2.6
Quality3.2
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake177
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
177
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
14
4
37
3
46
2
51
1
29
What Students Say
“This class is trivial and useless”
CHEM125 - 1.0 rating“prides herself in knowing everything about the wonderful world of chemistry”
CHEM125 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.32 avg changeRatings by Course
125
4.0
(1)CHEM1256
4.0
(2)CHEM130125
3.0
(1)CHEM229
3.0
(1)CHEM125
2.8
(161)Difficulty by Course
CHM130
5.0
CHEM123
5.0
CHEM229
4.0
CHEM125
3.2
CHEM125126
3.1
Reviews (177)
prides herself in knowing everything about the wonderful world of chemistry . .
lecture is boring! do the practice tests!
knows nothing about chem and does nothing but click through powerpoints
prof is nice , but gsi's dont know crap
Worst class ever...the demonstartor does everything...not her
No Comments
Kinda weird and sings a lot in class. Not always clear, but means well.
extremely boring
Lecture slides do not follow the notes she hands out, lectures are unclear.
Lectures really weren't helpful - the handouts provided all the necessary information. I guess if you have chem125 then you're probably stuck with her though...
No Comments
a very mysterious woman, with flavor as dry as the salt flats. complexation means nothing to this simple man.
This course sucked, she is really boring. Skip the lecture, but go to her reviews
Lecture is pointless, but the handouts are great. Redox and complexation are complex, but easy once you figure it out!
Her lectures are pointless. Just do the practice exams, and you'll be fine.
Everyone else who commented is right, she is so boring. And her graphics on the powerpoint presentations often make little or no sense.
No Comments
very good
No Comments
The lectures are pointless. I suggest just going to the labs and doing the practice exams. The exams are very easy, the only thing to be worried about are the group lab reports. They are graded very strangly.
she puts a lot of work and effort into helping you understand the material
SERIOUSLY, don't go to lectures... take advantage of GSI office hours to answer any questions that you have, do the practice exams, and go to review sessions... study hard
I totally disagree with what most of these people have said. I say, go to the lectures. Follow along with the power point and take notes on the handout. That way, doing the pre-lab, lab report, and the post-lab is MUCH easier.
Has the most boring lecture ever. Nothing is learned in the Lab, everything is learned before the tests.
The lectures make not one bit of sense. Have absoultey nothing, NOTHING to do with exams, lab, or anything. Worst though, are some of the GSI's. My gsi could not speak english and often didnotknow how to do the experiments. Worst class i've ever taken.
No Comments
Lectures useless. Exams easy, as long as you study closely her notes and old exams-- almost all her questions are recycled from previous exams. Labs too long and tedious.
I think the lectures were helpful to an extent, but the class as a whole sucked. The labs didn't help me understand the material. Also the fact that my GSI couldn't speak english well didn't help.
worst class ever. The exams were easy, and i got all A's, but the darn GSI i had couldnt understand english. once he turned our spectrophotometer to french and couldnt fix it. She did nothing when we asked for a new one, to help us better understand
get a good group or get out of the class. getting an a is not tough, but putting up with weirdos every week for four hours can be. lecture does not correlate well to anything at all.
I thought Kerner tried really hard and made alot of sense in her lectures. The problem is with the GSI's because most of them can't understand english so they are no help. If you don't absolutely have to take this class, don't take it.
Lectures didn't really help with the actual labs. The class wasn't that hard but it was a lot more work than what it was worth.
horrible teacher. made me sick just listening to her. GSI that doesent speak english, exams that stress you out for no reason. HORRIBLE CLASS
Understanding the lab procedure is much easier after attending her lectures. The only challenge is to stay awake.
Has way too much fun with clip art in her lectures, which, by the way, are difficult to stay awake during. I had to go, since I was the only one in my lab group who did, and sometimes she actually does parts of the lab for you. BORING!
No Comments
Made things understandable. Very good at giving exam hints and practice problems. Nice lectures although dry, but hey this is a lab lecture. Hand outs helpfull
During the labs your on your own for figuring out how do do them, your expected to have prior chem knowledge to do the labs
You never see the woman unless you go to the lecture once a week, which i recommend, they give some helpful hints. Bottom line is that if you have a bad GSI, your screwed unless you already know the****
good teacher, knows material, but extremely monotone/boring
Lectures soo boring. She's really hard to listen to, but the exams are easy and she helps out a lot for those.
