Richard Friesner

Friesner was a pretty distant professor, but that is to be expected for a large lecture class. In general he was pretty fair but just an average lecturer as he merely read off his slides and only rarely divulged things we might actually need to know. You could easily skip class. To do well on his tests, you really do need to know the material and especially minute details because he asks about those often. I didn't think he was a bad prof, but he's not necessarily great.

Disclaimer: I did okay in the class so I have no reason to write a biased review. Friesner is a pretty shitty lecturer. As a matter of fact he reads right off his slides which makes going to class kind of pointless. His exams tend to contain awkwardly worded questions which at times make you feel like you're being tested on comprehension rather than the material itself. Also, his TA this year loved making ridiculously tough quizzes. He was a really nice guy but I think he expected a little too much out of someone who was encountering the material for an intro level course. That being said, if you are a self studier and one of those people who can read the book and show up for exams, this class may not be as bad for you. The curve tends to be nicer since his exams averages are pretty low compared to other chem sections. Some of his exam questions are directly off the slides so definitely read the slides after reading the textbook. Overall, I would say take this class if you are a good independent studier and NOT if you learn the most from going to lecture.

I would highly recommend taking Professor Friesner's class. He is fair and approachable. If you attend class regularly, complete the homework and study from his lecture notes, you will be well prepared for his exams. He provides you with all the resources to do well. In fact, in disagreement with some of the other negative reviews, Professor Friesner makes it very clear that he wants his students to do well and to master the material. The first exam is extremely challenging, most likely because Professor Friesner's exams are far different from the average science exam. His questions are demanding, especially conceptually and qualitatively. His evaluations really do demonstrate whether or not you have mastered the material. If you are having trouble grasping concepts, I would highly suggest that you go to his office hours-they are very helpful.

Basics of electronic structure theory - we mostly covered Hartree-Fock and full CI, with a gentle introduction to DFT, coupled cluster theory, and MP2

Basic postulates of quantum mechanics and applications to one-particle systems; properties of angular momentum operators and spin states; time-dependent quantum mechanics; approximate theories (perturbation theory, variation, etc.)

This class was interesting and very lenient in terms of homework. Unfortunately, and I am not exaggerating, you will have to teach yourself the material by reading the book and working on the homework assignments (which are not collected). Going to lecture is optional, for the most part. Professor Friesner provides an overview of each chapter and drops hints about what will or will not be tested. Lectures are, in a way, an overview of what you should have taught yourself. You cannot expect to learn the material at the lecture or even in recitation. Many of the formulas are long and involve 4-5 steps to complete, with missing variables at any step. Just because the Professor and TA's only briefly mention a topic/formula does not mean that it will not be a major part of the next exam/quiz. The quizzes and tests are usually an even mix of highly conceptual problems and involved computational problems. Some of the formulas that I was tested on were literally only mentioned once in lecture and recitation. The best way to succeed is to learn what kinds of computational problems you'll be tested on (usually assigned in the homework) and drill them in all their permutations. After you get good at them, the computational problems will be money in the bank for exams. For the conceptual parts, read the chapter early and let the concepts roll around in your head as you do the homework. Do…

Horrible, but fair, professor. His lectures suck, point blank. Contrary to what another reviewer said, his slides are his own, or at least edited by him, even though they say the book name at the bottom. He reads straight from the slides and seems condescending when he answers questions (even though I don't think he means to). He actually does care that we learn from him even though we are undergrads, even though it doesn't seem like it at first. Go to the TA's office hours if you need help; they are useful. All his slides including his exam review slides are posted online. Study them and read the book, and you'll be golden. The only reason to show up to lecture is that he'll tell you what WON'T be on the exam that is in the reading/he accidentally left in the slides. Definitely, definitely read the book!!!! Fair grader, fair exams. Average is usually low, so curve is generous. Can't say that you shouldn't take this class, because he is fair. If you read the book, you'll learn the material, and his slides are stellar imo.

Take Parkins if you can. This guy just reads confusing slides that he probably got from the internet. He's useless. The slides are bad, as they try to digest everything into a few words to fit on the slide, which simply ends up being tough to understand. You might as well read the book by yourself. TAs, at least as I've learned from mine and from friends' are stupid. They don't really care about you and just quiz you. if this is an ivy league school, why cant they get good teachers? fuh, my high school teachers were better than the majority here

If you're interested in computational/theoretical work in chemistry, this class is great. If you're leaning towards experimental work, this class is probably overkill if you just want to run some basic calculations on the side.

I feel obligated to write a review for professor Friesner, because I think he does get a bad reputation from all of the other CULPA reviews below. Friesner is a good guy, but a bad professor. However, that is not to say that it is impossible to get a good grade in his class. Although he teaches straight out of his slides, be aware that his slides are based off of the Zumdahl book and that his exams are based off of his slides. So therefore, his exams are straight out of the book. I went to maybe 50% of the lectures, and got an A+ in that class. The easiest way to do well in his class is to read the book at the same pace as he teaches. The Zumdahl book is straightforward, and so are his exams. As long as you read, you'll do fine. Also, the TAs are extremely helpful, because they know that Friesner doesn't do a good job of teaching such simple topics (he often goes on ridiculous tangents into really advanced chemistry), so go to office hours and recitations, because they will help. Friesner posts practice exams with answer keys before each midterm, and posts the actual midterms with your answers after each test. He is very generous with giving back points, so argue for your points! Also, know that he is teaching GEN CHEM I, which means that there are a lot of people who think that they're going to be pre-med, but can't handle the workload in that class, creating an extremely gen…