Lyle Isaacs

This professor has taught: CHEM237, CHEM241, CHEM247, CHEM441, CHEM460, CHEM611, CHEM640, CHEM641, CHEM889C, CHEM889D

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Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 08/11/2024	Isaacs to me is definitely not one of the best lecturers for this course. He goes fast during lecture and his PowerPoint slides are somewhat useless, because he just draws and draws, sometimes it can be all over the place or not even complete. He is a textbook lecturer, so he pulls problems from the textbook for his exams, and he already expects you to have read the chapters for the lecture. There is no homework, only clickers and exams. Clickers can help if you pay attention to what he is doing. Also, please KNOW YOUR REACTIONS. He loves putting at least 10 or more reaction boxes on his exam, usually worth like 4 points for each reaction box. And also KNOW YOUR NOMENCLATURE, this man loves putting that on his exams. His curve is generous too, my 66.9% went to a B+, so not too bad. Overall, I would say his class is definitely durable, but you are going to have to teach yourself sometimes.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/28/2024	Isaacs is nice, and knows what he is talking about, but I found it nearly impossible to learn from attending lectures. He goes very fast, and while he does pause for questions, I feel the students (including me) are too lost to even formulate any. Generally, you have to have read through/be a little familiar with the chapter he is lecturing on to get anything out of lecture. Ideally, I would have done this, but never had enough time. One thing that was helpful was he hosted office hours in the room next door once a week to go over specific problems students had. He was very patient with everyone and seemed to break it down more simply in OH rather than in lecture. He also posts a ton of previous exams on ELMS for review. They are generally helpful and have similar content to the actual exams. There is no homework, only participation points (clickers), and exams. Which has it's pros and cons. You're not bogged down with busy work in this class. I taught myself from the textbook/solutions manual/internet the whole semester, with just using his posted lecture notes to figure out what to focus on. The curve was very generous, with anyone earning 50% or more of the points in the class earning a C.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/18/2024	Amazing professor. Dr. Isaacs has a very structured ELMS page and is very clear about his expectations and what the students could expect in his course. Here is a more detailed breakdown of my experience: PERSONALITY: Dr. Isaacs clearly loves his jobs and I think that makes a huge difference in making the course more engaging for students. He is very receptive of questions and never responds in a condescending and/or passive aggressive manner. I've personally felt comfortable asking questions and I think many others have too. ORGANIZATION: Dr. Isaacs is extremely organized. His class has a clear structure and he tells students exactly what they're responsible for weeks before the exam. He posts his previous midterms WITH ANSWERS which is a huge help. He does truly provide you with everything you need to succeed in his course. EXAMS: Exams are well... difficult to say the least as is expected of an organic chemistry course. Although his exams require a lot of critical thinking and effort, I can't say he's ever included something that was not directly discussed in class. So in that sense, his exams are fair. TIPS: Definitely study the previous years' exams. Do as many of the old midterms as you can and you will be fine. Focus on doing problems rather than reading the textbook. The one complaint I have from Dr. Isaacs approach is his emphasis on the textbook. Louden is a horribly written textbook in my opinion and it only served to confuse me even more. Use Organic Chemistry as a Second Language instead. Once you've read the sub chapter and worked on the problems, review the slides from lecture and see if you can replicate Dr. Isaacs answers. Make sure you finish practicing the material in this manner about one week before the midterm. In the week leading up to the exam, practice old midterms and make sure you understand why you got certain problems wrong. DO NOT RELY ON THE LOUDEN TEXTBOOK. THE TEXTBOOK SHOULD BE YOUR LAST RESORT FOR PRACTICE PROBLEMS, NOT YOUR PRIMARY SOURCE OF LEARNING THE MATERIAL.