[CHEM 0103]
General Chemistry I

Rate This Class

Professor: Byers

Value of Course / Overall Score

Not Much (3.3%
Average (53.3%)
Valuable (43.3%)

Material

Friendly (20%)
Average (60%)
Competitive (20%)

Class Atmosphere

Boring (51.7%)
Average (34.5%)
Fascinating (13.8%)

Prep Time Needed

1-2hr (10%)
3-5hr (40%)
6-8hr (26.7%)
9-11hr (10%)
12+ hr (13.3%)

Grade Weighting

Harder (40%)
Average (3.3%)
Easier (56.7%)

Adequate Assistance

Yes (100%)
No (0%)

Would Recommend Class

Yes (73.3%)
No (26.7%)

Evaluation Comments for Byers

  1. If you have to take CHEM 103, Jeff Byers is the absolute best. Going into college, I was slightly concerned about taking Chemistry because I was not quite sure whether I wanted to go into the particular field or not, and I had not taken a Chemistry class for quite some time (Freshman Year of HS). However, Byers was an absolutely amazing professor on so many levels. First of all, I thought the class moved really logically and smoothly. Many people thought that Byers was a bit disorganized, but in my opinion, the greatest aspect of this class was how organized and thorough he made lectures. Secondly, Byers genuinely loves the subject of Chemistry, and his passion for the course radiates throughout his engaging and sometimes hilarious lectures, and his constant availability/openness for questions. Thirdly, don't be afraid of taking an introductory Chemistry course with Byers because he teaches upper level classes. Byers loves his students above all, and no matter how much Chemistry you know, the course is fun, light-hearted, and interesting. That being said, make sure to always take advantage of the practice tests he gives out. Many questions are often repeats from past exams, and they also give you a clue into his exam style, which is straightforward, but occasionally has a curve ball. Also, make sure to practice with the homework problem sets he assigns, and do the problems in the back of the textbook. It may seem like overkill at first, but you will appreciate it when the exam comes around because Byers wants you to know the information back and forth. Overall, CHEM 103 was a challenging, fun, and interesting class. It was probably the best class of my semester. CHEM 103 with Byers is a true gem.
  2. Byers made Chem 103! He is a great professor who really cares about all of his students and who really wants them to do well. He makes it very easy to get a good grade as long as you do your work and pay attention in class. People take the class for all sorts of reason and he caters to all of them. His tests are very close to the lectures. He is also a super nice guy. I would strongly encourage taking this class if you want to try chemistry.
  3. Professor Byers has pretty cool experiments, but overall lectures could be REALLY boring. There's a lot of homework throughout the week. He was available for help, but not very helpful. And if you have to miss a class period with a quiz, he does NOT let you make it up no matter your argument - reschedule to take it ahead of time if it's a sports game conflict.
  4. I think the class was too big, but Byers is an alright teacher- not my favorite, but good.
  5. I probably should have studied more throughout the course rather than just a week before the exams, but I still managed to get a B+. Byers is good, but not the best at explaining concepts clearly. If you keep on reading of the textbook then you will do fine.
  6. Byers was a great Chem Professor to start off my time in Middlebury. Friendly, a little quirky, and a fair test-giver, I found I got a lot out of the class through the varied forms of assessment. Labs were probably the most frustrating part, lack of directions or clarity meant a lot of time wasted, though Kathy Jewett deserves all the credit for putting up with intro chem students in their first collegiate lab. If you do your work and study when necessary, you shouldn't get anything unexpected.
  7. Byers gives great demonstrations that are really cool as well as pertinent to the information we are learning in the course. He knows what he is talking about and really wants to teach others.
  8. Jeff is really there for his students. His class is pretty cool, and he has amazing demos! I wouldn't recommend this class if you got a 4 or 5 on the AP Chem Exam. This would be all review.
  9. No Comment
  10. No Comment
  11. No Comment
  12. No Comment
  13. You need to put in a lot of work including the reading. Byers is a friendly guy and excellent at explaining the overall concepts but not as good at explaining examples.
  14. Hard class. Make sure you read the chapters, because Byers doesn't always do a great job of explaining everything. And you must do all of the problem sets, or else you will be more than confused on the actual exams. Good luck if you take this course, and make sure to ask a lot of questions when you don't understand something.
