Lai-Xi Wang

This professor has taught: BCHM698, BCHM889A, CHEM237, CHEM241, CHEM247, CHEM648G, CHEM648K, CHEM648P, CHEM889C, CHEM889D, CHEM898

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Lai-Xi Wang CHEM237 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 10/12/2024	Dr. Wang wasn't that bad. It's pretty much what you are in for when you sign up for orgo. Yes you do have to put in a lot of time but you will come out as a stronger student. If you end up getting Dr. Wang don't be worried. He does not throw curveballs and he is super nice as a person. Exams are based off of homework which is a lot of problems so just do it in advance, this is all coming from an average student who is hardworking but does not possess any type of superior intelligence. You've got this! I miss Dr. Wang's class and overall it was a good experience.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting a C Anonymous 08/15/2024	Any positive review was definitely paid by the school. This was the worst class i've ever taken and made my mental health so bad I had to get a licensed therapist to undo the PTSD i got from this class. Prof Wang expects you to fully master the content the day you learn it and thinks that you don't have a life outside of orgo. there are also those bothersome clickers that you need to unnecessarily need to buy (you will use it for this class and this class only, trust.) At least those clicker points total up and basically is weighed the same as an exam. there are lots of grade opportunities I will admit. I remember failing pretty much all the exams and I somehow passed the class. He says he isn't gonna curve, but he does because of how poorly everyone does on the exams and final- he can't fail us all. Then there is the office hours that was just Praha unhelpfully yapping for an hour. Office hours were very inconvenient because most people have class during that time. His lectures are all on a chalkboard so sit in the front. I put in the effort and time and this class was still very difficult. There are a lot of smart people in this class and they will belittle you. They say that you should just study more but it is just not that simple. If you have aphantasia, might as well drop the class now (this is an orgo thing though not on the professor at all.) There is also a huge language barrier that makes it difficult to understand and if you don't understand the first time, then he gets noticeably irritated. This class just sucks the life out of you. There is a reason that everyone switches major after taking this class. Overall, this is just a useless yap fest and unless you are truly devoted and love chem, you will not succeed despite all these grade opportunities.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM247 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/07/2024	I mostly agree with the review written on 7/31/24 and I think that this class did take a lot of time and effort to succeed. Personally, I didn't feel that this class had that bad of an environment and I don't believe that chemistry majors are 'unbelievably toxic' (or maybe I'm just a part of that toxic group LOL) because that's just how competitive STEM is and that's just human nature. It'd be great for everyone to help each other, but we gotta focus on ourselves first. Within 237, there were definitely friend groups that formed and I'd recommend forming one yourself and REACH OUT!!! Reach out to your TAs (I had Osma) and reach out to Dr. Wang! They're very willing to help and it's totally ok to reach out to a TA that isn't your own if you're not receiving an answer. Structure of the class: There were 125pt clickers + 125pt midterms (x3) + a 250pts final. Total would be 750 pts. Lab was separate which was 25% of your grade and your class pts were 75%. The clickers were every Monday and Wednesday (we got to vote and said no on Friday) and were 6pts each time. It's similarly structured to Isaacs were you get 3pts default and 3pts for the correct answer. For this clickers, get to know the people in your class or just have a really good ear. Discussions are allowed and even encouraged so just follow the crowd Exams: The exams were fair, pulling a lot from the homework questions and lectures. If you do the HW (albeit very challenging) then you'll do well on the exams. There weren't any practice exams because this was his first time teaching Orgo 1 so the HW is all you can really go off of. There were some questions that were like 'Why is this here?' but it was rarely every more than 2-3 questions. Those types of questions sorta felt like gatekeeper questions from someone getting an 100% on the exam. The exams did have an average around 60%-75% which I feel is pretty typical for an organic chemistry class. Discussions: They were said to be mandatory, but in all honesty you didn't have to show up. I didn't find the discussions engaging or helpful because we just went over HW questions (usually just 3-4 because of how complex some are). If you have time to kill or if you want to meet up with classmates to set up study sessions later, you can go to discussion to meet them. Homework: They're all optional, but in reality they're not. Please please please do your homework. Though, if you find a question that's really difficult to the point of 'I literally never learned this' skip it. Don't waste your time on it because it probably won't show up on the exam. That doesn't mean don't ask for help on it, still try to figure it out, but if you're in a time crunch just skip it. Office Hours: GOOO!!! GO TO OFFICE HOURS!!! They're extremely helpful and it feels like you have to go to really succeed. He'll often use office hours to gauge what to put on an exam. For example, if one homework question really stumped a lot of students and he took the time to explain, he'll most likely put it on the exam or something similar. Office hours last semester didn't work for some students and he did try to move them, but it's impossible to find a time that works for everyone. He held additional office hours near exams (I think only really near finals?) that were late at night for anyone to attend. Dr. Wang cares for everyone's success! Lab: Lab was pretty standard, the same as 232 honestly. The post lab questions were the same and if you can attend office hours