Thomas Whelan - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: Thomas Whelan

Department: Chemistry

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CH110
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Tom is a really nice and funny guy however he CANNOT teach. And I feel like most people on here must have had a different Tom Whelan at UMass because this tom cant teach anything clearly. I always leave lecture thinking "what just happened" and I'm generally pretty good at paying attention. so yeah needless to say I learned everything from OWL.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Tom is one of the best Chem professors at UMass. He does a really good job of explaining the material. (Almost) weekly quizzes that do nothing but boost your grade. Exams are just like the quizzes, so they are super fair. Amazing professor.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

After a traumatizing experience in Chem 121H, Tom made chemistry a walk in the park. His class is so easy that its hard not to pass. There are lots of owls but do those (along with the quizzes) and exams will be a breeze. SI was also helpful for exam reviews. His accent makes everything hilarious. I still hate chem but Tom deadened the pain.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great guy and gives fun lectures. Can be difficult to pay attention to during lecture. 10 quizzes, 2 tests and 1 final. The tests are on Saturdays but it's so easy it's worth it. He gives out different tests than the rest of the chem department. All the questions are exactly like the quizzes so it's easy to get an A. No leeway for attendance tho

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: No
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Under no circumstances should you sign up for his lectures. He clearly does not know how to explain concepts. More than half of the class is spent on his life stories, which are not close to being funny ( he thinks they are hilarious). Will not wish anyone to have a lecturer like him ever.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Whelan is extremely knowledgable and good-humored, and he definitely helped clear things up that were confusing in Chem 111. He assigns a fair amount of homework each week, requiring both the OWL online textbook problems in addition to the mastery, and the exams are on Saturday and hand-written. However, partial credit can be awarded.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Get this man if you want to learn and get an A. He is way better than Hans Mentzen, whose class average is in the C, C+ range. Tom's tests are so easy if you do the OWLs and weekly quizzes because he reuses questions with different values. His Irish accent, positive attitude, and love for the New England Patriots is a good reason to attend class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He couldn't be a better professor. People fight tooth and nail to get into his class each semester. That should tell you something. Tom is a tremendous person and educator.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

One of my favorite Professors. A really great guy and an even better teacher. I am not gifted in chemistry in any way but I'm doing well in his class and I actually understand everything. If you can take this class with him, do it.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Whelan is one of the funniest professors I've had. He's lighthearted and explains all the material very well. I just didn't like how there were only two exams and a final, and that his exams take place on Saturday afternoons. His exams are straightforward, if you do the OWL's you'll do fine in the class.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great professor. In my opinion, lectures tend to be long but you'll have to go in order to get the clicker points. Test consist of about 15 questions most of which are directly from the quizzes. Make sure you do all of the homework on time and fully understand the quizzes. The quizzes are just like or very similar to the test.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CHEM110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Really nice guy, and he does iclicker for attendance. Tests are reasonable but do require studying, paying attention in lecture, and doing the OWLs. He does goes off on tangents during lecture but sometimes he will say important material for the exam so it's hard to tell when you should be listening to him and when what he's saying is useless.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Extremely laid back and chill dude who you can tell enjoys teaching his lectures, and manages to stay calm and happy even when people are being disruptive. Your grade is based on a few homeworks, quizzes, and exams, but if you do the HW, you should be 100% prepared to do any of the test problems, since they're the same question types.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He's really passionate about chemistry. I'd take him again. You have to do good on the exams to do good in the class cause its 60% of the grade. Just study the quizzes and you'll be fine.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Although exams are fill in, just like the quizzes saturday exams sucks but short and sweet. Don't need to go to class just do the quizzes and owls you'll be fine, best prof for this chem class

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Whelan's tests are literally the easiest thing on earth. They're just the take home quizzes questions with different numbers. The quiz questions themselves can all be found in owl so you should definitely know how to do them. Whelan is a super nice guy but the owls was the real teacher.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Tom's exams were essentially a compilation of his weekly take home quizzes so they're straightforward plus he gives alot of partial credit. The 2 Saturday exams sucked but considering how easy the class was, it was worth it. I never paid attention in class because I hate chem but he posts the notes online. Some effort is required but easy class

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

All you need to do for this class are the owls, quizzes, and clickers. (And I guess do well in lab too). As long as you do the quizzes and understand them, you should be able to do the exams. My biggest problem with this class was just that the 2 midterms were on Saturdays and always only had a few problems which make it easy to lose points.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great guy, always willing to answer any questions. He gives a lot of partial credit on exams, and his exam averages were pretty high compared to the other gen chem professor. You have to do iClickers, so attendance is mandatory, but it's only worth 4% of the grade. 10/10 would take again.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Whelan did really well teaching Chem 112. His exams are very similar to his weekly quizzes and OWLs that he assigns. As long as you do your quizzes and OWLs, you're sure to succeed in the class!