going to lectures. My teacher in that class wasn't Dr. Ewing, it was the textbook and YouTube, and thus I gained nothing from him.
It is obvious Dr. Ewing cares about his students. If you have not taken AP chem in high school, get familiar with the tutors at the academic resource center, the unreliable schedule of tutors on the balcony (some tutors are volunteers, others have mandatory hours to help- so once you find the later, you're good). I found going to class helpful.
I showed up about half the time and got an A pretty easily, he tests directly from the textbook, so u do have to read but he doesnt actually teach chem so if youve never taken a chem class before dont take him. I found it really easy because I took AP chem and his tests were very very straightforward but not easy- definitely study the textbook
Was clearly such a nice prof that cared about his students and their success. I had already taken a year of chem in high school so this course was unbelievably easy and just a repeat of everything I had learned. He's not the most interesting guy, but he gets the material across and in the end you can not go to class and be totally fine.
Dr. Ewing very clearly loves chemistry and wants his students to pass, but his lectures are fairly boring. If you've taken chemistry before and have a solid grip on it, you'll do fine without coming to lecture, since he just reads off the slides. If you're not, reading the book and doing end of chapter problems helped, but he doesn't explain well.
Dr. Ewing is a very nice guy but as a professor he's mediocre. His lectures are pretty boring as he reads straight off the sides, but the textbook is very good at clearing up topics you might not understand. His tests are fair. If you understand the sapling problems, in class problems, and optional book problems you should do well.
Dr. Ewing was a very nice man, but like everyone else has said his lectures are boring and you can get by with just reading the textbook, doing the sapling problems, and doing the end of the chapter problems he provides. Started to get messy at the end of the semester and wasn't good at clearing things up, so that didn't help me with the final...
As a person, Dr. Ewing is a great guy, but Taken AP Chem before - Easy A No chem experience - Very hard He tries to trick you mostly on textbook definitions rather than hard math problems on tests and quizzes, so it would help to read the textbook. Going to lectures are useless.
horrible professor. very unorganized. would not recommend taking this class if you do not have background knowledge.
Ewing's lectures are very bland. He rambles and oftentimes holds he mic to his mouth so the cord makes a lot of excess noise. Better off not going to lecture and just read the book. He reads right from slides and fills class time with already solved practice problems. I only went to that lecture hall for exams and did well.
He is terrible. I had to teach myself everything. He tells bad jokes and does not know how to talk into a microphone. This class brought down my grade because I had to teach myself everything. He does not know how to teach and would just put completed problems on the overhead and wave his laser pointer at it. Just no.
Relatively easy professor as long as you go to class and read the textbook.
Ewing is a good choice from CHEM0110 but be prepared to work harder than it may seem like you have to if you want to be prepared for CHEM0120. Yeah, you can cheat on Sapling, but that won't get you far in the exams. If you do all the problems he gives, you'll be good to go. No participation points in lecture and it's straight from the textbook.
Ewing is a cool dude. currently retaking chem110, & let me tell you he is 1000% better than my first prof. His lectures can be boring at times, but he does his best to lighten the mood by cracking cute chem dad jokes. Make sure you don't go into the class thinking you can get an easy A, be sure to put in the work- he gives tools you need to do well
The worst Professor I have ever had. He doesn't teach AT ALL. His slides are simply copied from the book, his problems are already worked out so you aren't learning anything. If you want to teach yourself out of the book take his class because that is the only way you will pass. I took 18 credits last semester have a 3.95gpa I might fail this class
You can tell he actually cares about his students and is very flexible. He teaches from handouts. They can be confusing at times but this is a higher level class watch some youtube videos and read the chapter before class to get the most out of lecture. Examlets were worth as much as the final+midterm. Don't treat them like quizzes.
He was very funny and the class was extremely easy. You need to put in some effort though, do the readings and study but it was significantly easier than the other class.
Ewing's lectures are a joke if you've taken any chemistry in the past. The exams should be easy, but he writes the multiple choice to be trick questions so even if you understand concepts you could get tripped up by wording and not do well. Gen chem 1 obviously isn't what he's passionate about, and it shows.
Dr. Ewing is just the best professor you could have in a foundation Chem class. He explains concepts well and does practice problems in lectures that show up similarly on the exams.
Office hours were a blessing! He is so helpful one on one and genuinely cares about his students and how they do in the class. His lectures can sometimes be boring but if you go and actually put effort into paying attention it'll pay off. The only way you will fail is if you don't put in the effort, so its up to you to utilize this great professor.
