2.1
Quality3.9
Difficulty28%
Would Retake86
Reviews28%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
86 total ratings5
6
4
5
3
15
2
25
1
35
What Students Say
“Good person, awful teacher DONT TAKE”
CHEM1315 - 1.0 rating“Try your best to get a good lab TA because the lab is the hardest part of the class”
CHEM1315 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
86%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.64 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM1415
2.7
(26)CHEM1315
1.9
(54)CHEM1513
1.4
(5)Difficulty by Course
CHEM1513
4.4
CHEM1315
4.0
CHEM1415
3.5
Reviews (85)
This class has been awful. She went over a review with us before the exam, but she was answering the questions wrong. She couldnt explain why it was wrong.
The slideshows that she gives her lecture hall of 400 students are incorrect. She has confounding properties about her and doesn't teach what is going to be on the exams. If you do badly on the exams, there is no way to get your grade up. It is hard to hear what she is saying sometimes as she is soft-spoken and doesn't speak English the best.
If I could rate this class a 0 I would. Terrible. I do not recommend it. Half of the things you are told are wrong.
Homegirl is so confusing. Goes fast and is hard to understand. Only take her if you have a VERY solid background in chem. Has given test reviews and gotten her own questions wrong. She is SO nice and wants to help, but is kinda bad at it. Quite a bit of extra credit offered though and your lab grade is worth 30% of your chem lecture grade
Amazing if you put in the work and listen to her lectures in class. I have no background in chemistry and still have over a 100 in the class. Lots of extra credit and an overall caring professor.
The class was fairly easy if you did the extra credit and wrote good notes for the exam. However, she did have a speaker talk to the class before one of the lectures to advertise a sketchy direct sales scheme. Additionally, many of the lectures feel unnecessary, since she mostly reads off of the slides.
She's a nice person and available to help, however her help isn't great. Lectures are hard to get through. I don't get anything out of what she is trying to explain. There is a homework once a week and a decent amount of extra credit which will help your grade significantly if you do poorly on the tests (+ lab grades). Hard class, but passable.
The trick to doing well on her exams are the worksheets posted with the slides. You have a copy of all the slides. She's not bad, but there are better professors. If you are willing to take time to practice chem outside of class, you will do fine. I skipped lecture twice a week and still ended with an A. Chem is just difficult. Lectures are boring.
The professor moves quickly during the lecture. Many extra credit opportunities are posted, so you will do fine if you complete them and the homework.
Although she tries to teach, it is very hard to understand her. The lectures are very boring and she reads directly off the slides. There is a lot of extra credit offered. I would not recommend her.
Dr. Zhou is a nice woman, but does not do many example problems and only reads off slides that are posted to canvas. Most times it felt like I was teaching myself the material, which should be expected to some extent in a college level science course, but this was excessive. Extra credit is offered which helps with the grade greatly.
The homework and tests are easy, but that's where the fun stops. Dr. Zhou's lecture was pretty useless except it was worth participation points, you're better off teaching yourself. Try your best to get a good lab TA because the lab is the hardest part of the class. Overall chem is not my favorite and Dr. Zhou's class did not change that for me.
The whole course was self-taught, but there are plenty of extra credit opportunities given.
She has a thick accent but can be understood. Is not good at answering questions. Offers lots of extra credit. Tests are open note & use lockdown browser. Responds to emails fast. There are clicker questions in class for a grade. 1 hw a week w/ unlimited tries. Class moves fast bc there is a lot of content if you struggle with chem it may be hard.
This is a difficult class. Prof.Zhou is trying her best, but the language barrier is hard to get over. I genuinely only went to class to get participation points. If you can get a tutor, do it. Or have a strong group of friends to study with (and cry with). Get as many HW points as you can bc the tests are very difficult.
I'm not sure what to say at this point. The class average was a 46.24%, with the lower quartile being a 63.42% and the upper quartile being a 63.42% on the final exam. Meaning, students on average retained about 46% of the information taught in this course. If you have to take chem past chem 1, you will not learn what you need to with Dr. Zhou.