The lab has no berring whatsoever on the actual class (Chem 130 or whatever). Most of the time you dink around with acids and bases and are never sure what the heck is going on. Her tests are graded really badly: she's marked off on not having (x2-x1)/(y2-y1) explicitly marked.
Chem 125 is famous for causing headaches to GSIs. Grading is too meticulously (as in 0.25pt), so students get points taken off when they happen to not use a certain phrase. There are many problems for this much space. This professor has a way of making an easy task into a most complicated one.
Kerner's grading is utterly ridiculous. Leaving a certain phrase out or not using enough examples (we had no way to know the number, as this was all on the grading key) was enough to lose several points a question. While her grading for labs is hard and unfair, her exam reviews are great.
If you study using the exams on the website, her tests are easy.
Visit her in her office, she's EXTREMELY nice. She's very helpful too. Go to her reviews..they are great. The class is very easy, and whether or not you do bad in this class REALLY depends on your teammates..if they suck, your team grade will suck..just hope that you get diligent teammates
Her lecture is so bizarre... she mixes some stuff together, we watch, we don't learn much, we go to lab and get confused, and we end up getting horrible grades on our lab reports. Strange. Just strange. You'll have to see for yourself.
Lab grading is difficult and unfair. Exams are easy though if you study with the past exams posted on the website. Grade probably depends most on teammates and english speaking ability of gsi (often not very good)
No Comments
as the course coordinator, and chem lab lecturer wasnt too bad, treats all the students as kids, but since most are freshmen i could see her point. she makes it explained to a point where you cant mess up on a lab. if you go to class, you pass.
I hated this lab. I hated this prof. She serves no to the university b/c she SUCKS at teaching. too bad youre gonna have to take this lab if you want to do anything in chem. labs are un-fairly graded and the gsi's SUCK at helping you. good luck, this will be the worst lab you ever take.
This class sucks! These is basically no possible way to get an A if your GSI sucks. The lab grading is very unfair and you get marked off for the most ridiculous things. Her tests are easy, but she marks off for tiny things that needent be there, thus bad grades for everybody!
Lecture is summed up in one word: BORING! Avoid it! It will make you sleep, seriously!!!!
Your grade in this class largely depends on your GSI unfortunatly. Hard to get good grades on the lab reports but by doing the practice exams you should do well on the tests.
This class's grading seems arbitrary. The GSIs are basically told not to help you at all and to not give you hints or tell you if you're on the right track. She can be helpful on occasion, but the moments are few and far between. Lectures can be helpful, but the book is moronic, badly written, and unclear. It's tough to do well on lab reports...
Labs are hard and you will lose most of your points on the reports. She does take time and has a review session on the weekend before the exam. Go to them, if you pay attention you will learn more in that one day than you do throughout the course, and you will do pretty well on the exams.
This woman has a convuluted way of teaching which makes lecture next to useless; your better off spending the time in your dorm napping. Likewise, unless you had a good chem teacher in HS your going to have to teach yourself some things, and the lab book was written by 200 monkeys in a room with typewriters, except the monkeys were ****.
Great lecturer. Class can be tedious but overall a good experince. Helps out alot and clear on what she expects...
Lab grading is rediculous, but the material itself isn't really challenging....
The only time she helped us understand material was during review sessions, when by then it probably would've been too late anyways. Lab grading is absolutely ridiculous--in order to get an A in the class, you have to get 85% of your lab report/discussion points (extremely difficult) and ace both exams (extremely difficult)
Overall, it is a tedious class, worth more than the measley 2 credits. However, she is really interested in helping students do well, especially if you go to the reviews. Her lectures always made the labs more clear and helped with the exams. I don't know why people are so frustrated with her.
Her lectures did nothing for me, but her review sessions were helpful. The grading is ridiculous though, it is almost impossible to get an A.
A bit crazy, but she was really nice and helpful whenever you talked to her. People hate her for her hard grading, but in truth, her tests are easy as hell. Just look at last year's exam. It is the same one word for word. No joke. Her class was the only class I got an A without even trying because of the test trick.
Chem 125 labs are horrible and the gsi grading sucks and is pretty much unfair, but Kerner is extremely helpful in curving certain sections and making sure everyone is being graded fairly compared to other sections. Exams are easy and pretty much identical to review sheets/practice exams. Lecture is boring and all the info can be found online.
worst professor EVER. boring. monotone, COULD NOT stay awake in lecture to save my life. no help at all with questions or trouble with my GSI who marked my labs WAY DOWN for no reason. The practice exams and lab book are the only things that helped.