  15. Professor Byers has a wonderfully upbeat and enthusiastic personality, which helped me stay awake during lecture (a true accomplishment considering it was an early morning class). I found the lectures a bit jumbled, and whenever I read over the book I would realize that the truly complex concepts were not well covered in lecture...he leaves you to teach them to yourself (but the book is GREAT!). The class is pretty fast paced meaning that a lot of textbook reading is extremely necessary to keep up with lecture (which is a MUST considering there are weekly quizzes and problem sets---very tough and graded harshly. Now you may assume that they don't have a big impact on your grade, but you'd be wrong. The class is very interesting and if the chapters are read consecutively then everything links together nicely. Very challenging and the tests were tricky but fair...I liked the give away Q's! Jeff is overall a great guy and I'm happy I took the class, even if it does lower my GPA.
  16. Jeff is the man-- fun times!
  17. This course is tough if you didn't have good high school preparation as was my case. To do well, always do the practice tests he makes available to you as the real exams are very similar. Also, be patient with Smartworks and try to get A's on all the homeworks if you can. Show up to lecture, you will learn a lot and know what to focus on as you read the book. Do the Facebook extra credit, it is definitely worth it as quizzes can be tough! Finally, don't freak out! It is so easy to get nervous during exams, but if you can overcome that, you will do a lot better in the course. What I think of is that it is illogical to be nervous, so therefore I should be calm on exams :)
  18. Jeff does not explain the material well enough as he should considering this is an introl level course. He is available for extra help but usually conveys the same message as in lecture. He is an Organic Chemist and should be all he teaches. He cannot teach an lower level course.
  19. Wait until another professor teaches it!
  20. Jeff is the coolest professor, he makes the banal course material exciting.
  21. Byers is an Organic Chemist and teaching at a lower level was not his best attribute. I found it hard to follow what he was saying in lectures and the concepts were not always clear. Unless you have to take this class for your major i would recommend it with a different Professor.
  22. If you're going to take chem 103 take it with Byers, if you don't need to take chem, don't.
  23. Very easy.
  24. Prof Byers is a great teacher, very friendly, and accessible if needed. The material was a bit dry as it is introductory chemistry, but Byers explains everything clearly so that everyone (even those without a chemisty background)can understand it. A must take for Pre-Med majors obviously, but Byers is a good prof to get for the class. Also, the lab teacher Kathy is really nice and will help you out with anything, even if you break a lot of the glasswear throughout the labs...
  25. Unless you would absolutely die for Lewis Dot structures... its chemistry. I don't love chemistry so I didn't love the class. But Jeff is an awesome professor and he somehow managed to make it all exciting. He managed to keep up my spirits the whole semester... He's the type of teacher who puts silly extra credit questions on tests just to add a little fun here and there. I appreciate that. The labs were also really fun. And Kathy Jewett is my hero. All in all: A good experience for sure.... especially good considering the subject.
  26. Pretty straightforward easy class, but I should have gotten an A not an A-, don't know how that happened
  27. Professor Byers has pretty cool experiments, but overall it was just an average class. It seems really difficult during the lectures, but if you read and keep up at all with your homework you will be fine. Just beware; if you have to miss a class period with a quiz, he does NOT let you make it up no matter your argument.
  28. Lectures were a pain to get through. I studied solely from the book and did well.
  29. No Comment
  30. The prof. Made the class.

INSTRUCTIONS : Click class or professor names to see scores, Click to submit your own review.

All classes taught by Byers :

All professors who teach this class:

Evaluate this course

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

My Evaluation of General Chemistry I by Byers

1 Value of course and concepts to overall education:
2 Did you find the material presented ...
3 Overall class atmosphere:
4 Hours per week spent preparing for class:
5 Were your grades deserving of your efforts?
6 Professor or assistants were available to help, if needed:
7 Would you take another class with this professor?
8Would you recommend this class to a friend: