CHEM177 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Tucker Forbes CHEM177 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/20/2024	Let me start with this: Tucker is a great guy. I feel bad for rating him kinda harshly, honestly. Unfortunately for Tucker, however, being a great guy doesn't make him a great TA--yet. In CHEM177, the TAs lead the labs, and this was his first semester doing so; his lack of experience showed throughout the course. Sometimes, in the labs, he wouldn't really know what he was doing or he would be bad at time management, which is important since you don't get extra time to finish a lab. Other times, you would ask him a question about a report, he'd answer it, and then you'd go to Dr. Griffith's office hours later to ask the same question and she would say "Oh no, that's not quite right," though to be fair to Tucker, this also applies to all of the other TAs for this class (and I mean that). With all that being said, Tucker did give very good constructive criticism, and he was more than willing to help if you needed it, which you more than likely will given how hard the class is. He generally knows his stuff, but he hasn't quite gotten to the stage yet where he knows how to apply it to a giant group of freshmen who don't know literally anything, myself included. Presumably, if you get Tucker as a TA down the road, you'll be fine since he will have learned from this semester, and I think he could eventually be a great TA. If you have a really important question about a lab, though, double-check with Dr. Griffith or your professor for whatever class he is a TA for.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/20/2024	If I could make a 3.5 star rating, I would. CHEM177 is a brutal class. Like, maybe the hardest class I have ever taken. This isn't because of Dr. Griffith as a professor, however--just more of the way the curriculum is designed. There are a ton of lab reports, and each one will take many, many hours of your time. You'll spend way more time doing your reports than doing the actual labs, which themselves aren't that hard, especially if you did labs in AP Chem. Each report is harder than the last, barring the "major reports," which are more complex than the regular reports and take even longer, though Griffith gives an extra week to complete those. The TAs, not Dr. Griffith, grade these reports, and they all grade differently, so just hope that you have good (or less harsh grading) TAs during your semester, as for the most part, my class did not. There is also one midterm exam in the class, so be prepared for that, since it was harder than any of the exams that I had in CHEM146. All that said, Dr. Griffith herself is a really great professor, leading the once-per-week lectures for the class where she usually explains the lab for next week or has a guest lecturer, each of whom are usually pretty interesting. Be sure to go to her office hours if you can make them, as anything that she says goes above what a TA says--and as a result of that, be wary of your TA, as they are oftentimes not on the same page as Griffith. In fact, there are several times that I've asked a TA a question and gotten a different answer from Griffith later on for the same question. There's no curve in the class unfortunately, but she'll round up your grade if you're on the borderline.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/12/2024	Her lecture is really helpful for writing up lab reports. Someone else said this before but I suggest taking a lab section later in the week if you can, since lecture meets on Friday in the afternoon and that's where you get a lot of tips to write the reports. That way you have time to fix your report/start it with the knowledge from lecture before you turn it in (before your lab section). You do have to spend a lot of time for this class which is annoying because it's only two credits (weekly lab report, pre-lab, lit assignment). Another issue is that the TAs will tell people different things and depending on who grades your report you could get points off for something that one of the TAs told you to do. But overall the class is bearable especially if you utilize office hours, lecture, and peers.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/12/2024	Dr. Griffith herself is a good professor, but the class is hard and there is no way around it. I found this class to be very very writing-heavy as opposed to chemistry concepts, so lectures often focused on how to write different parts of a lab report. You need to start reports right after your lab, DO NOT wait until the last minute or they will become extremely overwhelming, especially the major reports. Make sure to utilize her office hours because she will often mention things that weren't said during lecture. Also, whatever you do, DO NOT take Monday lab. You will have less time to do your assignments and likely won't have time for office hours unless you start your reports the night after lab.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/06/2024	There is no way around that this class is hard. It's generally a big class, and the TAs will all grade things differently. Dr. Griffith is amazing and knows her stuff, be sure to utilize her office hours if you take her. As a professor individually, I'd give her 4-5 stars, but the class itself made me drop the rating. It is hard, but doable. You'll definitely need to set time aside to do the lab reports and major reports for this class—start early and go in w/ questions. There is a lot of busy work, you'll likely end up writing for longer than you'll be in lab. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE DO TO ASSIGNMENTS.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/03/2024	She's very nice and more than willing to help but course can be a bit rough especially if there's some harsh TA's when you take it