Lecture is very boring, but the exams are completely straightforward and accurately reflect the material- no surprises.
hard lab grading, but incredibly easy exams....she will curve your section if it seems unfair so don't complain and just do the work........good teacher
No Comments
She seemed like a decently nice person, and the material didn't seem too bad, but her lectures are like an hour long induced nap. The woman, literally, has no inflection in her voice at all. It'd be more exciting to watch grass grow.
Incredibly boring!! Never ever went to class because I always ended up falling asleep. Exams are easy because she give you a ton of practice exams that are very similar to the actual exam. Her pre-exam study sessions are very, very helpful- you do not need to go to lecture. Labs are long and boring.
very condescending...gsi took off 11 pts off my final exam for no reason, and she didn't even care to look at it.
No Comments
Chem lab really needs a major overhaul. For 2 credits you will put in the work of at least six. Konigsberg-Kerner's lectures are not tremendously helpful but she does hold good review sessions. Grading on lab reports was EXTREMELY harsh and we didn't even get to look at what we did wrong on any of them until about halfway through the course.
HORRIBLE CLASS; AVOID!!! GSI's will take every last point away on lab reports/presentations and refuse to explain concepts. I don't know anyone who got an A. Nancy was very helpful in her exam reviews, though. You will learn more during these reviews than you will in her lectures, and her practice exams are very similar to the exam.
Boring lecture. You will fall asleep. I had a good GSI thank god but the lab is very difficult. points readily taken from lab reports for anything incomplete. hated this class with a passion.
Everything about this class is terrible.
Lectures are boring, monotone voice. Review sessions before exams are really helpful. Material is not hard, as long as you attend her lectures or at least read over the notes she posts, you will be well-prepared for each lab. I think the grading for lab reports is harsh, but my GSI gave feedback on how to improve right away, so we did better after
DO NOT GO TO LECTURE. They are pointless and not helpful. Labs are very difficult for an intro course, and concepts will remain in the dark until review sessions. REVIEW SESSIONS ARE A MUST. Exams are 100% based off of lab, which will remain a mystery until you go to reviews. Overal she is not very helpful and this is a difficult class.
Not a good class. Fairly difficult, especially since you really have no idea why you are doing what you are doing in the labs. Lectures are incredibly boring. Go to review sessions and take the practice exams, otherwise you will be completely lost for the exams.
Oh boy Chem 125 . . . you don't really have a choice, but those lectures take forever. She seems to know what she's talking about but you have to be able to stay awake to comprehend it, and that's a feat in itself.
This class taught me nothing. I learned everything when I studied for exams.
God is she boring. Also, her lectures do not help for the labs or the test. This class is all about the GSI you have. If they are easy and grade your lab reports easy, you're set. But if your GSI is a prick, you're screwed. I never went to her lecture and got an A- in the class because my GSI graded like I was in elementary school.
This class sucks! It's not that she's so bad in herself, but the whole structure of the course is terrible! It's all about your GSI; if they're easy you're set, hard you're screwed. Make SURE you're in a good lab group, I got stuck in a terrible one and had to do all the work. Kerners a nice lady, but the class setup NEEDS a change...
Kerner is a pretty good lecturer, better than the ones you'll have for CHEM 130. That said, whether or not you'll enjoy the course and do well is entirely dependent on your GSI. I had a bad GSI, so I thought the course was pretty terrible. Kerner was good, though.
I loved Kerner.
There's not much you can do... if you're taking Chem 125, you have to deal with Kerner. It's not her fault though.. the GSIs are much more important than she is for this class. Her lectures are worth attending... they're not great, but once in a while she gives out hints and tips that could save you when it's time for lab.
Lecture was so boring and pointless...things would be exploding behind her and she would still find a way to make it boring. The only way to do good on exams is to do all of the practice ones and go to the review sessions. Team reports are almost the entire grade and they can be difficult. Expectations for students are unclear from the beginning.
While she may not be a terrible lecturer, as a course administrator, she is terrible. Clearly, she does not understand how to run a two-credit chemistry course. The grading guidelines are tremendously unclear.
She can grow impatient with students when they don't understand the material, and she often seems irritated when you ask for help.
Useless. Unclear. Boring. Yet, she was the only option for Chem 125. Ugh, just make sure you get a GSI who isn't as big an idiot as she is.
