2.1
Quality3.8
Difficulty29%
Would Retake134
Reviews29%
Would Retake
134
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
134 total ratings5
13
4
13
3
15
2
30
1
62
What Students Say
“The ALEKS HW is the biggest problem with this class”
CHM2046 - 1.0 rating“Avoid this class and professor; take the in-person version”
CHM1025 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
20%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.25 avg changeRatings by Course
CHM2046
3.5
(28)CHM2095
3.3
(4)CHM1025
1.8
(96)CHM2045
1.3
(4)chm1032
1.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CHM2045
4.8
CHM2095
4.0
chm1032
4.0
CHM2046
3.8
CHM1025
3.7
Reviews (133)
She was very new to online learning and she had quite a few technical difficulties. Did not like her teaching style, especially in large class settings. She responded to emails pretty quickly but Study Edge will help you understand the concepts much better than she or her TAs will. Also felt like she didn't give us enough practice problems
Chem 1 sucks in general, it's a lot of content and it's a weed out class so it wasn't entirely Dr. B's fault. Definitely be prepared to spend most of your time devoted to this class, Study Edge is nice but not necessary if you're willing to just do extra practice problems out of the textbook instead.
Many students complained about this class but no matter which professor you take chemistry with, it will be difficult and I think that Dr B did a good job of preparing me for our exams. I didnt use studyedge and only watched the lectures and was able to do very well in the class. If you work hard in the class it shouldnt be difficult to pass.
I was marked wrong for a correct answer on a graded assignment, so I emailed Dr. B to please adjust my score. After two weeks, she never responded so I emailed her a second time but still, she never got back to me (I double checked the email address and made sure it sent). Because of Dr. B, my final letter grade is lower than my true grade.
Exams were very difficult, I passed above average on every one and still managed to not pass. Class average score on the final was a 120 out of 250. ALEKS is also frustrating.
Professor Benjamin is awful at responding to emails. If you can teach yourself then I totally recommend this class as it was easy to learn from the book and get an A. However, if you need lots of help working through problems, this professor won't be a good fit.
You will never see this woman throughout taking the class. Its chem, so its hard I was able to get an A with study edge and the practice tests, the lectures are taken right out of the textbook so i read the book and never watched a lecture. The ALEKS hw is useless busywork and is not indicative of the test. quizzes are 10 qs 2 attempts no honorlock
Dr. B does not even respond to her own TA's emails, let alone her students. She does not give points back even if you are objectively right. It was really easy for me because I took AP Chem, but I know people who are not doing too hot. That being said, in-person is 10x harder than online, so I guess this class is the lesser of 2 evils. Just avoid.
Took this 100% online, did all the ALEKS and read the textbook, and struggled. I guess I can say it's mostly my fault but, the ALEKS quizzes weren't anything like the quizzes and exams imo. Also I did not know that there were recorded lectures until the last week of class so yeah. Just make sure you're on top of the hw.
In my opinion this class was too difficult to be an intro level course, the homework and (optional but necessary) notes take hours, they do help though. The exams and quizzes were very difficult and it seemed as though things were out of order, as I learned things in the last weeks that should've been taught in the first weeks. Not terrible though.
professor benjamin was mainly a hands-off teacher. she posted her lectures but many of them were unnecessary to watch. i would suggest using study edge and completing the ALEKS because its a significant part of your grade.
Not too difficult for an introductory class. ALEKs is what make the class a little hard because it is time-consuming. In order to do well on the test study ALEKS, quizlets, and even do the practice exams because they are similar to the tests. No extra credit so stay on top of the quizzes and homework.
I took this class online so I didn't really have much contact with Professor Benjamin. She gives a study schedule that helps keep you organized that I liked. It's really just a lot of self-work: read the textbook, watch the videos, do Aleks, take exam, repeat. Not a horrible class if you need the credit.
I anticipated on this class having a light workload considering that it is only two credits; however, I spend more time on this class than my four credit calculus class. You're expected to put work into the class daily, which is way too much for a two credit class. Expect to spend a lot of time learning the material.
