Almost everyone has heard about the infamous organic chemistry, but did you know of its counterpart? CHEM 208 is an inorganic chemistry course that covers teaches you the concepts necessary for advancing further into the world of inorganic chemistry.
format of the course
I took this course in 2020, thus everything was done online. This course was asynchronous in that all the lectures were recorded so that they could be revisited at your convenience (even the midterms were asynchronous). The lectures were also live so that those who wanted to adhere to a schedule could also attend synchronously. There were optional tutorials led by the teaching assistants, where they go through tutorial worksheets and the rational behind each answer. Although being her first term at UBC, Professor Nichols has been by far one of my favorite professors during my four years here. She is always willing to stay late during office hours and also hold numerous individual meetings with students. She also never makes you feel dumb for asking simple questions, and doesn’t mind repeating things.
GPA 🙂 or 🙁
This course is HARD. I spent more time studying for this course than my 4th and 3rd year courses. The assessments were 6 homework sets, two midterms, and a final exam, all of which felt much more challenging than the material presented in class. The homework averages were usually 70-80, as discussion among peers were encouraged and Professor Nichols gave many hints during office hours. The midterm averages were around 50-65 even though they were open book, and the difficulty level was around that of the homework. The final exam still gives me nightmares and was scaled up 14%. Even with the scale, the class average ending up being a 70%.
Credits: ubcgrades.com
verdict? to take or not to take
If you’re in a chemistry-related major, this course is most likely required. If you found CHEM 121 interesting, this course is for you! Even though it’s challenging, the topics are fascinating and things become rewarding once they begin to make sense. If you don’t want to increase your workload or you’re looking to boost your GPA, this course would not be what you’re looking for.