for it it'd be the best because they practically give out the answers there. As long as you do what they ask you to do, you'll get an A and it'll probably boost your grade. Dr. Wang: He is an extremely lovely individual and really does care for everyone and he wishes everyone to do well. Though, he does assume that we're smarter than we actually are and puts a little too much faith in us. His lectures were very old school, often drawing on the chalkboard and his slides weren't super useful. He doesn't post his slides before class because he has to edit them to include information that he might have missed before lecture. He does have a heavy accent, which may not work well with some people. I found it easier to understand throughout the semester and it wasn't a problem for me. Reach out to him!!! He's a very passionate person and is always wiling to help so please reach out!!! Study Strategies: I did end up getting an A in the class, but that's probably because of the curve. In the beginning of the semesters I did really well because I had the motivation to do the homework and study with friends. The moments I started slipping were near the 3rd midterm and the final (which I didn't do too good on and tanked my grade by like 6%) because I didn't do the homework or go to office hours or even study that much. It just proves that this class is difficult and you need to study to do well. Set yourself up for success in the beginning because it's brutal near the end and you want to have a cushion. I think that concludes everything I really need to say about this class. Organic chemistry is hard, no matter the professor. You HAVE to put in time and energy into this class to succeed. And as Dr. Wang says, "Do your best and let God do the rest"
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM237 Expecting an A- Anonymous 07/31/2024	I thought I already wrote a review, that's why this is coming in late. Coming into orgo 1 you hear of many horror stories, but it's really not that bad. He has clicker questions at the beginning of most classes (which are graded), so I would come to those for the first 10 min of class and then leave after that. I am a big procrastinator, so I wouldn't even get to learning the material till a week leading up to the exam (3 exams in total plus the final). This is my fault entirely and the reason I got a A- instead of A or A+. So really if you keep pace with his teaching and make sure you do the ungraded homework (really hard, but it is the best practice for the exam as he does not give previous year or practice exams), you will do totally fine. The homeworks are long but there is one per week which you can do a little of every day, so at most you're doing 45 min of homework per day if you stay on top of the homework. As for the exams, the averages were around 65%, I have no idea how this compares to the ogro 1 for non Chem or BChem majors. I am not sure what it was about the exams that made the averages so low. His problems are almost identical to that of the textbook, he just puts a different molecule and you just do the same reaction for that molecule. My main piece of advice for exams, besides doing the hw and reviewing clicker questions, would be to remember the random shit that can happen in reactions. For example, if you have an alcohol and the OH loses the H, then the O- can bond with a carbon atom to form a ring. "Exceptions" like that shows up almost every exam. The lab, which is 25% of your grade, is basically an easy A. The grading for the lab doesn't depend on the TA you have because the TA's rotate who grades that week's labs, but I did have Osma and she was awesome and chill. The discussions were entirely useless. They were once a week and basically you asked any questions you had about the homework, but Praha (another TA) was not that good in explaining it, so after the first two weeks I stopped showing up. Overall, just stay on top of lectures and homework and you will get a good grade.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM237 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/12/2024	When I first came to UMD, I was unsure if I picked the wrong major and this class made me realize I did. So many people are switching their major to neurophys or neuro after this class. No one enjoys organic chemistry, but this class literally ruined my mental health. I don't think I've ever reached a point this low. Dr. Wang has messy slides that he posts after lectures and teaches in an odd order that makes no sense. He doesn't really teach the "why" aspects of chemistry. The 231 kids (non major specific) have a better understanding of the content than the major specific students. The test averages are always 60-70% which is expected, however there is no curve so the grade you get is the grade you are stuck with. There are also really stupid questions about UMD professors that contributed to orgo, but it was just really stupid and it's not even a bonus question (not that we get bonus questions.) He said that the exam 3 would be easy- the class median was barely a 61%. He does have some grade boost opportunities such as labs (which are very easy except TA Ian is a harsh grader so he brings down lab grades) and clickers which have the same weight as the exams (12.5%) and he drops the three lowest. That is how bad the class is doing right now-three clicker grades have to be dropped. He also said he wasn't going to curve the grades because technically an 85% is an A-, but everyone is doing so bad that he said he probably will have to curve again which isn't so bad, but don't expect that for every semester. The TA Praha is very slow at responding to emails and putting in clicker grades. It's very easy to fall behind in this class too, so you really have to study almost 3hrs a night minimum, plus the homeworks but that is not on the professor- just tips to succeed in this class. The exams are a lot like the homeworks, however the homeworks are very difficult. Praha goes over them during discussion, but it really doesn't help. He yaps most of class. Most of the 237 students are learning from 231 how to do the problems. These reviews honestly seem fake or bad reviews are deleted because I don't know a single person who doesn't feel drained and miserable from this class. TA Osma is very nice grader for labs, however she does seem to pick favorites who are usually the most extroverted. This whole class is a big mess that sucks the life out of you. If you can, take 231/232 and 241/242. This class sucks the life out of you. This isn't a "Wang" issue but it's important to note that the people in chemistry majors are so unbelievably toxic and they will set you up for sabotage so that they can get ahead of everyone. 