My issue with this class is that it's done through ALEKS which is the worst online platform. You spend hours nitpicking answers just to try to get the assignment done. This class is not super hard but it's a huge waste of time just take chem 1 or take intro online.
Overly difficult for 2 credit class. There's a ton of work, so expect to put in 10+ hours a week. Although there's tons of work, your grade is calculated in categories. If you get 100% on the 1st HW assignment, 100% on the next 30+ actually doesn't help your grade at all. No EC. Tests mostly fill in blank & math. Your grade is really only exams!!
I didn't really have much contact with Benjamin but she was not great at communicating. I had to reschedule an exam and it took her two weeks to reply.
I took this class over the summer, so I did not have contact with Professor Benjamin, but she sent weekly updates and offered office hours. The class was very fast-paced and mostly done on ALEKS. Study Edge really helped me prepare for the exams.
Grade discussions hard. Does not reply to emails. And does not accept late work
run. Aleks questions take like 40 minutes each and if u get one even slightly wrong it knocks u back and u have to do 2 more.For exam review,she gave a link to a zoom of a PREVIOUS STUDENT teaching everything on the exam. This girl was super unprofessional and was like "ummm just don't worry about that part I think" when she didn't know an answer
Dr. B provides no context for her exams & does not care about students. Decent person overall but her content consists of rushed lectures & only ALEKS. Not to mention, your grade is determined by 83% exams so if you are not a good test taker, I would look elsewhere. Do not take Dr. B if you care about your well-being!!!!
The exam material does not match the course content that is taught. Aleks Assignments also do not match the exam content so you are doing them for basically nothing. My B- is thanks to Study Edge only. Take with a different professor or take in-person if possible.
Anyone who thinks Dr. Benjamin is a bad professor is not trying. She is very engaging if you actually attend lecture and she sincerely tries to make sure every student in the room understands the material. Her exams are beyond fair if you put in the effort to study a few days in advance. Study Edge helps too.
Don't take online!!! Way too much work for a 2 credit class and is not worth the time! So much work on ALECKS and lectures that don't properly explain anything, and exams are way too much of the grade. She provides barely any way to review and takes weeks of studying to do well. Maybe in person she is better
The lectures that I watched online weren't even her teaching, and they were all confusing and not in depth enough for the understanding that we were expected to achieve. She assigns reading in the textbook along with ALEKS homework that's a whole other problem in itself. The homework helps minimally on the test, you need to read the textbook.
The class isn't challenging but for two credits it has a lot of work. If you lined up a group of people in a room and asked me to selected Stacey Ann, I wouldn't be able to because she never lectures. Focus on ALEKS and previous quizzes and practice exams and you should be fine. Chemistry is hard so just study to the point where you get bored.
Basically all on your own in CHM1025 online. You have only Aleks assignments, no lectures, and sometimes she will link some youtube videos. The class isn't necessarily hard or impossible, just confusing because you are all on your own and have to figure out what you need to know for the exams bc Aleks assignments rarely line up with the tests.
For CHM1025, you are teaching yourself. To complete the ALEKS homework assignments you need to read the textbook and watch the canvas lectures. The main issue for me was disciplining myself to learn the material on my own. If you are really interested in learning a good foundation of chemistry, I would take the in-person class instead.
- Self-taught through ALEKS - HORRIBLE response times - Unclear due dates If the in-person class is available take it, if not prepare to teach yourself Chemistry with an uninformative and hard-to-use platform.
She teaches really well and works to make sure every student actually understands. The material is tricky but not hard. This class requires a lot of studying and keeping up but thats expected. if you really study , you can get an A. Her practice exams and previous exams were extremely helpful because of how similiar they are to real exams.
This is completely a teach yourself course. There is no interaction with the professor, except if you attend office hours where she seems annoyed at your questions. The weekly assignments are tedious and usually do not correlate to the topics you are learning/the material that is tested on the exams. Get study edge and you will be fine!
Dr. Benjamin is a good choice for Chem 2. The class is definitely challenging, but she teaches you what you need to know to succeed in the course. Her exams are beyond fair if you study properly. She uses iClicker, so attending lectures is necessary. I would also get Study Edge as a supplement to her lectures and the course materials.