I took this class at 8am, so yeah I had a difficult time focusing. Relatively easy compared to other teachers it seems. Might take some bit of time outside of class if you're not a natural.
Hes a great guy who really cares about the students. Pchem is hard so he makes is easier to understand and is always available for office hours which is helpful. Overall can tell hes passionate about chemistry and it really shows. The examlets count for a lot more than i thought so make sure to do well on them.
Dr. Ewing's reviews are no where near accurate. I have had many chem teachers, and he is the best thus far. Make sure to do the odd questions in the textbook and go to class for tophat points and you will do fine.
Follows the textbook very closely, so if you don't have a strong chem background, it's easy to catch up if you just read. Super, super nice, and even though he's a little boring, he honestly cares a lot about all of his students. Tests are not very difficult. I would definitely take again.
Dr. Ewing is a pretty damn good professor with the heart of an angel. Though he moves through content slowly, he is thorough and centers on practice problems, which I like. Exams are fair, and he is always willing to help his students. Only gripe is the slides are direct from the textbook. "Overall Score" is inaccurate, read most recent reviews.
Dr. Ewing is a great professor for CHEM 0120. He can be a little slow in explaining concepts but will always walk you through the in class problems in a way you can understand. He follows the textbook closely and his tests are not hard if you study (just review recitation worksheets, in class problems, notes). Very approachable and caring teacher.
Dave is so sweet and funny. He made this class a joy even though its super easy. All the exams were open note and the final is not cumulative. Definitely take chem 1000 not calc 3 if youre a chem major
He posts notes before class so you can print them out and take notes on them. All his exams are open note and open book so it's a pretty easy class. He's kind of slow, but he takes the time to teach the topics well. The class isn't cumulative either, which is a plus. Definitely take CHEM1000 instead of Calc 3 if you're a chem major.
Dr. Ewing is a nice guy who cares a lot about his students. For online, does lectures in real-time then posts recordings so you can watch whenever. Not very organized , forgot record lectures, once forgot to publish a quiz. His explanations of hard concepts can be vague, but office hours are really helpful. Exam's aren't too bad, were open note.
Great professor, he cares a lot about you and he wants everyone to succeed. You do have to read the book to succeed or pay attention to his lectures, but his lectures are a bit slow and boring: this was probably due to it being online and on Zoom. Apart from that no other negatives. There were 5 midterm exams 50 points each, weekly quizzes, & final
Take Dr. Ewing for Gen Chem 1! You will not regret it! It feels like an easy class but compared to the other professors, he prepared us the most for exams, the final, and for Chem 2 next semester. Read the textbook if you are struggling in a topic, otherwise Ewing's lectures cover everything. Do the recitation worksheets for practice before a test!
I personally hated chem in HS but now it was much more enjoyable and manageable with prof Ewing. There are weekly lectures you have to attend for points and Sapling homework for each chapter. There are also 20 point quizzes every week and 4 exams, a practice final, and a final. I really loved him and he tried to make everything enjoyable online.
Grading is fair and all the tests and everything is extremely straightforward. Everything including the final is opennote. If you always do the homework and read the textbook, then you'll do good
Take AP Chem, hard or not, and you have an easy A. Willing to help. Understands the students. Bought a textbook but didn't really use. Do attend lecture, but can multitask while listening. Gives off dad-vibes.
Dr. Ewing may not give the most clear and comprehensive explanations the first time around, but will go back & answer any questions you have. Lectures could get a little slow or boring at times, but he did tell the occasional chemistry joke! He does tons practice problems and the coursework is totally manageable as long as you stay on top of it.
Ewing is a good professor in my book. He doesn't thoroughly explain things the first time, he will go back and explain if you have questions. Weekly quizzes to understand the material and provide good understanding for exams. I got 2 A's and 2 B's on the four exams, B on final, and managed an A on quizzes and practice problems; got a A in the class
He made jokes during class and the way he weights his test to homework to quizzes is really fair and better than most teachers I would say so its easier to get a good grade if you completed all the quizzes and homework which were take home.
Professor Ewing's online lectures were incredibly boring. He's a nice guy and he can be funny, but his 2 hour online lectures are rough. He completely follows the textbook so I'd recommend buying the book for his courses.
Ewing is a solid choice, very wholesome. Grade made up of weekly homework and quizzes, exams about every 2 weeks, recitation attendance, and lab grade. He's super reasonable and responsive about challenging questions and is easy to reach outside of class. It's hard to pay attention in class but that probably has more to do with online format.