In my mind, she got the job done just fine. She went over what we were going to be doing in the next lab, and that's what I expected from a lab lecture class. She also had some good review sessions towards the end of the class for the exams. Not bad at all to me.
Worst class I've taken at UMICH. Horrible experience.
The lectures are terrible, do not go. Total waste of time. If you read past exams, you will get an A.
Yeah its boring but what do you expect out of a chem lab lecture. She does a fine job explaining the lab, but you can definatly get away with skiping lecture if you just read the labbook. Go to lecture for redox, complexation, and exam reviews. Otherwise, it helps, but you don't need to.
This was a horrible class, I'm sorry to say. Lecture was unclear, specifically about what was expected for a good grade. Also, the material was very poorly covered. If you're the kind of person who can get away with not going to lecture, do that.
The lectures were not that bad. They helped clarify what you would be doing in lab somewhat. The worst part about the class was the unclear grading scale. Basically it all comes down to your GSI. If you're lucky and get one that grades easy, you should do alright. If you get one that nitpicks every detail like me, you'll be in trouble.
Avoid this class if at all possible! Labs are pointlessly long and you don't really learn anything. Just do old practice exams and you'll be fine for the actual exams.
i liked her a lot. she's really helpful and you can tell that she actually wants you to succeed in the class and understand what is going on in lab. if you go to lecture, it really helps!!
This was probably one of the most boring classes/lectures I've ever taken. I've fallen asleep almost every lecture, and I'm usually good about not falling asleep in class. The class was useless. too bad she's the only person for chem 125. Just hope that you don't get moron for your gsi.
Do not take this class unless it is absolutely necessary. Labs are unclear and boring. Grading comes down to the GSI, so you better hope you get a good one.
Avoid CHEM125 if you can. Nancy will avoid discussing things with you all she can. The only time I came to office hours for an explanation she ended up closing the door on me without answering any of my questions.
Lectures are pretty boring, it was sufficient to look at them online instead of attending lecture. Most of the class depends on the GSI and your lab partners though.
I was confused by the concepts during the actual lab lectures, but when you prepare for the two exams, her review notes and practice exams are EXTREMELY helpful. I enjoyed her .ppt lectures earlier in the semester, but near the end, they started to get annoying. If you want to do well on the pre-lab write-ups, make sure to go to lecture.
Chemistry 125 was really a waste of time and energy. You put in so much effort and work for ONLY 2 credits. Lectures are boring and the labs are even worse because they are three hours long. The tests aren't bad though because she has review sessions and tons of practice exams. I strongly disliked this class though.
This class sucks. The amount of work put in for a two credit class is ridiculous. But she knows her stuff, and the review sessions she has prior to exams are a life saver. I would not have passed the exams if I hadn't had gone to those
I think I went to 3 lectures the whole year, I just studied the practice exams before I took the 2 tests and I did fine, just do the work in the lab and don't be a jerk to your lab partners; then you should get most of the points and be fine!
I have nothing against her, (she's really nice) but the class itself if thoroughly useless. The labs don't match up at all with 130, and the lab reports take up an insane amount of time. definetly NOT worth the 2 credits.
This is not a Chemistry class - this is Nancy's class. I absolutely detested the class - the grade scale is rather arbitrary - the scale goes up or down depending on how Nancy feels your GSI is. Her lectures were somewhat useful, but attending them doesn't reflect competence on the exam. Overall, a class you should avoid, but of course, you can't.
While 125 is perhaps the most useless and painful class this university has to offer, (especially if you get two idiots for lab partners), I enjoyed attending Nancy's lectures. They were informative and helped with the exams. Her lab assistant, Ed, was entertaining as well. If there were a TV show called "Nancy & Ed," it would be a success.
Nancy's lectures were interesting but not necessarily helpful.
About half of the lectures were very helpful, but others you can easily skip and probably be better off for the lab. The labs themselves are interesting, but the lab reports take waaaaay too much time out of class. This class will take a lot of time. Thank god for my GSI though, she was amazing.