She's nice and answers promptly. I will say her lectures weren't helpful if you already read the textbook. Aleks had a lot of ridiculous assignments but the time frame to complete it was alright. I recommend StudyEdge to help you pass the exams, as they simplify things and make it easier to understand and they help with Alek. Would recommend her.
Professor Benjamin really made you work for your grade. The lecture would cover the basis of the topics and you would pretty much be required to teach yourself how to solve them using the worksheets and practice exams that were given. The aleks homework and quizzes also took a very long time so it is recommended to start them early.
Dr. Benjamin was a really good professor! She was overall pretty funny and relatable. 83% of your grade in this class comes from exams. Only the final is cumulative. She really does try her best to help you prepare and is always there if you have questions. You just have to be prepared to put in the time and effort to succeed in this class.
I took this class online and the only downside was that sometimes Dr. Benjamin took kind of long to respond. Definitely a doable course online though. Dr. Benjamin was good at reminding students about due dates and being straightforward about expectations. Overall, this course was a good intro to refresh from high school chemistry.
Chemistry alone is a hard subject, so the professor doesn't make the course "hard". Most of the work is done through ALEKS and can be time consuming, but the professor does a great of sending out announcements and reminding students of exams, quizzes, and ALEKS. Study for the tests because the grading scale is VERY test heavy!
The ALEKS HW is the biggest problem with this class. Not only is it tedious, punishing, and sometimes wrong about answers, but it has NOTHING to do with the exam. In fact, if you try to learn from the ALEKS hw YOU WILL FAIL THE FIRST EXAM. For the first ALEKS assignment, MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERYTHING RIGHT, it will save you 20+ hours later on.
I HATED this class. The homework was on Aleks and it was so difficult and time consuming. There were no lectures or anything and I don't think she taught anything. Even the videos that were put up were not of her. I do not recommend this class online because you don't learn anything.
Took this course Fall 2021. I think some of the reviews are a bit harsh. Yes, the course is very self-taught and professor Benjamin is not very involved, but the course itself wasn't terrible. Exams were a bit difficult, and made up a large portion of the grade. Lots of ALEKS, but not weighted heavily. Overall, pretty decent class.
A LOT of homework for a 2 credit class. Exams go through honorlock and are hard as well as a significant portion of your grade. No lectures are provided, and you must teach yourself, so be prepared to read the textbook. Both quizzes and exams contain multiple-choice and free-response questions. Don't recommend.
The class would definitely take effort if you were learning the material the first time, but it's doable. Many people complain she was not responsive, but I always received a response. TAs were helpful. Benjamin herself was alright, mostly aleks hw, decent answer explanations provided. Her explanations were not always the best but she was trying.
She wasn't bad but neither was she great. She was a little disorganized. ALEKS absolutely sucks but u just have to get through it, it will force u to learn. Tests are worth 60%, they were alright but need to study to avoid mistakes that can cost u. The lectures were fine, GET STUDY EDGE! Go in person to ask questions; she never responds to emails.
I loved Dr. B! Lecture was mostly doing practice problems together, which was the most important thing for exam questions, and her reviews were super helpful, too. If you take notes during lecture and do the homework, you should be fine on the exams. In my opinion, she's the best of the 2046 professors. Get her class if you can!
If you aren't required to take this class, don't. If you do have to, I'd say take it online. Lots of self-study and grade is exam-heavy. She is basically unreachable. Not worth the time I spent for a 2 credit class that I didn't even need.
Lots of work for a 2 credit class. Basically have to teach yourself through ALEKS. I had to take online as in person section was full.
The only reason this Professor "Good" is because I don't now how else to say that there is lack of relationship between her and the students in the class. The class is hw heavy but it was always doable. To me it felt like a normal virtual class where you teach yourself a lot of the material which is good or bad depending on your style.
She is honestly one of the worst professors. She purposely makes the exams so hard that it even tricks her and she ends up having to give credit back but then will take credit away from us when it's her fault on exams. Exams accumulate to over 80% of your grade so one bad exam faults you. She is inconsiderate much of the time.