231 is less toxic-ish. I would say Wang is a very nice man, but a horrible professor. There is a huge language barrier (which is not on him and I do not blame him for his accent at all) which makes it hard to understand him. Again, his accent is not something he can control but it is important to note that you will miss 60% of what he says because of it.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/26/2023	Dr.Wang is honestly a pretty solid professor. One of my only gripes was that I felt his lectures were hard to follow at times and did not get a lot out of them until I was able to return to the slides later. I also did not like that he allocated 150 points to clicker questions, which equalled an exam. If you do really well on them they are definitely a grade booster and most people did do well, but I didn't really like them because he quizzed you on the content that you just learned, and I thought the questions were quite difficult. Since I didn't absorb a lot from his lectures, it was hard to do well but luckily I had smart friends around me who helped out. With that being said, I am taking him over the other professors because his exams are very straightforward and they are easy to do well on if you complete the homework. He doesn't grade the homework but you must do it to perform well in the class because it is definitely difficult content to follow without practice. Also, he is very kind and welcoming and wants to see you succeed so go to him if you need help understanding concepts.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2023	A sweet guy who is willing to help, but honestly one of the worst science professors I've had. The language barrier made it difficult to understand him (didn't understand any lectures, only went for the clicker points), and the homeworks (not graded) were difficult and did not relate to the exam as they looked like they were copied out of a random textbook, slides looked busy and were very difficult to interpret for me. The only reason I did well was because I had a tutor- I barely looked at his slides and never did homework. His exams are very fair and your grade is based on 3 midterms, the final, and clickers. Wang was not receptive to students' concerns with using in-class handheld clickers not connecting (instead of the free app?) and not posting slides before class. He is VERY old school- writing on the chalkboard sometimes and busy slides with images that look like they are from a textbook and didn't seem the best with technology/canvas. He does grade fast and is willing to answer any questions, but didn't always understand people's questions correctly. Some of the grading on exams seemed unfair (took off a lot of points for something that didn't seem like it deserved it), and he basically never gave points back unless it was a tallying points mistake. He seems too smart to be teaching this or assumes that students understand more than we actually do. Usually, if you can get above a 50%, you pass because of the curve. My class's averages were alwasy around 70%. Overall If you are someone who can understand busy, textbook-type slides and his accent you can probably do well, but of course, it's a lot of information regardless of the professor. Learning the material from someone else, I would never have been able to understand it from Dr. wang.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/18/2023	Dr. Wang is one of the only good professors on campus. He truly cares about our success and ability to perform. He spends half of the lecture following the midterms to go over some the main questions, and then conclude with a motivational talk on having a positive attitude towards life and chem241. His slides are very easy to follow, expect many reactions, but all the mechanisms you need to know are on there. He also spends the whole lecture the lecture before the midterm to review. He lists all the mechanisms that will show up so you only need to study for those,~3-5. His exams are by far the most straightforward exams which a few questions directly from the practice exam and homework. The exam structure is the same including the final exam, consisting of multiple choices for basic properties(nomenclature, mp/bp, acidity/basicity), reactions, mechanisms, and synthesis. I really enjoyed his class since I sit in the front row, he always comes and talks to me about my weekend/summer plans before class starts. I wish my professors are all like him. I've had many friends who taken other chem 2 professors, and I truly believe Dr. Wang will be the right choice; do expect a ridiculous waitlist though.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/17/2023	Having taken this course, I feel like most of these reviews are relatively true. If you are coming from stocker, this is your warning: He does not provide as in depth lectures as she does and you will have to self study the crap out of this class. He gives out non-graded homeworks which you definitely NEED to do in order to do well on the exams. He also provides everything you need to know on slides but he runs through them and only draws a couple of mechanisms on a chalk board. I accidentally relied solely on the single practice exam he provides prior to the exam and this isn't sufficient if you want to get a good grade. Be diligent about your time and understand your syntheses. He is a great teacher and he won't throw anything particularly crazy at you but you have to be very proactive. I personally found he was great in office hours but again, you have to do way more work to understand things outside of class rather than just sitting in the lecture. I was a little upset we had to purchase clickers for our mandatory clickers since I had other professors who let us use the free app instead. TLDR; Overall, a great person, not the best lecturer, DO YOUR HOMEWORKS, and review the lecture slides!