Lecture was helpful with prelabs and Yes lab reports take an insanely large amount of time, but the reviews,endless practice tests,& q&a sessions make it easy to do really well on the exams, I understand chem125 concepts really well. And FYI its not suppose to be completely in sync with chem130. Nancy truly wants you to do well
I enjoyed it.My team started with a B- on the first ex, and went up to A+ by the end of the 6th experiment.This class is not useless.True, it is hard and takes a lot of time, but what kind of premeds or science majors are you if you can't handle an elementary chem lab class? So, suck it up, losers, this is UofM for a reason.
do your pre-lab during class while she's explaining the lab because she'll go over all the answers indirectly. Make your presentations PERFECT because they take away a lot of points. Go to all review sessions, do all prac. exams and you'll do fine. go to her if you get any kind of stain on your clothes, shoes, etc. buy her taco bell to suck up!
CHEM125 and 126... She is very helpful and detail in answering in e-mail questions. I don't find practice exams are helpful.
The class is not hard, it just takes a lot of time to make all of the presentations. If you go to her review sessions, and you memorize the trends, then you will get an A on the tests.
Nancy Kerner was a great professor who is very knowledgeable and able to communicate important information easily.
Beware the exams. This is the one component of the class that murdered my grade. The lectures were understandable and the labs werent too bad (got an 88% on them). But the 2 exams completely chopped me up: very intuitive questions that I find are not reflected in lab. Do ALL the practice exams b4 hand. Still, the 2nd exam will be a suicide run.
DO NOT TAKE FIRST SEMESTER FRESHMAN YEAR only take if YOU MUST
terrible. nancy is a horrible person
boring lectures; the most useless class you will take at U Of M. The class killed my GPA. I got A+ in the Gen Chem part...barely managed B- in this.
Kerner's really not as bad as everyone says. It's the class that's bad, not her. I recommend going to lecture, even though half of the students skip. Kerner is easy to understand, though she lectures a bit slow. By all means though, Chem 125 is terrible. Don't take it unless it's a requirement!!
125 is a very easy class, as long as you do the labs each week and take the practice tests before the exams, which are very straightforward. My partners were not very bright and I ended up having to do the labs myself, but on the bright side, I ended up learning a lot more and, as a result, aced the tests.
She tries hard to teach in an interesting way but she really fails. Lecture hall was full in the beginning, now it's eerily empty. She sings, uses cartoons, etc but her voice is just so sleepy! I like her as a person.
Not that bad. I never go to lecture, Kerner is a bit too boring and the lectures are very useless because you learn everything in the actual lab anyways. If you legitimately study for the exams, you'll do fine. Lab reports depend on the competency of your group but the class overall is doable if you try here and there.
Nancy is not very good at explaining things, she tends to talk in confusing circles and make things overly complicated. The lab is tedious but doable, this class drives me crazy sometimes...
Heidi was my GSI.
Mrs. Kerner seems to too wrapped up in how great she thinks the course she created is to attend to student needs. Your grade in her course will usually be determined in the first week when teams are assigned. If you are placed in a bad team good look getting any decent grade. Extremely difficult and frustrating for a mere two credits.
Way too hard for two credits. Tends to be too wrapped up in how great she thinks the course she wrote is. If you are stuck with a bad team, sorry, you will not get an A.
Kerner is absolutely awful, and it shows. 400 students in lecture the first week. 100 the second. She sounds like she is talking to herself in lecture and her lab manual is the most ambiguous thing ever. You learn how to do the experiment as you go which means you can't comprehend what's actually happening.
Boring lectures, long lab reports, and nightmare grading sum up Chem 125. Lecture is a waste of time, don't go. Exams are ok but you MUST do well on them because your grade will be brought down by labs. Class isn't all bad though. Had a cool lab group and made some good friends. You still won't like this class though.
Don't bother going to lectures. Just skim over the powerpoint prior to attending lab. Do the practice tests and bombard the GSIs with questions during office hours and you will ace both hourly exams. As far as the lab reports go, it's very much luck of the draw. If you get a good lab group/helpful GSI, chances are you will do well.
Nancy's lectures are so boring and useless that, by the end of term, only about 100 kids showed up to fill a 400 seat room. Her lecture slides are filled with videos, but she puts her slides online in PDF form so you will never see them if you don't attend lecture. The book, which she wrote herself, is terrible, filled with typos, and hard to use.
Good prof. She made lectures and concepts very clear. She literally spoon-fed us what we do for the experiments and what is on the exams (which were very easy by the way). The only problem with the class is the busy work (lab reports, power points, pre-labs, etc.) and that some GSIs are super-hard graders. A good lab group also helps.
The only good thing about this class was how good I got at solitaire and minesweeper during lecture.