I can't even call her my professor because she literally does nothing at all and is barely reachable. Avoid at all costs!
This class is basically a teach yourself class. there's no lectures, its read the textbook and do work modules. The exams can have nothing to do with coursework so it is confusing and very difficult to receive help. I wouldn't recommend unless you are required to take this course. I did it to prepare for Chem 1 and regretted it.
I had technical difficulties with my Aleks and it took a whole WEEK of emailing back and forth for her to fix it and I got super behind. You have to just read the textbook and watch videos from the 70s and then that doesn't even prepare you for the test because the material is so different. She seems so nice in person and then proceeds to be awful.
This class is ridiculously difficult for absolutely no reason. No lectures are provided, and the class relies heavily on ALEKS and exams (which are both completely different from one another). tbh, "introductory" is not the word to describe this class. It's literally gen chem but for half the credits. Don't do it.
The worst course I have ever taken. The material provided, Aleks assignments, and quizzes are all completely different. Avoid at all costs.
I did not speak to Professor Benjamin the entire semester. The class is fully asynchronous so if you're not someone who can teach themselves mostly, I would not recommend this class. However, I will say that Professor Benjamin provides an EXTENSIVE amount of study materials and supplemental materials if you're struggling.
This professor gave a lot of study materials which was very helpful. The only bad part of this class was ALEKS because it does not relate to the quizzes or exams.
Dr. B has to be one of the most influential professors in the chemistry department. She was very clear in lectures and was open to helping students understand the material afterward. USE HER OFFICE HOURS. She provides important supplemental information that helps to better understand the topics at hand.
The class is 100% online and I did not interact with the professor once. You primarily learn through Aleks, which includes an online textbook. The Aleks assignments could be time consuming. The class content was harder than I expected for an intro course, but doable if you can teach yourself the material.
The course is completely self-taught, I did not interact with the professor once. There was a lot of HW assigned through ALEKS (these assignments always took forever!). Overall, the class itself was okay. Your grade pretty much depends on whether you pass or fail the exams. For a two credit class, it was a lot of work and studying.
I fully understood the homework and quizzes, but the tests were completely different. Because of this, I would get very high grades for the quizzes and homework assignments, but would absolutely bomb the exams.
Class was fully online, which is fine, but the professor provide zero interaction, even her minimal lectures were AI created. She gives a ton of homework for a 2-credit class, yet it's weighted so low that your grade depends mostly on exams. ALEKS homework didn't even relate to the exams half the time so you end up teaching yourself everything.
Professor had zero interaction with students the entire semester. She assigns a ton of work for a 2-credit course, yet it's weighted so low that your grade is almost entirely based on exams. ALEKS assignments don't relate to exam material half the time, I had to teach myself through youtube videos for the entire semester.
This was a pretty straightforward class but the homework and ALEKS did not at all correspond to what we were tested on. You do not necessarily need to read the textbook just know how to do all of the math based problems and understand the concepts. Take the practice exams seriously. Never saw or spoke with the professor.
The tests are completely different from material taught in class and anything on homework and worksheet assignments. She rarely showed up at her office hours, and responses to emails were incredibly slow.
Dr. Benjamin was honestly great as a lecturer! I didn't want her initially, but was very glad to have her. She goes through lots of problems in class and is flexible on pace based on the class's understanding. Very knowledgeable and wants students to succeed. ALEKS is annoying but good cushion for your grade.
She was always so helpful and has very open office hours both in person and via zoom. She is so easy to talk to and her lectures are very clear. She is very good at explaining theory.
Be prepared to do ALEKS and learn on your own because there are limited to no lecture videos. There aren't very many questions on the exams which makes it difficult to get a high score. The ALEKS assignments and textbook reading don't align well with what is on the quizzes/exams. I had no interaction with the professor but her course was awful.
She literally was the worse professor I ever had. Did not care to help me with material and eventually led to me withdrawing. Literally pick any other professor.
