Professor
Alexander Spokoyny
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - TLDR: loved the class, would take it again, and it is WAY easier than any other chemistry class BUT the tests are unfair and there's no way to study for them since it's mostly on random stuff he mentions once (but its almost impossible to get anything below an A- so TAKE THIS CLASS!!!) okay so here's the breakdown Midterm: 25% Final: 35% Lab Projects: 20% Independent Project: 10% Attendance/Participation: 10% Class is curved so an A- is an 88%, B- is 75% etc. One textbook called Stuff Matters, pretty easy to read midterm and final will have one or two random questions about the book The lab projects are done in lab groups of 2 or 3 people and are basically just tik toks about what y'all did in lab that week then the independent project is the same thing but you pick the experiment you want to do. They're super fun and easy to bs. Attendance is MANDATORY!! You have to attend 90% of lectures so basically you can miss 2, there is a sign in sheet that goes around the class but tbh there were a few times that I signed in then left and I was fine. I'm not gonna lie the lectures feel like they drag on and weren't always the most interesting but you learn about things that you encounter in day to day life so that was cool. Plus they were bruincasted but only audio! My favorite topics were nuclear weapons, drugs, and radiation! THE TESTS: you're allowed to have a cheat sheet of a regular sized piece of paper, one side is for the midterm then the backside is for the final. The issue is that most of the questions on the reviews and practice tests (which are what I would put on my cheat sheet) were rarely questions on the actual test. I studied like crazy for the final and still got a D on it. BUT its so easy to get 100% in every other part of the class and the class is curved so even if you fail the tests you will still most likely get an A!!!
Fall 2022 - TLDR: loved the class, would take it again, and it is WAY easier than any other chemistry class BUT the tests are unfair and there's no way to study for them since it's mostly on random stuff he mentions once (but its almost impossible to get anything below an A- so TAKE THIS CLASS!!!) okay so here's the breakdown Midterm: 25% Final: 35% Lab Projects: 20% Independent Project: 10% Attendance/Participation: 10% Class is curved so an A- is an 88%, B- is 75% etc. One textbook called Stuff Matters, pretty easy to read midterm and final will have one or two random questions about the book The lab projects are done in lab groups of 2 or 3 people and are basically just tik toks about what y'all did in lab that week then the independent project is the same thing but you pick the experiment you want to do. They're super fun and easy to bs. Attendance is MANDATORY!! You have to attend 90% of lectures so basically you can miss 2, there is a sign in sheet that goes around the class but tbh there were a few times that I signed in then left and I was fine. I'm not gonna lie the lectures feel like they drag on and weren't always the most interesting but you learn about things that you encounter in day to day life so that was cool. Plus they were bruincasted but only audio! My favorite topics were nuclear weapons, drugs, and radiation! THE TESTS: you're allowed to have a cheat sheet of a regular sized piece of paper, one side is for the midterm then the backside is for the final. The issue is that most of the questions on the reviews and practice tests (which are what I would put on my cheat sheet) were rarely questions on the actual test. I studied like crazy for the final and still got a D on it. BUT its so easy to get 100% in every other part of the class and the class is curved so even if you fail the tests you will still most likely get an A!!!
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Most Helpful Review
Just out of curiosity in regard to the last poster below: If you don't need chem 172 (and thus have not and will never even take 172), how do you know if the way Spokoyny taught will not prepare for 172 in any way? To be honest, 172 can be taken independently from 171 material-wise. I'm not sure why 171 is a pre-requisite; 172 is very straightforward because you just follow the motions of solving the same problems over and over again. I feel 172 is just an intro class for group theory and 171 helps establish appreciation and recognition of what's out there in 171. It's not the teacher's fault if the student can't put two concepts together and has to have the teacher spell out every single thing...that's called studying at home. Spookily is a great teacher and does not trick you. For the second poster: ok sure he asked some history questions...look back at the test again...you may have missed 4 points out of 100 AND he curves in everybody's favor. Also recall the solid state chemistry questions that took a whole page. How about the page of quantum mechanics and conceptual mass spec questions on the next page? It's a lot to learn but it comes down to the student's responsibility. Good luck!
Just out of curiosity in regard to the last poster below: If you don't need chem 172 (and thus have not and will never even take 172), how do you know if the way Spokoyny taught will not prepare for 172 in any way? To be honest, 172 can be taken independently from 171 material-wise. I'm not sure why 171 is a pre-requisite; 172 is very straightforward because you just follow the motions of solving the same problems over and over again. I feel 172 is just an intro class for group theory and 171 helps establish appreciation and recognition of what's out there in 171. It's not the teacher's fault if the student can't put two concepts together and has to have the teacher spell out every single thing...that's called studying at home. Spookily is a great teacher and does not trick you. For the second poster: ok sure he asked some history questions...look back at the test again...you may have missed 4 points out of 100 AND he curves in everybody's favor. Also recall the solid state chemistry questions that took a whole page. How about the page of quantum mechanics and conceptual mass spec questions on the next page? It's a lot to learn but it comes down to the student's responsibility. Good luck!
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2017 - Taking a class with Prof. Spokoyny is always a pleasure! I have taken both Chem 171 and Chem 172 with him. What's even more helpful than his engaging and funny lectures is that his door is always open to discuss any of the materials or even help you with astute advice on how to apply to grad school. The tests are tough but it's UCLA so that's normal. If you study, do your assignments, make sure you get the material, you'll be fine! I highly recommend taking this class with Prof. Spokoyny!
Spring 2017 - Taking a class with Prof. Spokoyny is always a pleasure! I have taken both Chem 171 and Chem 172 with him. What's even more helpful than his engaging and funny lectures is that his door is always open to discuss any of the materials or even help you with astute advice on how to apply to grad school. The tests are tough but it's UCLA so that's normal. If you study, do your assignments, make sure you get the material, you'll be fine! I highly recommend taking this class with Prof. Spokoyny!
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2015 - Alex is a fantastic professor who teaches a great class that is an broad overview of inorganic chemistry as applied to biology and bionanoscience. Very relevant topics. Assignment is a presentation on a researcher and an NIH style research proposal. Great class for anyone planning on continuing in science or medicine.
Fall 2015 - Alex is a fantastic professor who teaches a great class that is an broad overview of inorganic chemistry as applied to biology and bionanoscience. Very relevant topics. Assignment is a presentation on a researcher and an NIH style research proposal. Great class for anyone planning on continuing in science or medicine.
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