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/15/2024	Before you take Isaacs' class, know that he is an old school prof. That means he believes his job is simply to lecture; his notes are there to guide you, they are NOT a tool to be used for studying. That is the textbook and you TA. While I only read organic chemistry as a second language and still did good, just know you either will be reading that or the textbook whichever you prefer. His class is set up where you just need to accrue as many points as you can get, i.e. there's nothing weighed a certain percentage. Just simply score as high as you get can to get the most total points at the end. There's 450 points from the 3 tests (each 150) and 100 points for clicker questions (for one clicker question, you get two points because 1 point is for participation and the other is for accuracy) and 300 points for the final. The trick to doing well is there is no trick, you need to continuously practice problems whether it be in the textbook or previous exams. He posts all past exams, make sure to do the past 5 years as you'll notice patterns. Exams are formatted the same way each time so no surprise. Curve is pretty generous too. Obvi recommend Davis but if you couldn't get him like the rest of us, take Isaacs. Also, don't cram you will fail.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Anonymous 05/11/2024	Save yourself the struggle and take anyone else. Nice guy, but horrendously difficult exams. He tries to make it seem like they're simple just because he keeps the format the same, don't be fooled. A 50% on the exams was basically the average for his previous classes, that is why the curve is big. But I've literally learned nothing from this man. I go to class just because of the clicker questions otherwise leave with no new knowledge. He says he knows students like nomenclature so he always has nomenclature questions on the exam, that's a freaking lie. The nomenclature is in fact not IUPAC like we were actually taught but just random molecules he just picks from the textbook, and you have to basically memorize them or you're screwed (there's around 60 overall). He gives like 20 reaction boxes that have molecules pulled from god knows where with 3-4 steps. There's already so so so much content to remember I don't know in which world he thinks he's helping us. Don't take him!
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/12/2023	the exams were basically the pervious ones, but in different words. The curve is also great. 75 was an A in the class that I took, and he guarantees 80 to be an A. No tricks, no gimmicks, just straight forward orgo 2.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Anonymous 05/18/2023	Do not take him if you do not read textbooks. You will fail if you do not read the textbook. You will be required to go to each and every class because there are clicker questions. HE GOES FAST. His teaching style in lectures is that he already has the slides pre-made with bunches of chemical structures. If you do not have a digital writing device that can take pictures of his slides it will be hard to follow along. (Though he does post lecture notes online, it is not helpful if you just stare at them after class.) I hated this and can never learn like that. Overall lectures were not engaging. Tests are straightforward and sometimes from the books but sometimes are obnoxiously hard.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting an A- blue_footed_booby 05/15/2021	Ditto that one anonymous guy who gave an IN-DEPTH review of Dr. Isaacs on 5/14/21. Definitely take good notes and do problems from the book, he sometimes pull straight from there (at least when we were online).
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/14/2021	TEACHING: He's a decent/good professor. He teaches straight from the book, and has similar exam questions to the practice problems. He has structure to his lectures. He usually introduces a topic, goes over general concepts, then reactions with mechanisms and a bunch of examples - a simple lecture format. His handwriting and drawings are good. He gives clicker questions at the end of every lecture, so attend and be prepared. PERSONALITY: He's very passionate about chemistry, and this shows when he speaks with excitement in lecture, which can be refreshing. He's very receptive of questions, and always takes time to answer after class and during office hours. He makes a lot of jokes. Whether or not you find them funny, they lighten the mood and make you feel a bit less miserable. He loves hemiacetals and daydreaming about being a nucleophile. Nice guy in general. EXAMS: Some problems are straight from the book (but it's not worth trying to memorize). The format is usually as follows: 3-5 nomenclature, 3-5 concepts, 1-2 spectroscopy (must remember NMR and IR from orgo 1), 2-4 synthesis, 2-3 mechanisms, and 10+ reaction boxes (fill-in-the-blank with reactant or product formed), and maybe some other questions. Be prepared for this format. He makes an announcement on the exam format as well, so if this ever changes then don't worry - he'll update you. STRATEGY: I did very well on his exams. My strategy may not work for everyone, but what worked for me was just taking notes during lecture - every example problem, every detail in a mechanism, all concepts. Organize your notes well. A week before exam time, I reviewed my notes hardcore. I took the time to understand, and not just memorize (although memory is very important). I didn't take practice exams, read the book, or go to GSS, but I do recommend this if you're not a great note taker. Book (for missed lectures) + practice exams will help the most.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Anonymous 05/19/2019	Great professor. Also, Delaney is a great TA!
