Super passionate about chemistry and lectures are genuinely interesting. He teaches a lot of conceptual topics, so I'd highly recommend going to office hours with questions about textbook problems because they're similar to the test. Class is pretty difficult and time consuming (I spent probably 12hrs/day studying during final and midterm weeks).

HE IS SUCH A SWEET LIL GUY! MIDTERM 1 IS 30%, MIDTERM 2 IS 30%, AND FINAL IS 40%. NO ALEKS. LECTURES AND OFFICE HOURS ARE SO CHILL AND HELPFUL.

Abu-Omar is the absolute goat. He is much better for 3C than 3A imo, because he gets to talk more and go on tangents about the details of chemistry. I love his charisma and he is hilarious. I HIGHLY recommend you attend because he often will tell you what he will put on the exam! Read the textbook before lecture so that you will understand it.

Good professor. He teaches directly from the textbook. Tests are free response but graded leniently. Grade is 30% each midterm, 40% final. No ALEKS. Absolutely no technology. Canvas has a list of book problems for each week and that is it (no answers posted). Study "guides" are just a list of topics to know. Does more organic chem than other profs.

This was absolutely the worst class I have ever taken. I'm not a lazy student either. Those giving positive marks to this professor had a strong background in AP Chemistry before coming to UCSB DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR. Jokes more than he teaches. A cynic. No communication.Awful TA's. Took same class with a different professor next qrtr got an A+

Super awesome guy super fun class occasionally he goes on incredibly long tangents completely unrelated to material we are learning but he is so charismatic it hardly matters.

super enthusiastic and interested teacher. explains things well and homework is minimal. definitely recommend.

He is the BEST professor I have ever met at UCSB. He easily explained hard things. Often go to his office hours, and he will always give you something interesting. However, his TAs are useless and always teach the wrong stuff. Don't trust them, just go to ask the prof. He is always welcome to answer. He is nice and his tests are easy.

THE GOAT OF CHEM

Favorite Teacher at Ucsb so far

He's a great teacher, and using the practice problems he gives you from the textbook will help a lot when it comes to preparing for the tests. your grade is only based on 2 midterms and the final.

A very good professor!!!

He is enthusiastic. His exams are not hard but you cannot wait any second in order to finish the exam. Study hard and you can get good grade.

he is a very cool and nice guy. his lectures are fun and clear. he doesnt give much homework and exams are quite easy.

Prof AO is very passionate about chemistry. He can always bring up some funny things to keep us focus in class.

I always looked forward to his lectures. He clearly loves the material and he's enthusiastic about answering questions. Follows the book if you need clarification about how to do procedures (though you probably won't), since he prioritizes concepts in lecture and does everything on the board. He's a great guy, loved my quarter with him!

If you have a chance to have Mahdi (or A-O) as your professor, take it. He is a wonderful person and lecturer, and has an incredible amount of passion for his subject; he clearly LOVES chemistry which makes his students love it too. He's also very kind, and gives tons of partial credit on exams.

Abu Omar, or AO as we call him, is such a gem of a professor. He is so enthusiastic, gives homework but doesnt collect or grade it and has all straight forward, free response tests. Wants everyone to succeed but if you dont deserve it he wont boost your grade.

He is a treasure. He allowed me to reschedule my MT when I wasn't feeling well when any other prof wouldn't have. He's funny in lecture, relates the concepts to real-world examples, and works to get across the general science without getting bogged down with unnecessary specifics. Generous grader. Textbook was necessary for learning mechanisms.