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/03/2024	This class is a lot of work and it takes up a lot of time. Dr. Griffith is helpful with explaining things and helping you to prepare for your lab reports, but sometimes the grading can be a bit harsh. Sometimes they'll tell you one way is better and when you do that for the lab report, they tell you you're wrong and take points off. But overall, the class was okay, the lab reports and lit assignments can just be stressful.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/02/2024	Dr. Griffith is a fantastic professor. Chem177 is a difficult class and it's a lot of work, but Dr. Griffith cares a lot about her students and wants you can tell she wants you to succeed. She goes over how to write parts of your reports in lecture so don't skip those. Go to office hours they are extremely helpful. Cannot recommend Dr. Griffith enough.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A djacobs 01/18/2024	This class is challenging, there's no other way of putting it. The work is bearable, but do not let it compile. Be sure to take advantage of Professor Griffith's office hours early on. Be sure to consult her elms page-it has a lot of resources that are super helpful for writing the lab reports and becoming familiar with the lab of that week.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/13/2024	I don't think there is anything I could've done to prepare me for CHEM177. I don't say this in a bad way and it's definitely not Dr. Griffith's fault, but this course is just difficult. For 2 credits, you are expected to do a pre-lab assignment, prepare your notebook for class, go to lab, complete a LOONG lab workup, and a literature assignment every week. The amount of time I spent weekly on CHEM177 surpassed the time I spent on any of my 3 or 4 credit courses without fail every week. This is a weed-out class for biochemistry and chemistry majors, but once you make it past this you'll be alright. Grading is picky and harsh; don't wait until the last minute and turn in a clearly bad quality assignment (you probably won't get away with it like you did in high school). There is little consideration for external circumstances and turning things in late (even on accident) is not tolerated. There are very severe consequences for late work, so check to make sure you turned in reports on time multiple times. Doing well in this class really depends on the effort you are willing to put into it, and you really can't let a few bad report grades make you give up (even if you really want to).
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/29/2023	You need to allocate at least 12 hours for this course per week. The labs are not difficult, but the lab reports are. Most questions on reports should be clear as to what they are asking for, but if they're not (or if you have any questions at all) you NEED to go to office hours. Depending on what section you choose you can get screwed if office hours are two hours before the due date. The professor herself is not bad. During lecture (which you should always go to!) she goes over what to include in lab reports and how to write certain parts of them. It's handy to either take pictures of the slides or save the entire slideshow off ELMS. It's best to work with a friend (while also keeping academic integrity) because the reports and major reports can get super confusing. Don't slack because you will regret it.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/20/2023	She's really nice and communicates her expectations for the class clearly. Keep in mind that this is a weeder class, so it was in no way easy, however Prof. Griffith did a good job with this class. I learned a ton in one semester!
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/20/2023	This class is 2 credits but should be 3. HOWEVER, this has /nothing/ to do Dr. Griffith, it's just how the class is set up, and she can't change it. This lab really teaches you how to collect data, put together a lab report, and analyze data. Your grades will go up and down throughout the semester, and the reports do take a decent amount of time but I still enjoyed this class. It also depends on the TA who ends up grading your report. You can and should always go to her office hours for more information. You can also submit regrade requests if you feel like something was unfairly graded and you deserved more points. She usually gives some back. There are also more free points than you realize, so don't worry. Complete your lit assignments, trust me, especially with the bonus points. ALSO, three important things: go to class for participation points, turn in assignments on time or 10% deduction, and try to avoid Monday lab. The lecture is Friday, where you'll learn all the important information for your report. So you have the weekend to fix it, but this semester anyway, she didn't have OH on Monday so we couldn't get more info. So yeah, avoid Monday lab. And no need for a fancy lab notebook, just get one from Amazon. Finally, she curves (not by that much by still a good amount), so again, don't stress over your overall grade. Dr. Griffith is probably my favorite chemistry professor I've ever had. She loves teaching this class, she's such a kind person, and I enjoyed being in her class despite the workload. Don't listen to the bad reviews. She's incredible. And BTW if you're a Biochem or Chem major, don't take CHEM132 because it will complicate things when completing your major. Take 177 because it is the requirement. Otherwise, you're giving your future self a big headache. Technically 177 gives credit for 132, but 132 does not for 177. So you HAVE to take it. Unless you get permission or something from your advisor (idrk how it works but just try not to risk it).
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting a C- Anonymous 12/15/2023	Dr. Griffith is a FANTASTIC lecturer and tries to make the class as straight-forward as possible. The class itself is grueling. The labs are easy enough but the post-labs are very time-consuming and difficult. This class was a struggle for me, but it was not because of Dr. Griffith.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/05/2023	Dr. Griffith is an amazing professor and is always willing to offer reliable help. Don't be afraid to request regrades because the class has a lot of grading and there are bound to be slip ups. The TAs are extremely helpful too especially Andy. The thing about CHEM177 is that it WILL be difficult at first. You're learning about how to write research papers or the general jist of it, but Dr. Griffith helps you through it during lecture times. It's a lot of work if you want an A, but it's definitely doable with commitment. You don't really need too much chem knowledge and if you have taken AP Chem it will definitely help, but it's not necessary to succeed. I promise that it will get better after Major Report #1 and don't give up!! You'll be surprised how much you can do and again, Dr. Griffith is an amazing professor and don't be scared to talk to her! Main takeaways are: GO TO OFFICE HOURS!!! AND GO TO LECTURE!!!
Noah Hornstein CHEM177 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/30/2023	Slayed CHEM177 because of Noah! He was an awesome TA who was incredibly straightforward with any questions you had for him relating to the course assignments. He was super encouraging whilst he was instructing a freshman class, and was always ready to help us out when we were struggling. Thanks for making chemistry not scary, Noah!!