Very easy to get a good grade if you do the recitation worksheets and the practice exams. Took AP Chem is high school which make the class even easier, but if you didn't take AP chem don't worry you will still do fine. Lectures can sometimes be boring, but all the information you need is in the lecture slides.
His lecture style isn't my cup of tea, but he isn't a terrible professor. I think you definitely need to read the textbook to fully understand what he is talking about in the lecture. Also the sapling homework can take a while but helps a lot.
Hes a solid chem prof. Lectures can be a bit dull but his tests are fair. Gives weekly sapling assignments which take time but help a lot. Read the book and you should do well.
As far as teaching quality, its not great. He isn't great with technology and isn't great at explaining chemistry. But, the class isn't too hard. Tests are multiple-choice and open-ended math, except for the final (all MC). You can only get partial credit on the open-ended. Quizzes are the same.
Profesor Ewing's class is very lecture heavy. Be prepared to read the textbook and take notes on it outside of class. There is a lot of homework involved, but it really helps with the understanding of what we're learning. He is a pretty chill profesor, however.
Although his lectures are a bit boring, I believe he is a solid chem 1 choice. His tests are open note and we have weekly take home quizzes which help boost your grade. He is very funny, but not the best at explaining so be prepared to teach yourself concepts outside of class. But I definitely Recommend.
Ewing is the best choice for Chem 0110! Hes the sweetest guy and a great professor. His tests are totally doable! They are open notes and you have all weekend to do weekly quizzes. Hes a good lecturer even though some topics are boring. But he always lightens the mood with his chemistry jokes!
Professor Ewing is not a great professor but is fine for Gen chem 1. Really poor lecturer who often mumbles and goes off topic, but provides you with recitation worksheets and practice exams that are very similar to exam questions. Exam difficulty varies from super easy to very hard but he curves. Weekend quizzes boost your grade. He does care.
Professor Ewing is a nice guy, but his lectures are extremely boring. He's unorganized in my opinion when it comes to grading things and relaying information. However, his tests range from very easy to wtf but there are lots of practice questions from the recitation worksheets, practice exams and quizzes that are similar to the test questions.
Ill start with the good, which is that hes one of the nicest people youll meet and he does care. He also gives good resources that are helpful. But his lectures are absolutely terrible, theyre so bad the class is pretty much just self taught. That being said its still a very doable class.
Prof. Ewing is literally one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He genuinely does care about his students, but I think with such large class sizes the lectures really do not work for everyone, and A LOT of time is spent outside of class studying. Some of the exams are also really difficult. That being said, the class is still doable.
Dr. Ewing read's his lectures directly off powerpoint slides and is not very accessible outside of class time. He is nice person, but not the best professor. The homework he assigns is nothing like what is on the quizzes and exams.
He's easy and tells chem jokes on Fridays when he isn't randomly skipping class. Easy prof and I never went to lecture but took chem before. Do the recitation worksheets and u are guaranteed at least a B. One of the better chem professors but that's not saying much. All Chem 1 professors @pitt suck but if u take him u will get a good grade.
His lectures are not helpful and are quite dull, I stopped going after the first few. You will have to teach yourself and read the textbook. All exams and quizzes are open note, so it's easy to get a good grade in the class. He does care about his students and will try to help in any way he can.
Professor Ewing is a solid choice for Chem 1. While his lectures can be boring at times, he really wants everyone to succeed and will help you out if you have trouble. Quizzes and exams were open note and not very hard. Would recommend!
His class is not hard due to open-note quizzes and exams. However, I would not recommend it due to his inability to properly communicate with the class, as well as his lecture quality. Class pretty much consists of him standing at his computer mumbling things I can't understand, and it has been a completely self-taught course.
quizzes/hw/exams/the final pretty much everything was open note open book. his ppt slides dont have much info but he gives LOTS of practice problems which are helpful for exams. had one exam w/ a really bad avg so he made the other exams easy. nice guy. not sure ab taking him next semester bc stopped lecturing 5 weeks early due to illness
I wouldn't say Ewing is great, but out of the other gen chem profs, he is prob your best bet. His lectures are not very helpful & u will prob have to teach yourself. Quizzes and tests are open note so if you do enough prep you should do just fine. The achieve homework is awful, long, and nothing like the tests, but does help to boost your grade.
Dr. Ewing isn't the best at teaching concepts, but he is fair in terms of what he expects you to know. There are worse professors out there for gen chem 1. This semester was a little bit easier as the final was take-home (he was injured), but it likely won't be the case in the future.
