Reviews for Lisa F Friedman
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: CHEM272 Grade Expected: B May 7, 2012, 5:35 pm | Dr. Friedman is annoying and kid of sucks. He thinks hes funny, but hes not. The lab reports are hard and you have to go to the TA. The exams are hard. Both averages were about a 55. The final is 10 MC questions. And he doesn't publish the curve so no one has any idea whats going on until the end. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM272 Grade Expected: April 3, 2012, 6:59 am | Dr. Friedman makes sure to conduct this course so that minor infractions turn into obscene amounts of points being subtracted from one's lab. While grading can be up to the TAs, one will notice that the 5 points taken off will seem ridiculous to other aspects of the lab are worth almost none at all. Just keep in mind, that no matter how hard you work, sigfigs, even though rules are followed, will always be taken off with liberty. Dr. Friedman will also be completely inflexible and defend his ridiculous rubrics. These labs do not help students to learn, but rather to bother TAs for answers, be constantly disappointed with the amount of points taken off for minor, minor details and upset about the inconsistent graders. Dr. Friedman acknowledges this as an inevitability, so good luck. He's usually the only option and a frustrating and disappointing professor in the way he conducts his course. I was thoroughly disappointed with him. His exams are even worse, with the previous year's exam having a twenty point higher average. But Dr. Friedman prefers to ignore the unfairness of his exam and expects students to ignore his blatant ignorance. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: April 2, 2012, 6:09 pm | worst professor ever, pretenious, says the same jokes over and over and it gets extremely annoying, tests are hard and i would NEVER recommend him |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: A- April 1, 2012, 7:31 am | Dr. Lee Friedman is an outstanding professor. He is an efficient and clear lecturer, and he manages to make even the most dry topics interesting to learn about. He's very funny and makes Gen Chem fun. His tests are VERY difficult, but there is a huge curve, and if you really put in the time, getting an A is very possible. You MUST go to every lecture if you want to do well on the tests, and going to discussion is helpful, as well. He's always willing to help you out if you're confused, and he genuinely wants his students to do well. I would definitely recommend him! |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM272 Grade Expected: B- January 13, 2012, 6:40 pm | Dr. Friedman is an interesting individual. His lectures are certainly entertaining, but I hated the way he went about teaching this course. He gives out two exams, each one tailored for a glorious class average goal of 60%. He makes these exams VERY hard, much harder than necessary for a 2-credit chemistry lab course. You just have to hope he curves at the end of the semester. Lab reports are graded SUPER hard so that, despite how much time you put into them, you'll get points off for something (probably sig figs). I had to retake this course this fall after he decided not to curve in any significant way last spring. Overall, I found Friedman to be annoying. After taking this class for the second time, I still feel like I haven't learned anything. Friedman, while funny, is just trollin' everybody. In fact, he's probably a huge online troll under some alias internet username. If you're taking/going to take CHEM272, you'll probably end up with him. The only thing I would recommend is ALWAYS go to the review sessions given by TAs before exams. They were oh, so helpful. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: A December 22, 2011, 10:42 am | Dr. Lee Friedman is an amazing professor. He is one of the most dynamic lecturers I've ever had and the class goes by quite fast. True, he does recycle his jokes, but I didnt mind much The class itself is reasonable. Weekly homework wasnt bad, but ask TA if you need help. Please show up to class (not only for clickers) but because he covers a lot of stuff and his notes provide a concise and effective study guide. Exams produce extremely low scores, so expect averages to be around high-50s. However, if you put in the work and try, then scores above and beyond the average is not out of reach. Overall, I enjoyed the class. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM272 Grade Expected: December 15, 2011, 7:50 pm | Great professor. Very funny. For exams, go to review sessions given by one of his TAs and study the labs and go to the lecture and you'll be golden, they are super helpful! Lab reports are doable, just go to TA office hours and you'll be fine. NOTE: He does not do open notes finals any longer. At least he didn't this semester |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: A October 11, 2011, 4:30 pm | Let's start out with the fact that I cannot do chemistry for my life and still got an A. Best professor I could have asked for. Has a great sense of humor and explains everything so well. Very thorough and takes the time to take any and all questions. He remembers faces and names, which is impressive in such a large intro class. He holds online office hours which are so, so helpful before the test. My only regret is not utilizing those more for weeks we didn't have tests on. He'll help with the homeworks and they're fair. If there wasn't enough time, or if something was too hard, he takes it out. Our TA was fine and pretty much just redid the lecture but with such a great original lecture, I found myself never coming unless it was to pick up my exam. Dr. Friedman is one of the best professors in this university. TAKE HIM IF YOU CAN. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM272 Grade Expected: B+ May 24, 2011, 7:19 am | The class was ok. Friedman was a pretty great lecturer, labs are graded harshly. There ended up being ~15 bonus points at the end of the semester that really helped bring everyone's grades up. The exams weren't too bad, but they were long and the reason I missed an A was because of lots of seriously dumb mistakes, so it's definitely possible to do well. I've heard that the curve was less than 4% if you make the midterms 15% of your grade. |
| sccerkid02 Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: A May 23, 2011, 3:19 pm | Dr. Lee Friendman is AMAZING. His lectures are very easy to follow along with, and he makes them pretty fun sometimes. He is one of the funnier professors I have had, and he likes to make jokes about bio majors (which i found funny since I'm not a bio major). With that said, he made the material very understandable and his exams were pretty fair. I may be a little bias, because I am very good at math and I had a really good chem teacher in HS, but Dr. Friedman is still the best professor to take for Chem131. His exams may seem a little hard, but the TA's grade fairly, and there is a strong curve at the end (mid 70's = A). If you take Chem131, you HAVE TO take it with Dr. Friedman! |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM272 Grade Expected: May 20, 2011, 7:27 pm | He's a very entertaining teacher and keeps students engaged (and awake) during lecture with jokes. Go to lectures because he reviews the material for the lab in the upcoming week, which will be useful when you are doing the lab and when you do the post lab write up. His two midterm exams are ok...a little bit on the hard side and test you a lot on calculations used in the labs. But if you study hard hopefully you will score with the class average. On the plus side, his final exam is very easy...open note and it is all questions regarding procedures used in the labs. Overall, great professor! |
| Pochacco Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: May 19, 2011, 12:14 pm | THERE IS NO LISA FRIEDMAN. This review is for LEE Friedman Friedman is awesome. He's hilarious, although he does recycle his jokes a bit. Mostly they revolve around partying and Chuck Norris. He goes very in-depth with Gen Chem 1 and his exams are extremely difficult (maybe even unnecessarily so). However, he is a fair teacher and there's a massive (like 20% curve) at the end of the semester. He's fun to talk to when you go to office hours, and he won't make you feel stupid His exam averages tend to be extremely low, but don't let it get you down. Just do your best, go to office hours, do homework (mastering chemistry helps a lot surprisingly), and you'll do fine. I averaged about a 74 on all the exams, and pulled off an A |
| Letsreviewthisguy Course: CHEM272 Grade Expected: A May 13, 2011, 4:38 pm | Lee Friedman is quite an interesting character. He keeps the class engaging and also very fair when it comes to tests. Yeah one may say that his averages on the tests are low, but that's because some people don't study enough (or at all) for lab midterms. His jokes on Chuck Norris in beginning of exams always made me laugh, although I got jipped since he didn't include as much as previous years. :( But he is a great professor. |
| lovinlife1492 Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: A April 15, 2011, 7:30 am | Dr.Friedman is a great teacher-he explains everything really clearly, & even if you don't understand things in lecture he's always open to questions during lecture, or in his office hours. Going to discussion also totally helps, they go over exactly what you did in lecture again in detail. Beware though-his tests are very hard, but he gives a huge curve so as long as you get around a C or above you'll be decent. When you're studying for the test make sure you watch the after chapter videos! He always puts a problem from that on there that you'll only know how to do if you watch them! |