Haven't taken Gen Chem 1 as of posting this but lots of people tell me you can skip this class and still be fine. This one is ROUGH. Lots of ALEKS work which is hardly related to what's on the exams, and the professor posts no videos of her actually doing the lecturing. Office hours is only online and the pacing tends to be slow when you attend.
this class makes literally zero sense, the ALEKS have nothing to do with the exams, and the quizzes are very difficult. you are basically teaching yourself in this course.
Only take this course if you already have a background in chemistry. Defeats the purpose of an introductory course and zero actual teaching. No lectures, just a textbook and homework not related to exams. Zero effort from professor and exceptionally difficult to pinpoint what you need to know.
Very little interaction with the professor aside from weekly update announcements. For a 2 credit class, the number of ALEKS topics a week are insane. Lecture videos are all over the place and the textbook is dense. GET STUDY EDGE! Her exams are easier than the in-person professor. Also, I would invest in Chegg.
This class had me on edge 24/7. If you are not on top of your work and studying, you will not do great. ALEKS will either make or break you so have ENOUGH time to complete everything. The exams were not completely difficult but extremely nerve-racking as they were on ProctorU. Never saw the professor and barely helped. Be ready to self teach.
Perhaps this is because it was virtual, but I did not have a great experience with Dr. Benjamin. She did not provide us with lectures; only short, 4 minute videos from the internet on select topics. I had to teach myself the course using the textbook and the Aleks assignments. I am angry that I paid to take a course that I essentially self-taught.
Benjamin was a fair professor. Lectures were in person, but she also recorded them for online viewing. Any mistakes on the exams (e.g., unclear wording) resulted in her throwing them out and giving everyone credit for them. She used ALEKS for homework, so that was a bit time-consuming.
The professor was almost non existent. Its hard to reach out to her and the course is almost entirely through the textbook aside from exams. You really have to learn on your own
I took this class to gain a better understanding for chem since high school didn't really do that. This course did a meh job of doing that considering it was super textbook heavy. The exams make up a good portion of your grade and really aren't bad if you're super careful during the exam. The practice exam almost always predicted my exam score.
There is no professor. For an "intro" chem class, you have to teach yourself all of the material. Her proctored exams give you the periodic table at the bottom of the instructions so be prepared to waste half of your exam time scrolling up and down to see it. Don't even try to contact her she will not answer. Don't waste your time taking it online.
Online Intro to Chem be prepared YOU JUST HAVE A TEXTBOOK:( Exams are okay but I'm not sure the prof. even knows what's in the textbook (basically our only resource in this class), when it comes to the content on exams. Don't even try contacting the prof. get study edge instead. Overall classes format is irritating, just take it in person.
Ridiculously difficult class for being 1000-level. I've never taken a class that was harder to pass, solely b/c there are ZERO resources besides the textbook and exams are nothing like the chapters they "cover". To anyone who needs CHM1025: take the in-person class, not online with this professor. I should've dropped it while I had the chance LOL
If possible take the in person class. There are little to no extra resources outside if the book. Exams are fill in the blank instead if multiple choice like the in person exams. Zero interaction with the professor all semester, does not reflect a 2 credit 1000 level class.
I tried to give Dr.B the benefit of the doubt but no Dr. B is genuinely the worst teacher you could have for an online course. She didn't lecture (& the lectures included were all different people). She expected us to work over a hurricane not once but twice. She is lacking in common decency & genuinely made me hate chemistry so beware!!
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! I tried using the resources provided (which were 3-4 minute youtube videos that made no sense and a dense textbook) and was doing terribly. I had to get study edge but it is still difficult. She is 100% absent except for the RARE announcement about an exam. Avoid this class and professor; take the in-person version.
I rarely engaged with her due to this being an online course, but the one time I did she responded fairly quickly and resolved my issue immediately, which is good. The course itself is the problem: you have to teach yourself using outside material since the resources provided are just not it.
Please do not take this class online. The textbook and lecture videos were no where near helpful for the exams. I did the practice problems at the end of the chapters which were kind of useful, but basically have to teach yourself. Regret taking this class.