Noah Hornstein CHEM177 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 11/30/2023	Noah did well in tending to the needs of each of the students in his lab and placed a lot of effort in assisting students during office hours. Although the course itself had its flaws, Noah was supportive throughout the entire semester and demonstrated a positive attitude while working with us.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/30/2023	If you can take the biology version of chem 1 lab, do it. This class is the hardest 2-credit class you will take in your freshman year. Expect spending anywhere from 6-24 cumulative hours writing the lab reports. I guess all I can say is that this class throws the heavy reality of science as a profession directly into your face. It is absolutely a weed out class for chem/b-chem majors even though the department refuses to admit it.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/15/2022	I'd give this class a 3.5 if there were the option to. This class is one of the hardest if not the hardest class I took this semester, and it took a lot of stress and effort to get to the end. My problem with this class is that the grading is incredibly harsh—there is no consideration for the fact that we're first-semester freshmen who've never taken a lab-based class and don't have experience writing full research papers biweekly. My one advice is go to office hours. Even if you don't have questions, listen to other people's questions. Dr. Griffith is an amazing person and will answer all your questions during office hours, but she is very strict about grading so make sure to read the rubrics before submitting. **Be very careful about deadlines, even if it's a minute late it automatically gets 25% off. Double check, triple check, quadruple check, quintuple check deadlines, and whether you submitted.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/10/2022	Separate the class from the professor. CHEM177 is not the best class because it is a lot of work per week. The work is a pre-lab assignment, a report, and an additional assignment per week. There are 7 experiments in the semester with two being more than a week resulting in major reports which are scientific paper style. The class is difficult but manageable if you put in the work. However, Dr. Griffith is always there to help. Go to her office hours! She will answer every question you have no matter how stupid it is. She is very approachable and knows what she is talking about.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Anonymous 10/13/2022	She's nice but sucks at giving proper instructions on assignments and sucks at teaching. She also does not grant you extensions on assignments even though it was a problem with lab materials, not a student error. If you haven't taken chem lab before that has a heavy workload, you will struggle.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting a W Anonymous 10/10/2022	this class sucks. professor sucks. no instructions. have fun self learning chem in a LAB
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A- Anonymous 02/04/2022	Very nice lady, but worst class I have ever taken. I spent more time on this 1 credit class than all my other classes combined. Class averages were regularly in the 50s, and nothing was ever curved. Everything depends on your luck with which TA grades your assignment. There is zero standard. Spent 20+ hours on a lab report and got a 53 (class average was a 50). All of the little assignments brought my grade up, but it was miserable to make it to an A.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/24/2021	My favorite professor for my first semester of college. No one brings the amount of energy and positivity into the classroom setting like Dr. Griffith does. It kinda makes you forget how hard the class actually is lol.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/23/2021	Dr. Griffith is extremely fun and outgoing. All the TAs for the most part were ready to help--you just have to ask for it. The class requires effort for sure but she did apply a curve at the end and I think it was more than fair. You have to be on top of your shit in this class. Don't wait till the last minute to do your workups and reports bc it will just drain you!!!
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/08/2021	Dr. Griffith is a great lecturer and you can tell she loves teaching. She is a bubbly person and that makes going to lecture fun. Now the class is not a fun class however that is not Dr. Griffith's fault. The course is a lot of writing and the grading tends to be harsh. This class is extremely time consuming. I highly recommend going to office hours since you figure out things that are needed in the report that she may not explicitly say in lecture. I do not recommend taking Monday labs since you learn what you need to put in your report in the Friday lecture and then only have the weekend to write the report. Overall she is a great professor but this is a bad class. This was my worst course during the semester.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/31/2020	The class is hard and a lot of writing, but I think Dr. Griffith does her best with what the class is. The class is curved a little at the end which was really good and she says she rarely gives - grades.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/16/2020	Dr. Griffith was nice but not very understanding, and the way that she structured chem177 this semester was pretty terrible. The labs were in person, but we didn't get lab partners which made things very tough and time-consuming. She made no changes to the labs themselves to make them more manageable for one person to do. It was very easy to mess things up in the lab, and with no partner you had no one to check you. For each lab you write a lab report which make up the bulk of your grade, and they can be graded quite harshly. Dr. Griffith left many comments on them, and could sometimes be pretty passive aggressive. As for the lectures, they were kinda dull and most of the time was spent in breakout rooms working on a worksheet with your group. The worksheets did help prepare us for writing lab reports, though. The midterm exam wasn't too difficult, but the amount of time you had was insanely low. Most people barely finished within 50 minutes, and there was no time to check anything. One major problem with the class was how Dr. Griffith expected us to read and understand some very complicated scientific papers. Each week we were assigned a paper to read and answer questions about. And for the final, we had to write a paper summarizing 3 of the articles published by a faculty member. It was bit extreme of her to expect us to understand and explain all these technical papers that went way beyond us.
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM177 Expecting a D+ Anonymous 12/15/2019	This professor is great at her job. But her TAs are horrible. You'll be lucky to scrape by with a B. She often has her TAs grade her assignments, if not all of them. It's obvious that they are not doing their job when it comes to grading based on the rubric and instead they grade based on whether or not they like the student. I was expected an A or A- in this class until the TA-graded assignments rolled in...

