I personally found his exam really really hard. I did all the book problems and practice exams, ending up getting a B or so on midterms. My grade was saved by my final. But you really have to pay tons of effort to do well on the exams. Good Luck!
He is a very good at explaining things and his lectures are clear and concise. The thing that sucks are his tests that tend to trip you up with conceptual questions. Grades are weighted to where the final will basically make or break your grade. Wasn't really a fan of his office hours as you really didn't get to talk to him much. DO BOOK PROBLEMS!!
Chrisjoe was a great chem prof. Outlined very clearly how to succeed in class. Missed the first midterm due to COVID but having the final replace my missing score saved me. Do EVERY SINGLE practice book problem; he takes them verbatim onto the midterms and final. Also has online lecture videos on YT so if you miss a lecture it's not a big deal.
Solid professor. An A is possible if you put the time and effort, pay attention to his lectures, do all the book problems (even more than once, I did the ones I didn't understand over and over until it clicked), do the practice tests/quizzes 2-3 times. Exams are fair game, they're always problems you've seen before.
All of gen chem sucks and all of the teachers are difficult, but Joseph is engaging in his lectures and you can tell he cares about his students. The tests were hard but just study a lot more than you think you need to. Do the book problems multiple times because he uses some of them on the tests, and keep up with ALEKS.
I had Joseph for the whole gen chem series and I absolutely loved his class. If you want to do well, you have to put in a lot of time and effort. You don't really need to read the textbook as long as you go to the lecture. If you want to do well, do the book problems at least once. Also, take advantage of CLAS and office hours.
Having taken Price, Joseph, and Mercy for the gen chem series, Prof. Crisjoe "it is on the money" Joseph was the best by far. He has clear & easy to understand ~15 minute videos for every topic, allowing you to learn at your own pace and not miss any information. He makes it clear what is important to know for the exam and never tries to trick you.
Amazing professor, better than Price. He is an interactive lecturer so you can always ask questions. Exams are always based on book problems and previous exam and quiz questions, so do them all multiple times. Took him and got an A in Chem 1B and am currently in his Chem 1C.
Well-organized slides and lectures. Has online videos that are similar to lectures in case you don't attend. A good amount of practice material and exams that are similar to actual midterms and finals. The only down part of the course is having to deal with the homework platform ALEKs. But you have to deal with that in any gen chem class.
By far the best chem professor I've had so far. He explained concepts really well and I never felt lost during lectures. Recommend doing the practice tests heavily, multiple times and book problems too. His office hours were definitely helpful too.
While Joseph definitely is not one of the worst chem professors, he is not accommodating to his students. He also made his tests quite a bit different than the practice and even book problems (I did both).
I would take Joseph again 100%. I had Price for 1A and thought his tests were so much harder. 1B is a really hard course, but Joseph makes it achievable to do well in the class. If you do all the book problems and fully understand them, you will do well as his tests are mostly all reused book/practice exam problems. Final was hard but class ok
Great prof, online videos a bit sparse on examples but book problem solutions will teach you everything you need to know for the tests. DO THE BOOK PROBLEMS! I went from a 45% on the first midterm to 88% simply by doing all the book problems once and understanding them. Guaranteed to see some book probs on tests and probs from previous tests too
I'm taking every series general chem at UCSB with a different professor and i will say Joseph's is by far the most consistent and most helpful in terms of the learning material and the actual test content. His expectations are clear and he is organized. He tells you how to succeed in the class + calendar. His exams are harder than most.
Professor Joseph's lectures were clear expect during thermochemistry (imo). His tests are very predictable. If you want to do well on the midterms, grind the textbook problems and practice test questions he makes it very clear that he likes to put these questions on tests. The final can be a bit of a curve ball but it is still fair.
Chem 1B is not easy by any means, but Joseph makes the class as simple as it can be. He is well organized and your week is always laid out in advance. The tests are based off the book problems: they’re not easy, but the questions are fair.
The lectures are really good and you learn a lot for them, but the midterms and finals are relatively harder than other chem professors. Doing book problems and aleks helps.
He was great for 1A/B and I found it relatively easy w him. But the final for 1C was rough (avg 58%). But because of the curve still got a good grade. It's very important to do book problems as it will help with ur exams (except for chem1C final lol). Overall he is a great choice for the gen chem series.
I've had Prof. Joseph for the whole gen chem series at UCSB and my experience was great.. until our final for Chem 1C. For all the past finals and midterms, to suceed one needed to go over given past practice exams and know the book problems very well, but this final was so obscure to lower the high averages in the 77, 80 range. Go to office hours!
Save yourself the heartbreak and don't take Joseph for Chem 1C. His final was so difficult and not covered in the lectures, that the average was an F. I did great with the other professors, Joseph was unclear in his lectures. His midterms were confusing and the curve was poor. By far one of the worst professors imaginable, try taking someone else.
Joseph is probably the most understanding of the Chem Professors. While other professors were sometimes condescending or flat-out mean, he was more encouraging to students. Most important thing is to do the book problems and Aleksit really helps for midterms. Don't let the midterms lull you into a false sense of securitystudy up for the final.
Took this course in Winter 2021. Prof. Joseph is super clear in his powerpoints and lectures of how to solve a problem. He does not share his notes to the students. 3 exams in total, very exam-based. Chapter exams are manageable but watch out for the final. Doing back-of-book problems are not enough. His questions on the exam can be very trivial.
Joseph is a great professor. Hes very patient and stays over office hours until every single question is answered. Going to office hours helps so much and doing book problems!!! everyones complaining saying the final was hard (it was) but i dont think it should completely discredit him.
The final was so out of pocket, nothing could have prepared me for it. I would have gotten the same score if I took it on the first day of class. I studied all week for the final and did horribly. None of the practice tests or book problems helped on the exam. Our other 3 midterms were bad as well, but nothing could have prepared for the final.