Lyle Isaacs CHEM460 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/20/2018	I really enjoyed his course on organic spectroscopy. Spectroscopy was one of my weakest skills from organic and I came in without a background in physical chem or instrumentation, but he made it understandable. I think he did a amazing job explaining difficult material. He make jokes in class too. The discussion problem set presentations were intimidating, but gave us practice for presenting in the real world. The weekly homework was challenging, but he encouraged us to work with peers. The class also had guest lecturers for the NMR portion. In addition, he learned everyone's names and enjoyed answering questions. Overall, he's an engaging and passionate professor!
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/20/2018	Very boring lectures but his exams are very predictable and fair. Doing lots of practice is the only way to do well. I would suggest him for orgo because it is easy to do well if you can recognize the patterns in his exams. Typical professor type that just lectures the whole entire time.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/13/2015	How to get an A in Orgo II: do the practice exams. All of them. Do them. Especially for the final. I destroyed the final and it locked me in for an A (I was borderline B+/A-). GSS isn’t really helpful for orgo II, because Isaacs teaches DIRECTLY out of the book. His problems are almost all exactly the same from the book. Accidently YOLO’d too hard the night before and missed class the next morning? No worries, just read the book. (But don’t skip class a lot, you’ll get behind and screw yourself over) If you have questions go to his problem sessions, he’s really nice and receptive during them. This entire class is weighted on exams, so don’t slack on those. No homework, no extra credit. There are clicker questions, which help a tiny bit. But you have to do well on the exams, that’s the key!! Orgo II is just mechanisms and practice, so focus on that. Isaacs is a little dry as a professor, but better than Doyle, and not as good as M.S. but he tries to make jokes sometimes, and he’s excited about chemistry, which helps. (I've heard he's not the best for orgo I so avoid him for that course)
Lyle Isaacs CHEM237 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/08/2015	Dr. Isaacs was not a good Orgo I professor. He even told the class that he hasn't taught the course in over ~10 years (at least he warned us...). Reading the textbook is basically required for his class. If you did not read the chapters before hand, you will probably find his lectures to be very confusing. After the second midterm, literally only half the class came to lecture because we all thought that the textbook was a better way to learn. However, the reason why I gave him 2 stars and not 1 is because when we got to spectroscopy and other Orgo II units, he became a better professor... as in like, he was able to clarify concepts more clearly. Unfortunately, spectroscopy was like... the last 2 weeks of the semester, so we basically had a "decent" professor for only 2 weeks. Like the comments below, Isaacs is pretty boring and he does not have set office hours, which makes his class even harder. It is also basically required for students to read the textbook and do chapter problems in order to do well in his class. Anyways, if he is teaching orgo II, I think you will be safe taking him. But if he is teacing orgo I, I'd recommend enrolling in a different professor's section. Oh yeah, another thing that kind of pissed me off was that Isaacs changed the curve on us. After taking our final, he told us that he had to give us a smaller curve because he said "too many people would have gotten A's" with his original curve.
Lyle Isaacs Anonymous 05/03/2014	Lectures are extremely boring. He's often away and doesn't have set office hours. The only point of going to them is to know what to expect on the exams. The exams are manageable if you do the homework problems because he takes some problems directly and models many questions off of others. Only take Isaacs if you know you're diligent and will actually read the chapters before he goes over them and do the homework problems twice.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Anonymous 05/08/2012	Even a little preparation before class (skimming chapter) can go a long way. What makes exams difficult are: the difficulty of the material, if you have seen and attempted the questions before and if you know what topics will be tested on the most. Professor Issacs helps students by signaling what names of molecules will be tested and what mechanics are likely to show up on the exams. He also takes problems from assigned problems in the book and synthesis problems from the book and from examples in lecture. Professor rarely goes on tangents but when he does, they contain helpful advice. My biggest criticism of the 'course' book(Organic Chemistry by Loudon) is that in the solutions manual, molecules are not drawn using the skeletal formula. The book has very long chapters so it helps to have a book that will cover the material in only a few pages (Try Schaums Easy Outline of Organic Chemistry). For shorter and more coherent explanation of the topics, (Try Organic Chemistry as a Second Language II - Second Semester Topics). PDF versions of these can be found using google :)