A very pointless class. Too much work for only 2 credits. Lecture was ridiculously boring. Graders are harsh with points being taken off. DO WELL ON THE LAST EXAM, if you do better, it replaces your first exam. Also, try to get Tanya as your GSI, she was very helpful and the best!
Oh Nancy if you only knew how to speak clearly and not mumble. You stood in the same spot most of lecture. Discussing grades with you was useless because you are as stubborn as a mule. Lecture is pointless. You can teach yourself the slides. Lab is pointless, GSIs grade super hard. 2 credits for this class is a joke. GSIs do not crap. MGAGA love!!!
Lecture is absolutely pointless. Just read the lecture slides and you will be fine. Lab reports are tedious, and require too much work for 2 credits. Lab manual is horrible and confusing.
Honestly the worst class I have ever taken. GSI was horrible and unhelpful and Nancy just mumbles in lecture. Its 2 credits, yet I spent about 12 hours a week outside of class trying to do the stupid lab report. Lab manuel which Nancy wrote is horribly vague and confusing. Only take Chem 125 if it's required
This Class is the worst class to take. If its not required dont take it. The class is designed to make students not get a good grade. Lectures are pointless she goes over the basic concepts of the lab which are already stated on the power point. GSI's are no help and sometimes they dont even know how to perform the lab
Unhelpful. This class sucked. The GSI's are useless, as are her lectures. For a two credit class, I put in way too much time. I was frustrated the entire year. If you can get away without taking this class, do it.
Her lectures are basically pointless so I never go- I watch parts of them later on iTunesU if I don't understand the Pre-Lab. Luckily my GSI is helpful so that's nice. The goal of the class seems to be to teach yourself chemistry through experimentation so I can see how it'd be hard for some, but I easily got 100% on the midterm so an A is doable.
Even though most people say not to go to class, if you answer questions in lecture you can get extra credit. I did once and every point counts in this class! GSIs are pretty bad and mine barely knew what was going on beside basic safety skills. Class is dull and basically something you just have to sit through. Exams are easy to study for.
I didn't actually believe that she could've been that awful until i took her class as well. the only reason she didn't get a 1 on easiness was because the exams were easy. other than that don't ever expect to do well on a lab report. ever. the class is going to be more work than all of your other classes combined, for just 2 credits.
TERRIBLE CLASS. way too much work for 2 credits. nancy needs to completely reconfigure this class.
She isn't quite as bad as others make her out to be, but she is pretty bad. Exams are easy and the she provides a good amount of study material. You can't get anything out of lecture that you can't find in the pre-lab readings. Beware of the lab book, because it is very cumbersome, typo ridden, and difficult to navigate.
Nancy is actually a very good lecturer, despite how much work she makes this class. If you have half a brain (I'm assuming most people reviewing her did not), an A is definitely not hard to get - just be careful of the points you lose. For 2 credits, the class is a lot of work, but there are a lot of resources provided to help you.
Her lectures are awful, boring, and not helpful in the least. There's so much work for just a 2 credit course. And for the exams she turns the simplest things into something complicated and impossible to decipher.
Lectures were absolutely pointless. Nancy posted podcasts of all her lectures online, but even then they weren't very helpful. The demos were occasionally cool, but never extremely interesting. Unfortunately if you're taking CHEM125, you're kind of stuck with her, but it's only one semester, right?
Exams are a cakewalk if you do the practices and know your stuff. Work diligently on your lab reports and your presentations. They're PICKY and can knock off up to .335 points on reports and 20% on presentations if you're 'not confident enough.' Do well on ALL your reports as they're 60% of your grade. 30% Exams, 10% are up to the GSI.
Don't confuse lots of work with difficulty. Yes it is a lot of work for 2 credits, but it isn't hard work. She gets a bad reputation because most freshmen aren't used to the out of class effort that goes into college. Overall she is still boring and monotone, but you can learn from her if you put the effort in. Exams were cakewalks too.
Dr. Kerner is getting a bad rap on this site. She is very helpful if you just go to see her in office hours and the lectures spell out exactly what you do in lab. People who say this is a ton of work are lazy. Spending 4-8 hours on a team lab report is not bad at all. Also the exams are identical to the practice exams.
She was very helpful and understanding. Nancy wanted all of her students to do well, and have an appreciation for chemistry. The labs were doable as long as you worked hard. If you're team members are slacking and are not helping with lab reports, you have to take it upon yourself to complete them. Memorize all practice exams and an A is possible.