Tucker Forbes
CHEM177

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/20/2024

Let me start with this: Tucker is a great guy. I feel bad for rating him kinda harshly, honestly. Unfortunately for Tucker, however, being a great guy doesn't make him a great TA--yet. In CHEM177, the TAs lead the labs, and this was his first semester doing so; his lack of experience showed throughout the course. Sometimes, in the labs, he wouldn't really know what he was doing or he would be bad at time management, which is important since you don't get extra time to finish a lab. Other times, you would ask him a question about a report, he'd answer it, and then you'd go to Dr. Griffith's office hours later to ask the same question and she would say "Oh no, that's not quite right," though to be fair to Tucker, this also applies to all of the other TAs for this class (and I mean that). With all that being said, Tucker did give very good constructive criticism, and he was more than willing to help if you needed it, which you more than likely will given how hard the class is. He generally knows his stuff, but he hasn't quite gotten to the stage yet where he knows how to apply it to a giant group of freshmen who don't know literally anything, myself included. Presumably, if you get Tucker as a TA down the road, you'll be fine since he will have learned from this semester, and I think he could eventually be a great TA. If you have a really important question about a lab, though, double-check with Dr. Griffith or your professor for whatever class he is a TA for.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/20/2024

If I could make a 3.5 star rating, I would. CHEM177 is a brutal class. Like, maybe the hardest class I have ever taken. This isn't because of Dr. Griffith as a professor, however--just more of the way the curriculum is designed. There are a ton of lab reports, and each one will take many, many hours of your time. You'll spend way more time doing your reports than doing the actual labs, which themselves aren't that hard, especially if you did labs in AP Chem. Each report is harder than the last, barring the "major reports," which are more complex than the regular reports and take even longer, though Griffith gives an extra week to complete those. The TAs, not Dr. Griffith, grade these reports, and they all grade differently, so just hope that you have good (or less harsh grading) TAs during your semester, as for the most part, my class did not. There is also one midterm exam in the class, so be prepared for that, since it was harder than any of the exams that I had in CHEM146. All that said, Dr. Griffith herself is a really great professor, leading the once-per-week lectures for the class where she usually explains the lab for next week or has a guest lecturer, each of whom are usually pretty interesting. Be sure to go to her office hours if you can make them, as anything that she says goes above what a TA says--and as a result of that, be wary of your TA, as they are oftentimes not on the same page as Griffith. In fact, there are several times that I've asked a TA a question and gotten a different answer from Griffith later on for the same question. There's no curve in the class unfortunately, but she'll round up your grade if you're on the borderline.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/12/2024