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/22/2011	He teaches directly out of the textbook. His examples in class are just the examples from the book, occasionaly with a n example he made up. To do well, you just need to do all the practice problems in the book a few weeks ahead of the exam, then do them again a few days before. His lectures are pretty boring but you should still go to them. The TA was awful also.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/26/2011	Dr. Isaacs is the classic textbook teacher. He literally puts problems from the notes and textbook into his exams. Lectures were alright, and the TA was also mediocre. In order to do well in this class, simply do all the book problems in the syllabus then do them again before exams. You pretty much teach yourself and gain a greater sense of independence in this class.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 06/03/2010	I absolutely loved Dr. Isaacs! In a big lecture hall it's really hard for professors to see individual students, but if you go to him and show that you're putting effort into the class, he will appreciate it and help you. His tests are challenging, but fair. Ask questions, make sure you understand the material. If you put enough effort and time into the course, you will prevail :)
Lyle Isaacs CHEM247 Expecting an A sillyputty184 04/19/2010	moderately animated. go to lecture, go to disc, read, do problems. I know a guy that works in his lab, pretty neat stuff in practice, not so much in theory. has a naming section, conceptual, box problems, synthesis. Study old exams. I had a great TA which helped a lot. I love orgo because it seems to click for me, the concept questions were hard though. I never seemed to give him what he wanted. that's the only place i really lost points.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting a B+ yii520 04/18/2010	he is a GREAT teacher, he really knows his stuff. In organic chemistry it is all about reactions and mechanisms, so it is better if you do the work hands on. Isaac teaches the whole class by writing on the board which really helps me to stay focused, it feels like he is taking the notes with us. His exams are really tricky, but here are the keys to pass his class: 1. remember the names and structures of some really bazaar compounds, trust me he's gonna ask a few 2. Do almost all of the suggested problems. it even helps if you just look at the questions and the answers from the solution manual since most of questions 3. attend lecture and discussion. especially discussion... because it's really important although i felt like skipping a few times 4. spread the work out over period of several days, it is best if you stay on task but hey who gets on task all the time? if you wanna cram i suggest you start cramming 3 days before the exam because they usually cover a lot of materials, that way you won't be stressed out. i attend lectures and discussions, take notes and actually look over them later. did most of the suggested problems and i got an A, SOLID A
Lyle Isaacs CHEM242 Anonymous 12/09/2008	He is kind of boring in lecture. The exams are not too bad if you know what you are doing. He is away a lot so do not expect his help outside of class.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting an A UMDmonkey 09/02/2008	Dr. Isaacs is a very good teacher. He knows what he is talking about and explains things clearly. I really like the way he talks, it is obvious that he tries to make it easy for people to understand a hard subject. You need to work very hard to get an A in this class, but it is definitely possible, because a lot of people do bad simply because they do not show up to class and/or they despair b/c they've heard stories about orgo. This is a very good teacher, and a good class, but you will have to practice problems every night. I recommend Isaacs over any other Orgo 2 professor, because even though his exams are hard, he prepares you well for MCATs, med school, or whatever else you need orgo for. The averages on our exams were right about 50% each time, maybe a little below that. His signature problem type is a "box problem," where he will give you one of the three following pieces of information and you have to fill in the rest: reactants, products, reagants. Other problems on exams are mechanisms (easy), synthesis (more complicated, but fun), ad nomenclature. He always puts at least on mechanism/ synthesis from the book problems on the exam. That is a really easy way to gain/lose 20 points out of 200, which is 10% of your grade. The key is showing up to class, starring problems that he hints at, and doing ALL of the recommended problems before his weekly help session. Ask him your questions at the help session, and you will do fine. And DON'T leave anything for the last minute: learn things as he is teaching them, never take a break.
Lyle Isaacs CHEM241 Expecting a B cjsph88 12/03/2007	Dr. Issacs is a decent, but very simple professor. His lectues are boring because he doesnt use powerpoints, clicker questions, etc. I feel like the class would have been much harder had it not been for my TA (Bryan) However, with the help of a good TA you can expect a B, or if you work extremly hard an A in the class. Otherwise Dr. Issacs isnt very clear on what you can expect to appear on the exam. Class grades are based on a bell curve, so as long as you do better than the average you have a B.