I would recommend opting out of CHM1025 if it is only available with this professor. 70% of your grade is based on 3 exams and a final, all of which are fairly difficult for a 1000s level course. There are no lectures they have recorded and you will be teaching yourself everything. I do not recommend taking this course if you truly want to learn.
I'll admit this is my retake of the class. If you put in the time & really learn the canvas layout, you will be okay. Lectures and practice problems are kind of hidden but definitely make a difference. This course is content HEAVY. She averages and replaces your lowest score which is nice & she is willing to work with you to make accommodations.
Professor does absolutely no actual teaching. All content is in the form of useless videos, you will have to teach yourself everything using other resources. Grade is almost derived from the exams, which are not similar to the online "text book" at all. Do not take this class.
Do not take this class. The professor doesn't exist. All she did was set up the canvas page (confusingly) and put 3 hours of zoom office hours a week. She didn't even bother to record her own lectures. They're all different people and not great. Discover a 2 credit 1000 level class that will tank your gpa. Do yourself and DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS.
Dr. Benjamin is a great professor, I honestly don't understand why she has any bad reviews. She was good at explaining material and was very fair on exams. She also held a zoom during lectures so people could join and do the iclicker from online.
I was honestly surprised Dr. Benjamin has so many bad reviews. Dr. Benjamin was the best professor I could have gotten. She is amazing and an excellent lecturer. You could tell she genuinely cared about her students and wanted us to be successful. Her exams were challenging but fair. As long as you show up to class and study, you'll be fine.
Get ready to teach yourself. Prof. Bejamin is not easy to access her course page is set up in the worst way possible and most of your grade comes from exams. Online classes, in my opinion tend to be harder, but there is NO reason I should spend my tuition dollars on a class I have to teach myself. Case and point. Dont take this class.
I was surprised by the negative reviews about Dr.Benjamin. She was one of the best professors—her lectures were clear, she genuinely cared about our success, and exams were tough but fair. Zoom lectures helped a lot and she even allowed for iClicker to be completed at home on zoom. If you attend the lectures and study, you'll do well.
This class is pretty basic chemistry (considering it is intro to chem) and really isn't bad. No drop grade for exams but there is an average/replace policy. If you have taken AP Chemistry before or any other chemistry class it shouldn't be too bad.
This class was easy. As long as you read the textbook (which didn't take me long), watch her short lecture videos, and guarantee you understand the math you will be fine. I would recommend study edge since her lectures are very short, but you should be able to get by fine without it. She also gives a practice test that is very similar to the actual
Prof is useless but that doesn't matter as you will self-teach no matter which 2046 prof you're stuck w/. Hours of ALEKS HW (what I used to self-teach). Exams are easy but can have 5-6 dumb conceptual mcq nobody knows that causes you to get a 75-83 if you would've been an A student. Quizzes are free A's on ALEKS but A cutoff is 90 instead of 85.
Dr. Benjamin was a great lecturer for chem 2. She explained very well and made sure all students knew what was going on. The exams were difficult but fair and I felt that she prepared us well. I would suggest reading through the textbook outside of class too.
I never interacted with her, but her class was not too difficult. She gives a lot of ALEKS homework but as long as you do not procrastinate it's not that bad. Her exams were fair for the most part as long as you study. I used study edge for her class but she honestly gives enough resources that you could go without it.
For reference im a 3.85 gpa mech e senior that aced chem1 easily. Chem2 online over summer is terrible. The lectures are extremely dense and I feel dont prepare well for the test. Trying to juggle hobbies, a job, this class, and another over summer was a nightmare. Either this class is much harder than chem1, or this professor is not good.
Cutoff is a 90. No extra credit is offered except on the final exam. Mostly self taught class as well
Dr. B was a great prof to take CHM2046. Everyone who has a problem with her is an online student, which really doesn't reflect what a great professor she is. Office hours were amazing with her, and she lectures very well about chemistry. Dr. B is also a really cool person, and she's very reasonable. One of the best professors I've had for sure.
Professor Benjamin is unorganized and provides very few study materials for the online section. Her in person students get far more resources. Their exams are all multiple choice, while the online exams are much harder with fill in the blank and matching. I recommend choosing another professor.