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Anonymous 05/16/2023	Professor Wang was great, his lectures are all given on PowerPoints but emphasizes some important mechanisms or concepts by writing them on the board. Everything you need for the exams are on the PowerPoints and you just need to practice/remember the things on the PowerPoints. He has clicker (participation points) that really helps your grade (pretty much acts as an extra exam) but also means you have to get them right/go to class. His exams are very fair, although not easy or impossible, he has multiple choice questions, typical reaction/mechanism questions to write out. However all the reactions and mechanisms are fair and he usually gives you what mechanisms to know for the exam. He also has optional homework’s that don’t count towards your grade but usually he has one or two homework problems on the exams. No dropped exams. Professor Wang’s lecture style is pretty easy to follow and isn’t for everyone but if you’re really concerned about not doing well, Wang is your best option. You might not learn as much detail as other professors but you still learn a lot while the exams not being from hell.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/12/2023	Dr. Wang is by far the best professor I have ever met. Not just the professor, but the best dude in general. He is so caring about his students and all he really wants is for us to succeed and love organic chemistry (while not being so obnoxious about it as other professors). In regards to the class, the other reviews are completely accurate. He teaches basically only what’s on the exam, and he never tries to throw curveballs. Everything is straightforward and structured in the best way possible. Take Dr. Wang
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/11/2023	this class sucks but Professor Wang made it all worth the while. i love this dude and you will too
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/21/2021	honestly, best professor I have ever had. His practice exams are extremely helpful, but make sure you truly mastered each question on the exam to be able to apply the material to a similar problem. He gives optional homework which may help your understanding of the material. Carefully review his lecture slides, because he may give a hint to topics that are important. His curve was generous and the TA's discussion is very important. Mechanisms are also important to take note of, they are not on the slides. TAKE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but remember, this is organic chemistry two, it requires a LOT of work. So if you don't put in that work, the professor does not matter, it is up to you to practice and master the material. there is usually free orgo 2 tutoring from AXS 2x/wk, so take advantage!
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting an A+ florm 12/18/2021	Dr. Wang is a fantastic professor who is very willing to help us. His lectures are exactly as straightforward and packed with information as you could expect for such a dense course. He does occasionally speed through lecture slides, but he always posts them after class so you can go back through and take notes on what you missed. That being said, the mechanisms are usually not in the lecture slides, he'll just draw them on the chalkboard so make sure you always copy them down. He also will post a couple pages of homework problems from the textbook after each lecture; these aren't graded but they're very helpful. GSS practice problems were also super helpful (and sometimes were almost identical to what was on the exams). Your grade is entirely based on exams: 3 midterms and the final, that's it. That definitely puts a lot more pressure on the exams, but I felt that they weren't excessively difficult, and they never had any surprises. They were graded insanely fast too, usually by the end of the day, and the averages were typically in the high 60s/low 70s. Dr. Wang also gives us practice exams for the midterms, and always lets you know beforehand which mechanisms you should focus on. One big tip: don't think that certain things won't be on the exam because they seem trivial or random. Chances are, there will be one question about it. There is a lot of memorization in orgo, regardless of what professor you have. So be prepared for that.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/03/2020	Approachable professor who wants to help his students succeed. Dr. Wang's lectures are a little dry but very thorough and closely follow the textbook. Exams are very predictable and consist of nomenclature, reactions, mechanisms, synthesis and a few questions on general concepts. His exams are almost the exact same as the practice exams he gives out. Take his class if you wanna coast and get a good grade, but he doesn't teach as much content or as in depth as Stocker/MS.
Lai-Xi Wang CHEM241 Expecting an A bnketia 12/18/2018	For starters, Dr. Wang is a very nice professor and clearly cares for his students which I appreciated throughout this semester. However, I will say that his class was challenging especially given the language barrier that exists. Over time, it got easier to understand what he was saying but with a subject like orgo, communication is essential. Nevertheless, I appreciated how he gave us homework assignments (granted the textbook questions are difficult) and had clicker questions. I would say his exams are harder than average for 241 but he keeps the format for each exam the same so you know what types of problems to anticipate. If you do the homework problems (in Dr. Wang's words) and use Orgo as a Second Language, you will be able to succeed if the subject does not come naturally to you. The TA Steven is very knowledgeable and discussion is typically helpful so I would advise attending. The curve is always dependent on the semester but I had an 82% with the class average being a ~61%.