Dont get me wrong, Ewing is not the worst professor a first-year student could ask for. His class is fairly easy, but the guy straight up left several weeks before classes were over. He is really bad at communicating, even with own TAs. Final was made take home but there is still even confusion about that. Do not recommend.
Ewing is probably the best choice for gen chem 1, although that isn't saying much. His lectures will probably put you to sleep, but his quizzes and exams are open book/open note. The weekly homework is intense and not much like the tests. He left with four weeks left in the semester and was very unclear with information after that.
disappeared halfway through the semester, exams were easy because they were open note, very hard to get a hold of and lectures seem useless, textbook and achieve helped me the most
Though Ewing is definitely a nice guy, he cannot and should not be teaching chemistry, especially at a college level. Halfway through the course, he stopped showing up to class and grading assignments. Even though all tests were open note, I learned almost nothing from his course so they were still somewhat tough. DONT TAKE IF TAKING CHEM 2 NEXT!
Dr. Ewing is a nice guy, but he was a terrible choice for my first college chemistry class. You could be sitting in the lecture hall and he will cancel class four minutes after lecture should have started. He is very bad at communication (especially when it came to our final exam), and his lectures were extremely dry. I don't recommend him.
The class itself is easier than most Chem 1 professors since all our exams and quizzes were open note, online homework is time consuming though and his lab TA's are terrible. Lectures are bad, teach yourself. Incredibly disorganized, he is currently MIA and no new grades have been posted in weeks. Inaccessible this past month.
So if you want an easy A, he's your guy. But know you won't learn a single thing. He's a nice guy, and this semester he went through some health issues, but he disappeared with 4 weeks left and is impossible to contact. Tests are open note, final was take-home, homework was online with 3 attempts per problem so not bad. But lectures are useless.
Terrible professor. Doesn't teach any general chemistry content. If you are pre-med or want to get a high grade in this class, do not take David Ewing.
Fine for chem 1. To learn/get an A: read the textbook, watch youtube, and maybe attend tutoring. His lectures weren't helpful. Take-home quizzes and open note tests. End of the semester he disappeared (health issues) leaving us with no grades and a random 3am email which seemed to say our take-home final was due in-person (not online) the next day.
Dr. Ewing's class was not downright awful, but not the best. Our quizzes/exams were open and inconsistent with the difficulty level. To get an A in the class, do tons of practice questions and if Ewing gives a practice exam, DO IT (they are very similar to the real exam). Lectures are essentially useless as he reads off the slides.
Super sweet professor who cares about his students, but don't think I learned very much from his class. Easiest chem teacher for sure as everything is open note, but he kind of just reads off the powerpoints. Overall great guy though, I would take him again if I could.
His lectures are pointless, if you want to do well in the class you'll have to self teach. Practice exams and recitation worksheets are very similar to quizzes and exams. He disappeared for the last month and stopped grading, showing up to class, and sending emails. Department heads gave us our final grades the last week of winter break.
Dr. Ewing was a very nice guy. Lectures could get boring and all info was pulled directly from the textbook. Found I learned a lot more just outlining the textbook chapters prior to class and preparing for his exams using the practice tests. Take-home quizzes help to boost your grade, for sure.
Ewings lectures were very dry, but he was very thorough. He didn't post grades until the end of the semester, which was a bit stressful but the quizzes and exams were very easy. Lots of questions were taken straight from the textbook/practice quizzes. Homework assignments were so long and Achieve made me cry.
Dr. Ewing gives pretty good lectures, but they are a bit boring. I'd recommend reading the book if you are confused about any topics since the book gives pretty good information on some subjects we skimmed over. Overall, the class was relatively easy as long as you were willing to put in the time to complete the homework and study.
Ewing was a decent professor and had many hw opportunities to bring your grade up if you did badly on an exam. However his class is very boring and I often found it hard to pay attention.
Professor Ewing was quite boring. He disappeared halfway through my class - and we just didn't have class. We had to teach the rest of the material to ourselves before the final, as he did not even reply to any emails. He was sick at the time though, so I do not blame him much. Even though his tests are open note, you still need to study. Not fun.
Kind of boring, exams were open note, easy to pass. It was hard for me to learn in this class because it was boring.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
19%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.43 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM1420
5.0
(1)CHEM1000
4.5
(2)CHEM1410
4.0
(1)CHEM0010
4.0
(1)CHEM0120
3.8
(6)Difficulty by Course
CHEM0010
4.0
CHM107
4.0
GENCHEM1
3.0
CHEM1410
3.0
CHEM1420
3.0