This is an introductory course for students with limited background in chemistry; basic concepts involved in chemical reactions, stoichiometry, the periodic table, periodic trends, nomenclature, and chemical problem solving will be emphasized with the goal of preparing students for further study in chemistry as needed for many science, health, and policy professions.
The teaching method of Dr. Dorian canelas was very simple and impressive. I have learnt a lot and much enjoyed during the lecture and Practical demonstration. I recommend it to all chemistry learner.
I find it very clearly presented and well organized. I really enjoyed it. Thank you! I liked it so much that I decided to translate it in my mother language so I can refresh the notions learned.
An exceptional course to revise previous concepts. many a times strengthened my previously vague concepts. The interviews and especially the practical videos were very enlightening.
The best explanations I've ever heard, everything felt so easy to understand. Also the humour of Ms. Dorian Canelas was really great and brought a very positive feeling when completing the course.
Got a far better understanding of basic chemistry almost 20 years after finishing high school. Many thanks to Prof. Dorian Canelas and to Duke University for creating this course.
This is a challenging but informative course that gives the non-scientist an insight into chemistry, using concrete examples such the formulation of aspirin. Highly recommended!
Great Beginner Course. There are some parts where there will be frustration, but the forums are helpful. Any type of class involving math and science involves practice and work. Professor is great!
I really struggled with chemistry in high school, and this course is excellent! It helped me understand the core concepts of chemistry and I found it very enjoyable!
The course is great for refreshing and systematizing the key concepts from high school chemistry. Prof. Canelas was very engaging, and overall, it was just a very pleasant experience.
I did not like chemistry because I had failed my previous chemistry 114 class in college. Taking this course have help me to understand the basics of chemistry. I'm grateful. Thank You.
It is a wonderful course for Middle school students. A first course in Chemistry, for the gifted students who will do AP Chemistry. Not suitable for adult learners who need an advanced introduction.
great course, it gives me more knowledge in chemistry and also can maintain my previous knowledge in chemistry. I truly like the explanation in atomic interaction part.
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It is a wonderful course for Middle school students. A first course in Chemistry, for the gifted students who will do AP Chemistry. Not suitable for adult learners who need an advanced introduction.
Great Beginner Course. There are some parts where there will be frustration, but the forums are helpful. Any type of class involving math and science involves practice and work. Professor is great!
What an amazing experience! I totally loved it. Prof. Dorian was an amazing instructor. I would like to thank her very much and also Coursera for bringing such course. It was really helpful for me.
Although "Introduction to Chemistry: Reactions and Ratios" appears to be offered by Duke University, this is not a college level course. It is far easier than even a first year "Chemistry I" course. For context, I graduated magna cum laude with a bachelors degree in physics, astronomy, and math so I know how rigorous true college level science classes are. This course is far too easy to be helpful; I finished it in a few days rather than 7 weeks. And there was no need to actually listen to the lectures; I just quickly read the transcripts (which have some text-to-speech errors), skipping all of the things that were redundant or obvious due to my physics degree and high school chemistry (which wasn't AP but was still more advanced than this course).
First, the instructor of the course considers algebra "too advanced" so all of the quiz/homework problems which require algebra are in the "honors" track. (Because of this, I recommend this class to my junior high Algebra I students who want a head start on high school). But, as part II of this course, Structures and Solutions, acknowledges, to really talk about electrons, you need the wavefuncion from quantum mechanics, and that requires calculus.
Furthermore, the homework/quiz problems for this course are not pedagogically useful. Until week 6, the problems were all duplicates of problems we had already seen solved many times in class; that doesn't help students to apply their knowledge in new situations. By contrast, week 6 tested concepts which had not been introduced in the course. In addition, the only feedback provided by the quiz is "correct" or "incorrect" for each problem. Without showing the correct answer or explaining why a given answer is wrong, students can't learn effectively from practice. (Also, the quiz has the wrong answer marked correct for 2-3 problems).
I found the "honors" material patronizing. As a teacher, I understand the value of scaffolding to help students learn difficult material. But this material was not difficult, and there was too much scaffolding even for middle school learners. Each assignment consisted of about 5 actual problems subdivided into 20 or so questions. Each problem would first ask "do you understand the terms in this problem." Then it asked you to list all the formulas and/or facts from the periodic table necessary to solve the problem. Then it asked you to state in your own words how you would solve the problem. (Sometimes, the best answer was "do exactly the same thing I did on the previous problem.") Finally, it asked for the answer. Since the quiz was automatically graded, I think it gave you credit for anything you wrote in the 'short answer' type questions. If it had asked you to show your work, and that work had been taken into consideration when grading, then it might have been worthwhile. But since I had already solved the problem on paper, there was no pedagogical value in typing the equations and values I had used into my phone.