DO NOT take. You are teaching yourself. The content seems easy until you take her exams, which have content never covered. She has 1 in person section that she treats much better with multiple choice exams. Online exams are worth so much, yet don't match the practice she gives. Get ready to struggle for an A in what should be an easy class.
She makes this two credit course way harder than it should be. She provides no resources at all, just the textbook and 5 minute videos from like 10 years ago that are useless (and aren't even her). Do yourself a favor and don't take this class.
This was the worst STEM class I ever taken before. Teacher was not understanding of my personal situation or my efforts to try to do weekly tutoring even study edge could not save me. Exams are 55% of your grade and the 3 exams you do have the lowest score doesn't get dropped, but replaced with your average from all three. Didn't do me any good
As another online student who took this class, all I have to say is that it is horrible. She does not provide good resources and sets online students up for failure. She provides her in person classes with a study guide and multiple choice exams while online students are not given any type of study material and are given fill in the blank exams.
Good lecturer, didn't give too much review for exams which was a downside. Normally the exams reflected what we did in class pretty well. Expect to put study time in outside of class though.
Taking chem online is already difficult, and I don't necessarily think the professor is the problem, I think it's the course. She doesn't take any excuses, and she has a weird hatred toward Study Edge. (You literally need it to pass.) The honorlock exams are basically your entire grade and it seems like the questions are trying to trick you.
You will never hear from her. My classmates and I didn't know she even existed. She doesn't respond to emails. Exams are worth the entirety of your grade, and you will never be provided practice/study material. If you are bad at studying/teaching yourself material, you will fail this class. She favors in person courses and doesn't care for online.
Does Professor Benjamin even exist? I have not heard from her all semester, and I really do think that her name is just a placeholder for this course. The content itself is very easy for you to learn, but the professor just isn't there whatsoever. She sends out an announcement every once in a while, but that's about it.
It's impossible to contact her and she barely posts any lecture materials, announcements, or study guides. However, she provides her in-person classes with study guides and multiple choice exams whereas online students receive free response questions. Take ALEKS if you can and if you cannot then make sure you take this class in-person.
The professor is basically nonexistent so you have to teach yourself everything. Exams are practically all of your grade and are very difficult because you get no study material besides the textbook.
It honestly seems like this professor doesn't care about her students. She's hard to contact and gives no instruction. Plus she gives her in person section easier MCQ exams.
This class is horrible and the professor is basically nonexistent. She gives you no resources to succeed and the online section is given fill in the blank exams, but the in person is given all MCQ. Study edge is basically necessary and even then her exams are 31 questions and very tedious to complete. She sets you up for failure, don't recommend.
It's hard to rate this professor because honestly she's not really present in the online class. She just assigns pre-recorded videos. The play posits won't cover all the material you need to know for the exams, so you basically need to get study edge or read the textbook. I probably would've failed this class without study edge tbh.
This class was inconsistent and confusing in structure. I chose to take it as a refresher. I the material is at a basic, introductory chem knowledge level (not really difficult.) Going into the class, I knew the material with at least a 90% mastery. What I was not able to master were the tests that followed no rules for units or significants
Was not really present for her online class. Material was hard to grasp as you only have the textbook and some videos to understand it. No practice exams. Inconsistent and disorganized material. Hard to contact instructor.
Please don't take this class if you don't absolutely HAVE to. One would assume that as a 2 credit introductory course that it would be fairly easy; but that's not entirely true. The material itself isn't too bad. But the professor is no where to be found and refuses to give students any practice besides the few questions on her canvas. Not worth it
Take in-person! The content is pretty basic but a large percent of the grade is exams. I knew I was going to have to teach myself but I didn't expect the professor to purposely exclude resources like practice exams from her online students. Our exams consisted of a lot of frqs while the in-person students only had mcqs. Much worse experience online
If you're premed, PLEASE just take chem 1. This class is unnecessarily hard and unless you need the credit, just go straight to chem 1. If you absolutely need it, DO NOT TAKE IT ONLINE. This professor is actually nonexistent online and you will have to teach yourself everything. I regret taking this class so much. You've been warned!!!