Her lecture is really helpful for writing up lab reports. Someone else said this before but I suggest taking a lab section later in the week if you can, since lecture meets on Friday in the afternoon and that's where you get a lot of tips to write the reports. That way you have time to fix your report/start it with the knowledge from lecture before you turn it in (before your lab section). You do have to spend a lot of time for this class which is annoying because it's only two credits (weekly lab report, pre-lab, lit assignment). Another issue is that the TAs will tell people different things and depending on who grades your report you could get points off for something that one of the TAs told you to do. But overall the class is bearable especially if you utilize office hours, lecture, and peers.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/12/2024

Dr. Griffith herself is a good professor, but the class is hard and there is no way around it. I found this class to be very very writing-heavy as opposed to chemistry concepts, so lectures often focused on how to write different parts of a lab report. You need to start reports right after your lab, DO NOT wait until the last minute or they will become extremely overwhelming, especially the major reports. Make sure to utilize her office hours because she will often mention things that weren't said during lecture. Also, whatever you do, DO NOT take Monday lab. You will have less time to do your assignments and likely won't have time for office hours unless you start your reports the night after lab.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/06/2024

There is no way around that this class is hard. It's generally a big class, and the TAs will all grade things differently. Dr. Griffith is amazing and knows her stuff, be sure to utilize her office hours if you take her. As a professor individually, I'd give her 4-5 stars, but the class itself made me drop the rating. It is hard, but doable. You'll definitely need to set time aside to do the lab reports and major reports for this class—start early and go in w/ questions. There is a lot of busy work, you'll likely end up writing for longer than you'll be in lab. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE DO TO ASSIGNMENTS.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/03/2024

She's very nice and more than willing to help but course can be a bit rough especially if there's some harsh TA's when you take it

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/03/2024

This class is a lot of work and it takes up a lot of time. Dr. Griffith is helpful with explaining things and helping you to prepare for your lab reports, but sometimes the grading can be a bit harsh. Sometimes they'll tell you one way is better and when you do that for the lab report, they tell you you're wrong and take points off. But overall, the class was okay, the lab reports and lit assignments can just be stressful.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/02/2024

Dr. Griffith is a fantastic professor. Chem177 is a difficult class and it's a lot of work, but Dr. Griffith cares a lot about her students and wants you can tell she wants you to succeed. She goes over how to write parts of your reports in lecture so don't skip those. Go to office hours they are extremely helpful. Cannot recommend Dr. Griffith enough.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
djacobs
01/18/2024

This class is challenging, there's no other way of putting it. The work is bearable, but do not let it compile. Be sure to take advantage of Professor Griffith's office hours early on. Be sure to consult her elms page-it has a lot of resources that are super helpful for writing the lab reports and becoming familiar with the lab of that week.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/13/2024

I don't think there is anything I could've done to prepare me for CHEM177. I don't say this in a bad way and it's definitely not Dr. Griffith's fault, but this course is just difficult. For 2 credits, you are expected to do a pre-lab assignment, prepare your notebook for class, go to lab, complete a LOONG lab workup, and a literature assignment every week. The amount of time I spent weekly on CHEM177 surpassed the time I spent on any of my 3 or 4 credit courses without fail every week. This is a weed-out class for biochemistry and chemistry majors, but once you make it past this you'll be alright. Grading is picky and harsh; don't wait until the last minute and turn in a clearly bad quality assignment (you probably won't get away with it like you did in high school). There is little consideration for external circumstances and turning things in late (even on accident) is not tolerated. There are very severe consequences for late work, so check to make sure you turned in reports on time multiple times. Doing well in this class really depends on the effort you are willing to put into it, and you really can't let a few bad report grades make you give up (even if you really want to).

