His lectures are ridiculously fast and impossible to take notes because he scrolls through prewritten notes. However, homework is extremely effective at helping you learn the content well, if you take the time to do it properly. He is very direct and no-nonsense which I appreciate, however it may come off harshly and crude to some. Disorganized af.
He records his lectures, is enthusiastic about chemistry and gave a fat curve (My 50ish percent got curved to a 70ish percent). That's about all the good things I could say. His lectures go at a breakneck pace and homework is filled with trick questions and is incredibly difficult. The fact that noone got about a B on the midterm says a lot.
Anothe
I don't know why his rates are so low. As long as you watch all the lecture video, you should be ok. He doesn't really use textbook.
I took pettus for 109A & lewis for B/C, & let me just say, Pettus was 1000 times harder. The avg on one of our exams was 35%. But, I'm glad I took his class; I feel like he set a strong foundation for the rest of ochem since u had to truly understand the material to do well in his class. lectures were a bit confusing but helpful if you really focus
This class was the reason why I dropped out of college. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT take him and his class if you want to feel happiness ever again in your life. The homework is filled with tricks and meant to "teach" you but by the time you've reached reviewing the homework, you're already 2 chapters ahead in the textbook. I would give a 0/5 but..
Such a great class! Yes, it was very challenging, but doing well in the class was rewarding. Tom's office hours were always helpful for questions and CLAS helped to clarify any further confusion I had.
If I could give him a 0 for a rating it would be more accurate. His weekly quizzes are very hard and confusing. expects you to read the book before class then actively says how he hates the text book then makes his own terms. the class average for the last midterm was a 35% and i think that alone says enough about him as a teacher.
He assigns book problems and advises us to read the textbook, but his exams are nothing like the textbook. His quizzes include paragraphs of instructions that makes it difficult to understand, let alone solve. Despite him giving us the answer key for some of the take-home quizzes, the average is still 74% (class avg for the recent quiz was 56%).
Instead of explaining concepts to us, he would make up his own jargon and reasons it with personal excuses of disliking the organic chemistry textbook or simply disagreeing with Lewis. He would go through his notes by circling things he already wrote down in his notes without actually doing any example problems.
Currently taking this class. I've never had such a horrible professor at UCSB. He would go over his pre-written notes that were in multiple colors and scrambled everywhere, spread over several pages. His lectures are disorganized and unhelpful.
Still taking this class, and so far it's very hard. I've struggled a lot but he's gotten more chill as the quarter goes on, he has us do weekly quizzes that are unnecessarily hard but sends out the key before they're actually due sometimes. Overall he is a really nice guy and wants you to do well, definitely go to office hours! Be ready to work tho
Currently taking and he is beyond demeaning when reaching out for help.Refuses to write anything during lecture and just circles his pre-written notes. Claims we should be reading the book and doing practice problems, but when doing his quizzes, the material is significantly different and you cannot use the books methods to solve.
The hardest class in the chem department, the organization was horrible and the final was a take-home one but it could take you 2 weeks to finish it and still receive a horrible grade.
If you don't like his style you won't enjoy the class, and I totally understand the people who don't like him. If you like to be pushed to work like your life depends on it, this is your guy. He makes you learn so much but you feel good if you go to office hours and talk to him. Definitely would take him again.
Worst professor I have ever had. He is too worried about his ego to teach the actual material. He does not follow the book and his lectures are jumbled and confusing. His practice tests and tests are unnecessarily hard. Overall, condescending/rude professor!!!
I really don't like his class. I had a different professor for 109A and he was much more easy to follow. Pettus talks so fast I can't understand a word he's saying and he strays from the book so reading isn't as helpful as it is with other professors. His office hours are useless and he expects his students to know everything right away
My all time favorite class! Hard, but so worth it if you put in the time.
He can be hard to follow but his tests were generally easy and he made the class have a relaxed pace.
The lab reports are the least of your worries and a waste of time but mandatory. If you want a good grade in this lab you have to do the quiz banks and score well as well as have good yields on your experiments. The experiments are sometimes easy sometimes hard. Your TA really makes or breaks this class but the quiz scores are IMPORTANT!
I am beginning to understand the reason behind why people don't care for him. His 6B lab is ridiculously retarded, in the fact that we are continuously quizzed on proposed mechanisms that we were tested on in prior 109 courses (which we have mostly forgotten or don't have the time to check). Be prepared to bring the ky to this lab...
I don't understand what everyone's problem is. This guy is okay. He does sort of look like Peter from family guy and has a southern accent, but he is direct. Yes, he does give tons of notes. That is why I never copy them! I simply look online or in the book for the necessary information (it's really that simple).
I'm in the class right now, and it doesn't seem too hard, we've had 1 quiz/test and I kicked its ass so its easy so far. I like this guy; he makes a lot of good jokes, mostly about drugs. Like the time he mentioned meth, and his reasoning why he brought it up was "you guys are college students - isn't that what you all do?" LOL cool guy!
The worst experience I've had here so far. Lectures are pointless. Questions are useless. No drill, no procedure, no help. I've never worked harder for a 2 unit C. Your only chance is a good TA, and that's a crap shoot. Good luck.