Grading is very confusing as homework is less valuable than most participation. Lockdown browser test don't help and end up making the test even harder than before.
She wasn't a terrible professor but wouldn't be my first choice. Her accent makes her hard to understand and she goes through the notes really fast, but they're always posted at the beginning of the week. The weekly homework has unlimited tries, and the extra credit helps a lot. The tests are on lockdown browser but are always open notes.
The main reason for my success in this class was that I took chemistry in high school and had a fantastic teacher. Be prepared to have to teach yourself almost all the content. In class Dr. Zhou would read off the slides and then there were graded clicker questions each day so you had to go. I would strongly advise a different pro if you can.
Save yourself and don't take this professor. She was extremely unorganized and had no clue how to lead a class, especially a class this big. Non stop technical difficulties during lecture. She literally did not even know how to get onto the OU wifi. Very thick accent, which is not her fault but may make learning a bit difficult for some.
Her lectures were not bad and understandable. However, she has an accent and goes pretty quickly which makes it difficult to learn especially if you have never taken chemistry before. This also means that you would have to read the textbook and understand your homework before coming to class to participate in the required daily iClicker questions.
Dr.Zhou is an okay teacher. She is hard to understand during lectures and does not answer your questions well. All tests are open note but have a lockdown browser and there is around 30 points of extra credit you can earn to boost your grade. I clicker questions are taken for attendance almost every lecture and is a big part of your grade.
This professor has a very thick accent, to the point you can not understand her. She does not teach, she just reads off the PowerPoint and then asks you questions you haven't learned how to do. She's very difficult. Do not take Chemistry from her unless you have a ton of background in it.
Do yourself a favor and take chem concurrently somewhere else. ANYWHERE else. As much as I believe that Professor Zhou has good intentions, she is a horrendous professor. Get ready to teach yourself a freshman level course. Her average final exam grade alone is terrifying. Don't make the same mistake I did and hope for the best.
She only reads off of the slides. She doesn't go into depth about anything. You have to memorize SO MUCH stuff. My class got a bad overall grade on a test and she blamed us. Another chem prof's class is excelling, and we are stuck. God save you if you get her as a professor, might as well look up stuff on YouTube.
Professor Zhou has achieved high levels of failure when it comes to teaching. She is very educated, however, her lectures consist of reading from the slides, failing to elaborate on concepts, and overall lack of clarity. Her lack of clear communication, in person and through email, makes her class unenjoyable and regrettable.
Do the extra credit! Every point matters on every assignment. A three point assignment is the same as a question on a test. I walked into the final with a 101 in the class and I walked out of the final with a 91 in the class.
Dr. Zhou is knowledgeable but more of a researcher than a professor. She's not good at explaining course materials, and her accent does not help. Take advantage of extra credit. This class takes up a lot of time because you have to re-teach yourself. Attendance is checked through IClicker (for a grade). I recommend going over notes before lecture.
Dr Zhou is a great professor. She is patient and truly cares about you getting a good grade. She is very accessible outside of class and offers very detailed explanations to any questions you have. Also, she posts all of her material online. The course is a little heavy on content, but if you take initiative it should be easy to pass.
Thick accent makes lectures impossible to understand, blasts through 30+ slides in one lecture session which doesn't allow the student to understand anything. Just reads the slides by words no input from her. You need to teach yourself everything cause she won't be able too. Test averages were 50%-60% no curves. Good person, awful teacher DONT TAKE
Zhou is not the best professor, but I can tell she tries to help people sometimes. Her lectures were pretty disorganized and test scores were low often, but she gives LOTS of extra credit, as well as departmental chemistry extra credit. She boosted my 89 to an A because she could tell I was close, but her teaching is just not the best.
Professor Zhou is an objectively bad professor, she reads off slides quickly with a thick accent that is difficult to understand. She offers lots of extra credit and the labs are easy so making a good grade is not incredibly difficult, but if you struggle with teaching yourself, I highly suggest a tutor or finding a different proffessor.