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/29/2023

You need to allocate at least 12 hours for this course per week. The labs are not difficult, but the lab reports are. Most questions on reports should be clear as to what they are asking for, but if they're not (or if you have any questions at all) you NEED to go to office hours. Depending on what section you choose you can get screwed if office hours are two hours before the due date. The professor herself is not bad. During lecture (which you should always go to!) she goes over what to include in lab reports and how to write certain parts of them. It's handy to either take pictures of the slides or save the entire slideshow off ELMS. It's best to work with a friend (while also keeping academic integrity) because the reports and major reports can get super confusing. Don't slack because you will regret it.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/20/2023

She's really nice and communicates her expectations for the class clearly. Keep in mind that this is a weeder class, so it was in no way easy, however Prof. Griffith did a good job with this class. I learned a ton in one semester!

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/20/2023

This class is 2 credits but should be 3. HOWEVER, this has /nothing/ to do Dr. Griffith, it's just how the class is set up, and she can't change it. This lab really teaches you how to collect data, put together a lab report, and analyze data. Your grades will go up and down throughout the semester, and the reports do take a decent amount of time but I still enjoyed this class. It also depends on the TA who ends up grading your report. You can and should always go to her office hours for more information. You can also submit regrade requests if you feel like something was unfairly graded and you deserved more points. She usually gives some back. There are also more free points than you realize, so don't worry. Complete your lit assignments, trust me, especially with the bonus points. ALSO, three important things: go to class for participation points, turn in assignments on time or 10% deduction, and try to avoid Monday lab. The lecture is Friday, where you'll learn all the important information for your report. So you have the weekend to fix it, but this semester anyway, she didn't have OH on Monday so we couldn't get more info. So yeah, avoid Monday lab. And no need for a fancy lab notebook, just get one from Amazon. Finally, she curves (not by that much by still a good amount), so again, don't stress over your overall grade. Dr. Griffith is probably my favorite chemistry professor I've ever had. She loves teaching this class, she's such a kind person, and I enjoyed being in her class despite the workload. Don't listen to the bad reviews. She's incredible. And BTW if you're a Biochem or Chem major, don't take CHEM132 because it will complicate things when completing your major. Take 177 because it is the requirement. Otherwise, you're giving your future self a big headache. Technically 177 gives credit for 132, but 132 does not for 177. So you HAVE to take it. Unless you get permission or something from your advisor (idrk how it works but just try not to risk it).

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
12/15/2023

Dr. Griffith is a FANTASTIC lecturer and tries to make the class as straight-forward as possible. The class itself is grueling. The labs are easy enough but the post-labs are very time-consuming and difficult. This class was a struggle for me, but it was not because of Dr. Griffith.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/05/2023

Dr. Griffith is an amazing professor and is always willing to offer reliable help. Don't be afraid to request regrades because the class has a lot of grading and there are bound to be slip ups. The TAs are extremely helpful too especially Andy. The thing about CHEM177 is that it WILL be difficult at first. You're learning about how to write research papers or the general jist of it, but Dr. Griffith helps you through it during lecture times. It's a lot of work if you want an A, but it's definitely doable with commitment. You don't really need too much chem knowledge and if you have taken AP Chem it will definitely help, but it's not necessary to succeed. I promise that it will get better after Major Report #1 and don't give up!! You'll be surprised how much you can do and again, Dr. Griffith is an amazing professor and don't be scared to talk to her! Main takeaways are: GO TO OFFICE HOURS!!! AND GO TO LECTURE!!!

Noah Hornstein
CHEM177

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/30/2023

Slayed CHEM177 because of Noah! He was an awesome TA who was incredibly straightforward with any questions you had for him relating to the course assignments. He was super encouraging whilst he was instructing a freshman class, and was always ready to help us out when we were struggling. Thanks for making chemistry not scary, Noah!!

Noah Hornstein
CHEM177

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
11/30/2023

Noah did well in tending to the needs of each of the students in his lab and placed a lot of effort in assisting students during office hours. Although the course itself had its flaws, Noah was supportive throughout the entire semester and demonstrated a positive attitude while working with us.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/30/2023

If you can take the biology version of chem 1 lab, do it. This class is the hardest 2-credit class you will take in your freshman year. Expect spending anywhere from 6-24 cumulative hours writing the lab reports. I guess all I can say is that this class throws the heavy reality of science as a profession directly into your face. It is absolutely a weed out class for chem/b-chem majors even though the department refuses to admit it.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/15/2022

