Kevin Welch is an amazing professor for CHEM 1410. During his weekly lecture, he teaches a good amount of information pretty concisely and in a really helpful way. I think the best part of the class is the discussion sessions once a week, where we collaborate in groups on either chemistry problem sets or the group exams. The class is amazing and I definitely recommend the professor.

I took this class in my first semester as a first year and I enjoyed it, despite not being a chem/pre med major. This class consists of weekly assignments on TopHat (chap readings, bit, lbla), 3 exams (individual + group), a final, and 3 portfolios. It is so important to do well on those TopHat assignments because it will help your grade! It is also super important to actually like your Expo group because you are stuck with them the entire year and do group exams with them, so ask to switch in the beginning if you do not like them! This class is definitely not an easy class so go to help hours because that helped me a lot. Some of the TAs during help hours were more helpful than others so basically use that time to work with other students as well. If you are struggling in the first few chapters, just know it does get better as you keep going!

I hated chemistry going into this class and I still hate it (it was a required class) BUT I will say as someone who hates the subject, Kevin Welch is a great professor who's really understanding and passionate about what he teaches (+1). Every week there's lecture and expo. Before lectures, you have to complete the weekly textbook reading along with a bunch of questions graded on accuracy and lectures just go over exactly what the textbook reading was about. I never found I was missing out on too much when I didn't go to lecture because I had a solid understanding of the topic as a result of the homework. You better hope your expo group is good though. This is the group you'll be with the entire semester working together during expo to work through problems (based on accuracy!!) and the group you'll be taking the group test with.
#tCFF24

If you put in the work, getting an A should be easy. The grading is fair -- there are 3 exams (each worth 15%) and a final exam (20%). Exams are separated into three parts: MC on-your-own (lecture day), 5 MC hard questions (complete before workshop, same 5 MC (complete at workshop w/ group, one copy submitted). Just hope your expo group is good or else it'll make expo unbearable. Lecture isn't helpful, he focuses on one niche topic from the chapter reading that usually isn't even on the test. You're better off going to office hours. Overall, Welch is a good guy -- he's flexible and easy to talk to, he's not trying to make your life difficult. At the end of the day, its an intro class.

At first, I thought chemistry was my hardest course this semester in the first few weeks; however, that changed after the first few chapters. If you can get through the third of the semester, you'll do great.
Something to note is that the grading is a bit harsh. #tCFF23

This course was set up very well and exceeded my expectations for an introductory chemistry course. This course included an active learning approach where students completed assignments in groups in their once a week workshop ("expo") session. Depending on your group, workshop can be a fun period and a great way to learn the content.

Welch was a great professor. He gave informative lectures that allowed me to better grasp the material. Most importantly, he cared about his students and did his best to accommodate each student in his large class.

#tCFF23

This is definitely one of those courses you need to give the adequate time to in order to get a good grade. Prof. Welch's lectures are good, but they don't cover everything; the rest of the material is taught through a custom-written textbook on a site called Top Hat. This textbook is very expensive, especially considering parts of it are very poorly written, but you need to use it to get a good understanding of the course.

How this course works each week:
Before the day of the lecture, you have to read the Top Hat chapters and answer the questions in them. After the lecture, you answer some more questions to prepare for your discussion section (called Expo). In Expo, you work with your group to answer more questions, and after Expo you answer some more questions about the concepts. Your group will probably make or break your Expo experience—my group was helpful but rushed through the Expo material, which resulted in us forgetting to draw some diagram that we needed to submit later. TAs usually run your Expo section—if you ask them for help, they'll likely lead you to the answer very easily.

There were three midterm exams with three parts each (all open note/Internet, and for Welch, all online/at-home):
Part 1 is individual, and honestly not too hard.
Part 2 has five multiple choice questions, which are extremely hard. Make sure to read through the answer choices thoroughly, and take notes on why you eliminated certain answers. (this part is always 10% of your exam grade)
Part 3 is during Expo, where your group submits answers and explanations to the Part 2 questions.
The first exam's grade is majority Part 3, but as you get to exam 3 the grade distribution becomes majority Part 1.

The final exam (also open note/Internet) was a joke; as long as you have a decent understanding of the material, you'll probably get a decent grade. There is no final project anymore.

My advice: take notes on the Top Hat chapters, and try to understand all the questions in them. If it's very clear from the start that your Expo group isn't going to help at all, ask for a new group (luckily I wasn't in this situation). Each time the Expo material says "draw this diagram to add to your Portfolio", take a picture and immediately send it to your group chat. Each time you see a good diagram or chart in the chapters, screenshot it and put it in a "cheat sheet" doc which will help you a lot for exams. Make sure to attend the TA review sessions in person, or at the very least watch the recordings. Most of all, don't drop the course based on how intimidating the first chapter is—the next few are MUCH easier.

Overall, this course isn't fun and it doesn't make me want to take chem again, but you can get through it with the right amount of work.

#tCFF23

Prof Welch is definitely the best intro chem professor at UVA. He is incredibly reasonable, fair, and overall has a genuine care for his students. His lectures are typically easy to follow if you read the textbook chapter associated with it. A few of the concepts in this class are difficult to grasp, but his office hours are pretty helpful and typically not too crowded. Generally, intro chem at UVA is designed so that everyone has a fair chance of doing well. If you put in the work, getting an A is doable. The exams consist of three parts, one of which is individual and take-home. This portion is always open note and open resource, meaning if you focus on understanding the concepts you should be good to go. I especially appreciated this structure because you don't have to memorize all of the nitty gritty details associated with each topic, the main focus is directed at understanding the concept first. I was worried that the take home portion of the exams would be especially difficult, but for the most part they are straight forward mcq's with a few free responses sprinkled in the mix. Pick Welch for chem 1410!!! you are guarenteed a fair chance at doing well. #tCFF23

Prof Welch is definitely the best intro chem professor at UVA. He is incredibly reasonable, fair, and overall has a genuine care for his students. His lectures are typically easy to follow if you read the textbook chapter associated with it. A few of the concepts in this class are difficult to grasp, but his office hours are pretty helpful and typically not too crowded. Generally, intro chem at UVA is designed so that everyone has a fair chance of doing well. If you put in the work, getting an A is doable. The exams consist of three parts, one of which is individual and take-home. This portion is always open note and open resource, meaning if you focus on understanding the concepts you should be good to go. I especially appreciated this structure because you don't have to memorize all of the nitty gritty details associated with each topic, the main focus is directed at understanding the concept first. I was worried that the take home portion of the exams would be especially difficult, but for the most part they are straight forward mcq's with a few free responses sprinkled in the mix. Pick Welch for chem 1410!!! you are guarenteed a fair chance at doing well.

Professor Welch was one of the best chemistry professors I have had between high school and college combined. He was incredibly patient in answering questions during lecture and office hours, and he always made sure to explain the content in many ways (visually, numerically, and in simpler language than the textbook would sometimes use). Although a difficult gen-ed to take, he makes the course much more interesting and accessible for all, especially with open-note exams. My biggest recommendation is to take notes on the textbook readings and use workshop time to understand the content at a deeper level than what may primarily be taught in lecture, as that is a significant piece of what the CHEM 1410 professors like to test students on. Overall, the course content itself can be incredibly difficult, as it is an introductory STEM class, but taking it with Welch will make it a much more positive experience!