Definitely one of the most boring/pointless classes ever. She openly insults you if you give her the wrong answer in class. Very rude and boring.
Nancy is really boring but if you can stay awake during lecture you will find it helpful. Lab is nearly impossible without going to lecture or at least researching beforehand. Not a very fun class
If this class is not required DON'T take it. If it is required, take a different professor. Lectures were painfully boring and the slides can be confusing. Worst class I've taken here.
I don't know why I bothered to go to all her lectures when they are online; they are so boring. For exams, as long as you take all the practice exams and maybe go to her review sessions, you should be fine and get a good grade. GSIs are pretty much useless.
Overall, Chem 125 can be a pain because of all the group work involved. As a professor, Kerner isn't as bad as everyone makes her out to be. While her lectures are very boring, they are also very clear. Labs are very, very difficult to perform/understand without them. If you go to lecture and use the practice exams, you should get a good grade.
Her lectures were not helpful what so ever. I went to only one all semester and passed the class with ease. She talks like a robot and it's not worth going to her lecture.
Pretty boring and dry professor, but seems like a nice person
Worst lab ever with a boring monotone teacher. The lectures are not mandatory or useful, unless you are a chem major then maybe they are. The class focuses on teaching you 3-5 rules that are results of your experiments and to ace the exam one simple needs to memorize those rules. Lectures are long winded ways of explaining them, so no need to go
One of the worst professors I've had so far. This course is ruined so much by her. The labs have no correlation to the exams at all. Basically you do the labs just to do them and for the exam, you learn everything on your own through trends on practice exams. Nothing is learned from this class, you just memorize. Completely useless class
Nancy Kerner seems monotonous only if you sit in the back. In the front row, she is sassy and funny and a great professor. You just have to pay attention.
The class is almost more work than the Chemistry 130 portion of gen chem, and is only worth 2 credits. Definitely not worth my time. Too bad it is mandatory.
Terrible professor. Labs have no correlation and she is rude when answering your questions. Advice: Her past exams are identical to her exams.
After the first week you realize she doesnt help with anything so I just stopped going to her lecture
Very technical and not very clear.
Chem 125 is a miserable class. Kerner is knowledgeable and seems reasonably nice, but lectures are boring and useless when it comes to lab. You have no real guidance in lab (GSIs aren't allowed to tell you much) and you put in way more work than the two credits are worth. The lab reports are graded extremely harshly.
Kerner helps with nothing. The labs don't relate to the lectures at all. If you're not confident with chemistry, go to lecture to get the extra credit, but other than that it's pretty useless.
I got very close to a hundred percent on both exams, and I did not receive an A in the class. This class is trivial and useless.
The lectures are helpful for knowing what to do in the lab, though the extra credit for the class is unfairly given. The lab manual is confusing.
This class was incredibly difficult. Nancy Kerner was not helpful at all, and the GSIs are useless; they can't tell you anything, and they mark you down hugely for small mistakes & sometimes for no reason other than that the class average must be at a certain percent (if you ask what you did wrong, they don't respond). To do well, ace your exams.
Her grading/extra credit system is awful. The GSIs are unnecessarily harsh and get in trouble if they're too nice, and often are not helpful. The lab manual (written by her) is often misleading and contains many typos. This class is ridiculous and I feel that we deserve more than 2 credits for all the work we put in.
A lot of work for a pointless class. If you take this class, pray that you get a decent lab group. Do all the practice exams, otherwise the hourly exams will shred you.
Listening to Nancy's voice in lecture is comparable to having your fingernails pulled out one by one. The GSIs grade incredibly harsh and if your lab group isn't bright and organized, you're screwed. If you don't have to take this course, avoid it at all costs.
The class is hard if you get a bad group/bad GSI but Nancy is actually fine. She held helpful reviews before the exam and put up a ton of practice tests that end up being 90% of the actual test.
Lab reports were tedious. Doing well on lab reports can be challenging. Look them over carefully. My group did well on presentations. For exams, watch her review lectures, do all practice exams, and go to GSI office hours to completely understand questions you missed and exams will be easy. Her lectures were helpful to me.
Class Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.32 avg changeRatings by Course
125
4.0
(1)CHEM1256
4.0
(2)CHEM130125
3.0
(1)CHEM229
3.0
(1)CHEM125
2.8
(161)Difficulty by Course
CHM130
5.0
CHEM123
5.0
CHEM229
4.0
CHEM125
3.2
CHEM125126
3.1