Professor Benjamin clearly doesn't care about anyone taking this online, as she made the exams mostly free-response math with no review given, while in-person students received MCQs with practice exams provided beforehand. The class is entirely self-taught, and the "lectures" are 5-minute Youtube videos. Please don't even bother, just take CHM2045.
This professor is very hard. For an intro class, the content is difficult and explained in a confusing way. I reached out to friends in much higher chem classes and they thought the tests were worded in an odd way. I have never struggled ever in any academic sense until this class. I studied nonstop for every test and could barely get a B+ overall.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TOO. She does not teach and you have to learn all of the material on your own. No study materials are provided and there is no way to contact her. She does not answer any emails!!!!
I would take her for chem 1 if I could. Her lectures are good and she genuinely cares if we understand the material, like she wouldn't move on if she realized the entire class was still confused. Over 70% of our grade is tests and the final, but they weren't too bad if you actually study. I didn't use study edge and was fine.
took in person and not only were lectures pointless because they were a reiteration of what was on the slides but the course was super exam-heavy - 3 exams worth 17% each and a final worth 22%. no amount of studying/studyedge saved me from the weight of the exams. for a two credit course just do yourself a favor and go straight to 2045 if you can
If you are taking this class online, go ahead and don't. You will be teaching EVERYTHING to yourself. Your exams will NOT be multiple choice like the in-person exams are, she will not give any practice exams, and if you join her office hours she will probably refer to Chat because she literally does not know how to answer her own practice problems
This class is way too difficult for a 2-credit intro course. You fully teach yourself. Dr. Benjamin only posts brief YouTube videos that don't fully explain the material. The textbook videos and Study Edge help much more. If you can, take it in person; those exams are multiple choice, and in-person students actually get review materials.
DO NOT TAKE ONLINE! Genuinely cares about her students. In-person she gives tons of resources & tests are all multiple choice. Lots of work for a 2 credit class. Graded iClickers and post-lecture assignments every class. Gave us s'mores one day to teach us stoichiometry. Had no chem experience before so this prepared me for chem 1.
If u don't do well online, do NOT take. idk why i did. Benjamin was nice, she sat with me for an hour just doing practice problems. StudyEdge will also be ur bsf if you're struggling. Exam 3 was the first exam I passed w/ a 74, finished the final with an 84. both bc of StudyEdge. You teach ur self in this online course, but Benjamin helps if u ask
This class felt very unstructured. There was basically no prep for the final, and emails never got responses. It felt like the instructor wasn't really present. I even had a correct answer marked wrong on a practice exam even though it matched the textbook? OMG MAKE SURE TO ATTEND 4 MEETINGS IF U GONNA TAKE THIS (she puts in a grade for this).
While this class was easy to pass as long as you actually take the time to read the chapters and take notes in order to digest all of the information, if you can avoid taking this class online PLEASE DO!! Professor Benjamin was not accessible out of class, and takes about a week (if not longer) to get back to you if you attempt to email her.
This course was not too hard but definitely pay attention to lectures and make sure you understand the material after each class. The homework was fine as long as you knew how to do it but I had to study a ton with Study Edge to fully grasp the work. The professor was very nice and a clear instructor, however.
Professor Benjamin was nonexistent during this course. She barely responded to emails and relies on textbook activities for work in the class. Progress exams are weighted heavily so all other work is insignificant. I recommend taking this in person as exams are MCQ, and there's more resources. She does not care about her online class whatsoever.
Avoid taking this class online. The online section exams are majority free response, so if you don't know how to solve a problem, you're screwed. She does no actual teaching and relies on textbook readings and short videos to get the point across. The only thing remotely helpful is the practice problems in each module.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
20%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
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-0.25 avg changeRatings by Course
CHM2046
3.5
(28)CHM2095
3.3
(4)CHM1025
1.8
(96)CHM2045
1.3
(4)chm1032
1.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CHM2045
4.8
CHM2095
4.0
chm1032
4.0
CHM2046
3.8
CHM1025
3.7