How bad is CHE 152 at Stony Brook. I’ve heard that it’s terribly hard and that taking CHE 131 or the other gen chem class is better. Any opinions?
I took chem 131 and 132 which are the equivilence of 152. So if you take 152 you get two semesters of chem in one. 131 and 132 are hard classes to in which many struggle, from what ive heard 152 is even harder.But it may be worth it to get it over with in one semester
Have you taken AP Chem? If you haven’t, it will be very difficult unless you put in a lot of effort to learn the background material. They assume you have an AP Chem background. It goes very quickly.
I personally took 152 and didn’t think it was impossibly difficult. I got a B, but didn’t put in much effort after the first midterm (stopped going to class, didn’t study for the final…). I don’t recommend doing what I did and I regret it! But I’m not a chem genius and managed an OK grade, so if you’re interested in chem, you probably will manage to do at least OK. I have no idea how much work it would take to get a really good grade like an A. Maybe it’s very difficult, I can’t say.
The differences between the two classes:
- The students in CHE 152 are probably at least 90% prehealth. I was one of the few who wasn’t. Fewer people in CHE 131 are prehealth, although I’m sure they still make up a significant (maybe even majority) chunk.
- CHE 152 doesn’t cover any sort of stoichiometry, periodic table stuff, units, etc. They assume you are already completely capable of doing this. I think this is the subject of the first midterm in 131.
- 152 has pre-tests before every lecture. This is to encourage you to read the material ahead of lecture so that the professors know what they need to stress. They’re about 2-3 questions and not graded, so I guess they’re optional, but recommended. (I didn’t do any… oops.)
- CHE 131 exams are all multiple-choice. 152 exams are partially multiple-choice and partly a normal test paper where you work problems or write a response.
- 152 has very little homework. I’d estimate that it’s a time commitment of a few minutes a day. Compare this to 131, which uses ALEKS, an online homework system where you need to complete a certain (but usually large) amount of material every week. A lot of my friends were in 131. I heard nothing but complaints about ALEKS all year. It would take HOURS every week. On one hand… free points, and maybe good review for the exam, but 152 has much less forced workload, if you care about that.
Basically, if you’re interested in chemistry and have a good background, it might be worth it to take 152 because it will save you sooo much time and energy. If you don’t have a good background, but are interested and determined to really spend a lot of time catching up, it might still be worth it. Otherwise, like if you haven’t taken AP Chem and you’re not really into learning stuff that’s a little above your level, take 131.