Good person, very bad professor. You will have a hard time understanding her, all she does is read off slides and goes through over 60 slides a class. She gives you no time to understand and retain information
Overall, this class is not incredibly difficult. However, it is difficult to understand Professor Zhou during lectures, as she has a thick accent. As long as you do the work and spend time teaching yourself, you should get an easy A, as there is a lot of extra credit. I basically failed 2 exams and still finished with an A in the class.
Zhou is not as awful as people make her out to be but this class is really tough. You do have to review a lot of the material on your own and prepare for classes but there is so much extra credit, tutoring, and office hours to go to for help. If you want an A you can get it but you do have to work for it.
She seems like a nice person, and she is trying to teach. But her accent makes it difficult to understand her all the time. She gives a lot of extra credit at the end of the semester, but the lectures are almost impossible to understand.
Absolute worst prof I have ever had. She is very hard to understand and reads straight from the lecture slides without giving any explanation. All the times I went to her office hours were useless. Take absolutely any other prof if you can. Taking her for chem will be a waste of your time.
It is really hard to follow along in class because she goes so fast and doesn't allow questions. This class sucks :(
The reviews do not lie; she is not a good teacher. Some content on the test is taught AFTER it, so be wary. Take legitimately anyone else in chemistry, and you'll be better off.
Very tough class because often times specific test material is not made clear, or test material is not taught until AFTER the test was given. Her accent makes it hard to understand lectures, and most of the time she does not understand the questions students are asking or she dismisses them.
Despite Dr. Zhou's accent it is clear that she cares, she is nice and compassionate. The subject is super hard, but she doesn't make the homeworks/exams, she does her best with the disadvantage of english not being her first language. Kids rate her super low because she's a COLLEGE professor and the expectations are nothing like reality. Its sad.
Her lecture is awful and her tests have nothing to do with the information taught.
If you take this class, get ready to self study EVERYTHING, her lectures are not good, she blasts through 45+ slides and you get nothing out of it. The tests are so hard and she always is trying to trick you on the test with the wording of the questions. The extra credit is helpful though.
Just don't take her.
I really disliked this professor. I was always confused and never got a hang of anything. I'm usually a good test taker, but I didn't get an exam grade above 50%. DON'T TAKE this professor to save your life!
Look for ANY other Professor if you take Chem. Prof. Zhou goes through slides extremely fast. Often, if students ask questions, she fails to provide an explanation related to the question. She is kind; however, the exams are VERY hard. A positive about this class is the opportunity for extra credit. Though little, it does make a small difference.
I had to retake this class because of this professor. I mean this with every ounce of my body ... take this class at Oklahoma City Community College instead if you can. Its 10 times cheaper, easier, and you'll actually learn the material. It completely transfers back to OU. May the force be with you if you take this prof.
Dr. Zhou was the toughest professor I have ever had. Get ready to learn everything on your own, because her lectures are pretty useless and you will never be able to keep up. The thing that makes this class passable is all the extra credit she offers. The lab section is annoying but not hard to do well in. Glad to be done with this class.
Bad English. Hard to understand.
I believe Zhou gets too much hate. The class was fairly easy overall, except for the exams. Homework is only given once a week and its all online. Her accent is difficult to understand but not to the lengths others describe it as. Prepare to teach yourself and make sure to practice. Lectures are fast paced but not too bad. Lots of extra credit.
She has an accent but it's not as bad as others say, she is still very understandable. It is clear that she cares about how her students do in class. Powerpoints are really helpful and easy to understand, but lectures are not very engaging. The tests are online and difficult so you will need to practice a lot. There's lots of extra credit given!
For lectures, she just reads off the slides. I recommend looking at the slides before class, because she does go pretty fast. She's kind of hard to understand with her accent at times. This isn't her fault, but directions on exam content is vague. Also if you test in the ADRC, reach out ahead of time & clarify what time you need to take your test.