I'd give this class a 3.5 if there were the option to. This class is one of the hardest if not the hardest class I took this semester, and it took a lot of stress and effort to get to the end. My problem with this class is that the grading is incredibly harsh—there is no consideration for the fact that we're first-semester freshmen who've never taken a lab-based class and don't have experience writing full research papers biweekly. My one advice is go to office hours. Even if you don't have questions, listen to other people's questions. Dr. Griffith is an amazing person and will answer all your questions during office hours, but she is very strict about grading so make sure to read the rubrics before submitting. **Be very careful about deadlines, even if it's a minute late it automatically gets 25% off. Double check, triple check, quadruple check, quintuple check deadlines, and whether you submitted.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/10/2022

Separate the class from the professor. CHEM177 is not the best class because it is a lot of work per week. The work is a pre-lab assignment, a report, and an additional assignment per week. There are 7 experiments in the semester with two being more than a week resulting in major reports which are scientific paper style. The class is difficult but manageable if you put in the work. However, Dr. Griffith is always there to help. Go to her office hours! She will answer every question you have no matter how stupid it is. She is very approachable and knows what she is talking about.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Anonymous
10/13/2022

She's nice but sucks at giving proper instructions on assignments and sucks at teaching. She also does not grant you extensions on assignments even though it was a problem with lab materials, not a student error. If you haven't taken chem lab before that has a heavy workload, you will struggle.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting a W
Anonymous
10/10/2022

this class sucks. professor sucks. no instructions. have fun self learning chem in a LAB

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
02/04/2022

Very nice lady, but worst class I have ever taken. I spent more time on this 1 credit class than all my other classes combined. Class averages were regularly in the 50s, and nothing was ever curved. Everything depends on your luck with which TA grades your assignment. There is zero standard. Spent 20+ hours on a lab report and got a 53 (class average was a 50). All of the little assignments brought my grade up, but it was miserable to make it to an A.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/24/2021

My favorite professor for my first semester of college. No one brings the amount of energy and positivity into the classroom setting like Dr. Griffith does. It kinda makes you forget how hard the class actually is lol.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/23/2021

Dr. Griffith is extremely fun and outgoing. All the TAs for the most part were ready to help--you just have to ask for it. The class requires effort for sure but she did apply a curve at the end and I think it was more than fair. You have to be on top of your shit in this class. Don't wait till the last minute to do your workups and reports bc it will just drain you!!!

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/08/2021

Dr. Griffith is a great lecturer and you can tell she loves teaching. She is a bubbly person and that makes going to lecture fun. Now the class is not a fun class however that is not Dr. Griffith's fault. The course is a lot of writing and the grading tends to be harsh. This class is extremely time consuming. I highly recommend going to office hours since you figure out things that are needed in the report that she may not explicitly say in lecture. I do not recommend taking Monday labs since you learn what you need to put in your report in the Friday lecture and then only have the weekend to write the report. Overall she is a great professor but this is a bad class. This was my worst course during the semester.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/31/2020

The class is hard and a lot of writing, but I think Dr. Griffith does her best with what the class is. The class is curved a little at the end which was really good and she says she rarely gives - grades.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/16/2020

Dr. Griffith was nice but not very understanding, and the way that she structured chem177 this semester was pretty terrible. The labs were in person, but we didn't get lab partners which made things very tough and time-consuming. She made no changes to the labs themselves to make them more manageable for one person to do. It was very easy to mess things up in the lab, and with no partner you had no one to check you. For each lab you write a lab report which make up the bulk of your grade, and they can be graded quite harshly. Dr. Griffith left many comments on them, and could sometimes be pretty passive aggressive. As for the lectures, they were kinda dull and most of the time was spent in breakout rooms working on a worksheet with your group. The worksheets did help prepare us for writing lab reports, though. The midterm exam wasn't too difficult, but the amount of time you had was insanely low. Most people barely finished within 50 minutes, and there was no time to check anything. One major problem with the class was how Dr. Griffith expected us to read and understand some very complicated scientific papers. Each week we were assigned a paper to read and answer questions about. And for the final, we had to write a paper summarizing 3 of the articles published by a faculty member. It was bit extreme of her to expect us to understand and explain all these technical papers that went way beyond us.

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM177

Expecting a D+
Anonymous
12/15/2019

This professor is great at her job. But her TAs are horrible. You'll be lucky to scrape by with a B. She often has her TAs grade her assignments, if not all of them. It's obvious that they are not doing their job when it comes to grading based on the rubric and instead they grade based on whether or not they like the student. I was expected an A or A- in this class until the TA-graded assignments rolled in...

Reviews for CHEM177