In summary, if you are looking for a college level introduction to chemistry, look elsewhere. This material is less advanced than high school chemistry. It's not worth paying for a certificate as the quality of this material is not commensurate with a college course. If you want to do some quick and easy review of your high school chemistry over a weekend, of if you are a middle school student who wants to study chemistry, this course might be right for you.
Thank you Professor Dorian A. Canelas! It made me much more easier to understand the basic principles of chemistry and it builds me a lot of confidence in answering some of the problems in chemistry.
First of all I am a retired Chemist. I could not get through the first quiz because I believe some of the answers are wrong. I think it better to not frustrate students with "passing" grades. The goal of learning is to learn not to answer questions with only "one" correct answer. 0.01 vs .01 is the same but one would be scored correct and the other wrong. Immediate feedback would be a better way to score quizzes.
Waste of time. Hard to follow. Jumpy. Moves too quickly. Expects you to know the answer before even explaining how to find it. A joke.
waste of time
I would give the course 4.5 stars if I could. The course is a great introduction into Chemistry and I really enjoyed it. Professor explains non-trivial topics in lovely and easy to digest way during first 4 weeks. However, the course shifts gears in weeks 5 and 6 and I had to watch lectures twice to fully understand concepts. Moreover, to solve advanced problem set for week 6, I had to read about Ksp calculation outside. Apart from this inconvenience, the course and professor are great.
When I entered this course, I wanted to expand my knowledge on the foundations of Chemistry. This course helped me to do that and much more. Through this course, I was challenged enough that I can confidently walk into a Chemistry classroom and ace the pretest. I recommend this for anyone who is trying to get a degree in anything branched off of Chemistry.
hemistry is the study of matter and energy and the interaction between them. There are many reasons to study chemistry, even if you aren't pursuing a career in science.
Chemistry is everywhere in the world around you! It's in the food you eat, clothes you wear, water you drink, medicines, air, cleaners... you name it
Excellent course. Although, it was very challenging to me to complete it and I had to repeat some of the videos, I am very happy that I decided to take it. It helped me to repeat my knowledge.
This course was a very good review of the material from general chemistry that it covered. The professor was clear and easy to follow. My only complaint is that the advanced problem sets contain calculations that were not explained in the course and then there was no feedback when you got the questions wrong. It was very difficult to find material that explained how to do the problems. They should take more time because they are more challenging, not because you have to search the internet for how to do the problem.
Some quiz answers were marked wrong when they were correct
The professor is superbly unengaging. Her toneless voice while she reads from a teleprompter and her desperate attempts to be funny makes one doze off fast. Her gaps make it so that she doesn't really know what she is doing (might be different n an actual class). This is not story time and you don not have to treat learners like pre-schoolers. Also the advanced question sets are bullshit- just cut to the chase already and go for the answers than giving points for "did you understand the question?". Well if I didn't I would get a wrong answer and know I made a mistake somewhere, so need for you to ask exactly what formulas I'm gonna use.
This is an amazing chemistry course!
This course helped me to develop so many skills such as scientific and numerical skills, excellent analytical skills and meticulous attention to detail and accuracy. Not only that but also this skills created a logical and independent mind. My patience and determination have improved as well. I hope this certificate will be worth and create a rich profile in my CV. This course is really interesting and it will be a good start to students to learn chemistry from the beginning without a basic knowledge. I recommend this course for everyone who is willing to carry out their careers in chemistry.
I enjoyed taking this basic chemistry course. coming to this course with a very limited background in chemistry, i feel like it widened my view of chemistry and it's applications in our everyday life. Prof. Canelas is such a great tutor and i wish i had the opportunity to be her student in Duke! this course makes me wanna "dive" deeper in to the field of science. Highly recommended!
This course was very helpful for my understanding of biology and physics related content. It is just the right amount of work to learn in seven weeks, although some tests were significantly harder than others and forced me to work more time on. Thank you very much for offering this course!
Great course! Clear explanations, logical structure, and I learned a whole lot. I especially enjoyed Module 4: Chemical Composition. This course is perfect for anyone looking to build a strong foundation in chemistry.
The teaching method of Dr. Dorian canelas was very simple and impressive. I have learnt a lot and much enjoyed during the lecture and Practical demonstration. I recommend it to all chemistry learner.