Professor Zhou has both her highs and lows. She is difficult to understand, she reads directly off of slides, and does too little exam-like questions in class. However, she is exceptional when it comes to student support. She offers ample extra credit, student support hours, quick email replies, and a fun sense of humor. Chemistry is the problem.
Struggled a lot in this class. She is very difficult to understand. I didn't feel like I was learning anything, only getting read what was on the slides. Even when we would ask questions in class, she didn't necessarily answer them. I taught myself for most of the course and it affected my grade. The exams are failry difficult, averaging maybe 60%.
Be prepared to teach yourself the entire course, Professor Zhou is extremely hard to understand, goes through slides extremely fast, and does not answer questions very well. She will also waste 10 to 20 minutes of class time fixing technology issues that constantly happen. Exams also have material that is never covered in class.
Hard to understand especially from the back of the class. Exam averages were 40-60. Difficult to learn/want to go to class.
If you want to do well in this class just go on canvas and teach yourself using the Learning Objective worksheets. Her lectures are pretty unhelpful and I consistently did way better on exams when I just did that the day before I took it. The class average for every exam is like a 58%
Do the extra credit and you'll be okay, but the exams felt impossible. The lectures are pretty unhelpful, I found I understood concepts better when I started skipping and reading the textbook/slides on my own time. The homework and the Lecture Objectives worksheets are helpful but not comparable to how the exams are laid out at all.
Just reads off the slides. Probably gonna have to teach yourself. The homework had unlimited attempts and was very helpful. This class has a ton of outside help, which is nice. Her accent is understandable, it's not as heavy as they make it out to be on here. Lots of extra credit. Tests are hard. Attendance is graded.
Dr. Zhou is willing to help you whenever you need help. She may not be the best at explaining at material, she ensures that her students know the material by encouraging them read lecture slides before class. The tests have a lot of easy questions that come from review questions and lecture slides. If you practice enough, you will pass this class.
Dr. Zhou is not as bad of a professor as these reviews make her out to be. She generally just reads off the slides, but it's the only way to learn the material. The exams are not easy, but they mostly consist of materials straight from lectures or resuscitation homework. She has a heavy accent, but it is not hard to understand if you're listening.
very nice professor, but her class almost made me drop out immediately because it's so unclear what you have to study. GO TO OFFICE HOURS.
If you took chemistry or AP Chem in high school, you will be fine. The lectures are basically useless and all she does is read off the slides. She makes a lot of mistakes during the lecture that she has to correct later. She also either goes too fast or too slow. Most people end up okay in this class but if you have a better option take it.
I took Dr. Zhou for Chem 1 and Chem 2. I don't think she's the worst professor, but she isn't the best either. She's pretty accessible by email, and she answers questions very well. She does offer extra credit which does help.
Dr. Zhou is super nice and wants the best for us but the only way to get to know that is by going to her office hours and she's as helpful as she can be there. In class, she just reads off the slides but there isn't really any other way to do it. The exams are difficult but that's expected from the material.
Worst professor ever. This was the hardest class I have ever taken at OU. I have studied hours and hours for this class and have not learned much. She has given multiple wrong answers in class, the TA's can't get through a Recitation assignment without having to teach the entire thing. The TA's have even said they do not like her as a professor.
Professor Yongyao is genuinely a great teacher. She offers an ample amount of extra credit and curves each test. Everyone giving bad ratings was those who were too lazy to do the practice quizzes she provided. The practice quizzes and homework greatly aligned with the tests, so if you actually do those, then you are chilling in this class.
I liked Dr. Zhou and found her slides easy to follow. She did seem to get flustered while explaining the steps to certain equations, so it is important to practice on your own outside of class. There is a lot of extra credit, and she also curves her exams. Invest time into this class and you will get the grade that you want.
While she is a very kind person and does offer extra credit I found it very difficult to learn from her. During lectures I would often leave confused and relied on a tutor to get me through the class.
Difficult class but lots of extra credit was provided + curves on exams. Do the extra credit, hw, and iClicker. Her Canvas page is very helpful, and slides are easy to follow. She is difficult to understand, but offers so many resources on Canvas that content is easy to teach yourself. An A is beyond attainable. Organic Chem tutor on YT helped.
This chem course was much easier than than chem 1. There were plenty of opportunities to get extra credit and other points. If my grade only made up the material from lectures and homework I would have a 97-98. Lab was much harder than the lectures. Just practice a bunch because it is math heavy. There were so many extra credit opportunities too.
Dr. Zhou cares greatly about her students; she is very helpful 1-1. That said, if you have another option for the Gen Chem series, consider it. Her lectures were fairly disorganized, and she has trouble finding a rhythm in presenting the material (too fast/slow). The material is fairly easy (1315/1415), so it can be self-taught.
She was hard to follow in lecture and would often read directly from the slides. Had to teach myself all of the material. Would recommend taking a different gen chem prof. She seems to care abt students, but I just wasn't able to learn from her.
Sometimes she was not super prepared for the lectures and she would go too fast through the slides. However, if you go to her office hours, she will take the time to explain and help you through the material. She cares about her students, but sometimes I feel the lecture portion of the course could have been better. Definitely better than Chem 1.
I went to lecture only for the iclicker points. Dr.Zhou knows the material but struggle to teach it. She would often write half of a problem and then move on. It honestly is better to read through the lecture slides before lecture to actually understand the topic. Exams were not too great. Highly recommend a tutor for this course.
Exams for gen chem suck but it's not her fault. Overall she tried her best to prepare us and gave lots of resources.
All class averages for the three exams have been failing. The highest average so far was like a 60. Exams are difficult. She kinda just reads the slides and only half goes through problems, not a great pace for teaching either. She's kind but not good at teaching materials. Exams are only very very slightly like the practice materials so don't rely
This course does do Iclicker for attendance so be prepared. I also felt the exams weren't really a good representation of the questions and homework. All around tough class
She's super sweet but her lectures are so hard to follow, she just reads off a slide. When it comes to exams she won't go over what's all on the exam she'll just give you a couple of practice problems that are way easier then the ones on the exam and that's it. She's not the worst but I also with I had taken chem 2 with some one else
The exam study guides were much easier questions than what we were given on the actual exam, which consistently made exams difficult. Everyone consistently averaged a failing score. She just reads off the slides and only goes through problems half way, she's very sweet but not very good at elaborating on content to help us succeed on exams.
IT'S FINALLY OVER! If my excitement about this class being over was not an indicator of how god-awful it was, then I don't know what is. The lectures were so bad that you'd have to try your hardest to pay attention (I never did). Your only saving grace is the review slides before an exam (DO THEM). Don't expect a curve on the exams, btw. Good luck.
this woman couldn't teach if her life depended on it. worst accent to get through, an awful professor who said failing grade averages were "good". had to teach myself everything, all she ever did was read off slides and barely explained practice problems. DO THE EXTRA CREDIT. get out if you can, if you can't good luck.
If you think "I'll be fine. How bad can she be" well be my guest. BUT find your self a good religion and you betta pray you finna pass. My grade was literally the titanic in this class. She gives a few Extra Credit Opportunities... The adjustment is maybe if your lucky .25% of your grade. But the exams are what say if you pass or not.
Class is not hard if you complete your work and do the extra credit. DO THE PRACTICE QUIZZES AND REVIEWS. They will prepare you for the exams 100%. There's a lot of material, so lectures are rushed, but Dr.Zhou is always available to help. The slides provided give you all the info you need. People complaining simply did not study or do their work.
This professor is very caring about her students and wants them to succeed. However, she is not an effective professor when it comes to teaching/ lecturing material. As a student, in this class, it is up to you to teach yourself material and whether you want to put the effort in for a good grade or not. Do practice exams and do well in lab!!!
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
86%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.64 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM1415
2.7
(26)CHEM1315
1.9
(54)CHEM1513
1.4
(5)Difficulty by Course
CHEM1513
4.4
CHEM1315
4.0
CHEM1415
3.5