| #1student Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: March 15, 2011, 6:55 pm | Dr. Friedman was the best teacher i have ever had! He is completely passionate about teaching chemistry and this shows during his lectures. He runs around like a mad man from one side of the lecture hall to the other just to make us understand and prove a point. He is off his horse funny and even if you ask stupid questions he dumbs things down for you. If you want to really be prepared for orgo I or II he is the best teacher. He made my hatred for chemistry fade because now i can actually understand it. However like all really good teachers he hold you to the highest standard and expects a lot from you that is why his test are from hell. If you go to ever lecture, READ, do clicker questions, and ask for help your good to go. Its chem people its not suppose to be a breeze! DONT TAKE ANYONE ELSE FRIEDMAN MADE ORGO EASIER! |
| Sweetie Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: December 22, 2010, 1:46 pm | Dr Friedman was an awful teacher. He definitely knew his stuff but didn't know how to explain. When people would ask questions in class or whenever I went to his office hours he seemed to have an impatient tone in his voice. His exams were impossible and completely unfair. He aimed for a 60% on his exams which doesn't make sense. He curves of course but I didn't appreciate him aiming for such low grades which shows he didn't care if we understood the material or not. Avoid him if you can. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: C December 21, 2010, 2:40 am | Friedman was a very good professor that actually cared if the students learned the information. He took the time out to create innovative ways to make sure we understood the material; which I appreciated because my other Chem professor didn't do this at all. The exams were very hard. He actually prides himself on his difficult exams, but the curve is ridiculous. Take advantage of all the added help he offers and you should do fine. It's not easy by no means, but you can work for your grade. And DON'T MISS THE CLICKERS, they can make or break your grade if your one or 2 points from the next grade level up. |
| zhangsta Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: A December 17, 2010, 1:54 pm | I loved this man's class. He was very engaging and very chill in class. He explained the material very well. His exams tested your understanding of the material rather than having you memorize every small detail. The curve in the class is pretty big since his exam averages tended to be around 50-60. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: A December 15, 2010, 12:34 pm | The main difference between Friedman and other 131 professors is that he really wants you to understand the material instead of just being able to regurgitate it. If you are serious about learning chemistry he is your best choice. There were a lot of students in the class who would complain when we had to answer questions that weren't explicitly outlined in the textbook -- if you want to get away with a minimum amount of work and thought then this class is not for you. But if you're willing to think about why things are and how you can apply what you've learned, you will find this class very engaging and may in fact get a better grade with Dr. Lee than you would with a so-called "easier" professor! GSS sessions and online videos were also very helpful. Dr. Lee is a wonderful person! Take his class if you really want to learn chemistry! |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: November 9, 2010, 9:11 am | Definitely a manageable class if you keep up with the readings and textbook problems. He is a VERY approachable and nice prof and there are multiple ways for clarification if you don't understand something (class, office hours, online office hours, online videos, GSS sessions, and discussion meetings). He aims for the average to be a 60 so don't freak out about your actual scores. You have to know the information thoroughly to do well on tests, but if you take advantage of what's available you'll be able to at least survive. |
| notqualified Course: CHEM272 Grade Expected: B October 11, 2010, 1:06 pm | Who the hell is Lisa F Friedman? that is redonk. |
| Kana-chan Course: CHEM272 Grade Expected: A July 8, 2010, 12:47 pm | I had the pleasure of having Dr. Friedman in two of my chemistry labs, CHEM232 and CHEM272 during the summer. While labs I suppose not as representative of lectures, and I am not a great believer in rating a professor on just how well-formated his exams are, my review might not be as representative as other reviewers. That said, in the lab discussions in CHEM272, I found that the information Dr. Friedman provided to be helpful. While there was not much informationa nd probably any professor could of explained the same information, Dr. Friedman makes the environment of the discussion laid-back and relaxing. It is not boring and I feel this is an important element for any lecturer becuase if you can't engage the class, the class won't be fun. His exams to me are fair. Before people complain about the exams being tough, its important to note that almost all chemistry curves are based off curves and everyone is not entitled to an A. Mr. Friedman while he was my lab coordinator was a good lecturer and is a professor that you can easily get along with. A quality professor. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: B June 3, 2010, 5:02 pm | CHEM131: Absolutely hilarious. Kind of impatient and expects greatness from all students. Overall an alright professor, but has difficult (and poorly worded) exams. The average is usually a 60%, and that's what he "aims for". Class has a HUGE curve. CHEM231: Orgo with him was dreadful. I didn't feel prepared for the class. The examples on the board weren't helpful to me just because he moved SO FAST and I couldn't keep up. Ended up getting a C- (I honestly don't know how). Retook Orgo with Dr. Dixon and LOVED her. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: A May 15, 2010, 12:24 pm | good teacher, but i also took AP chem in high school. for my friends that didnt, they struggled a lot in his class. final was absolutely impossible but i thought the three in class tests were overall pretty easy. average for each exam was about a 60 and the cutoff line for an A was generally a 78, for a B it was 65, a C it was around a 45...it was random but it works highly recommend him. hes better than the other teachers ive heard about... oh but he repeats his jokes like its his job...youll want to kill yourself |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: C+ December 20, 2009, 9:21 pm | If you're looking to learn chemistry you've picked the wrong professor. His jokes are initially funny but he recycles them so you want to kill yourself towards the end of the semester. Tests are fairly difficult, especially the third exam. This results in a fairly large curve. 80% is an A |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: A October 13, 2009, 7:45 pm | Dr. Friedman is a really good professor. His exams are a little unfair, and the averages are consistently very low, but he curves a lot to make up for it. I ended up with a 75% and got an A. What he teaches is very useful in orgo 2, and I feel like I am more prepared for it than others who took different professors. |
| matt11 Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: A- June 6, 2009, 8:47 am | Take Dr. Lee if you're looking to get a good grade in orgo. I had a 64% in his class, but got an A- at the end. I thought his exams were hard, but compared to Dixon's exams, Dr. Lee's exams were not that bad. The average on his exams were really low (one was a 46%) which explains the huge curve. You can have a 50% in his class and still get a B. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: B+ May 21, 2009, 10:29 pm | I took chem131. Friedman is an interesting lecturer that tries to keep his students engaged. He has a good sense of humor and loves to talk about orbitals! Sometimes his notes are a little disoriented on the board but you'll get used to it. He also has online office hours weekly, so if you're a shy person just log on and tune in. If you get to know him he will definitely help you out and he's not scary at all. He's very approachable and willing to help. As for his exams, the first two are very fair and relatively easy. The last two will kill you if you don't study...but you will learn a lot from your mistakes which will help you on the final exam because it's very cumulative. The final exam is composed of 25% of each exam. He teaches at a slower pace than Dixon, so if you're not a fast learner and like a breathable pace, he's the professor for you. Good luck! |
| tallboyt Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: B May 20, 2009, 11:37 am | This is for orgo I lab as this prof was the coordinator. Lab is lab, it's 3 hrs/week. If you are given good procedures it's not too hard. Post lab Qs are hard and only somewhat relate to what happens in lab. Midterm and final are, as always for lab, very difficult; luckily all are MC. Curve at least 6%. Much depends on the TAs |
| Terp11 Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: B April 8, 2009, 7:01 am | This professor needs to get her act straight; she has no idea what the Organic Chemistry students are learning in the lab. Every week there was a horde of academic dishonesty in the TA help room (something you will learn to love - BCHM 1521 near spectroscopy and chm library) and the final exam was needless to say so hard that people wrote a random alphabet. Trust me, if you dont understand the post lab questions, you're not the first one- just make sure you go for help. Or you shall fail miserably. I still dont know my final grade, but I think I might get an A, no less than a B. Good luck! |
| vbury Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: February 25, 2009, 10:58 am | I took AP Chem in high school and got a 4, which I thought was pretty good. The School of Engineering only gives credit for 5's, so they still made me take 135, which was basically everything I learned in high school. As you can obviously tell, this class was an incredible waste of my time. I guess the chem department in Spring 2008 (when I took the class) had the bright idea of tag-teaming teachers. So Friedman taught for the middle 6 weeks of the semester and Brooks taught the first and last 3 weeks. I will say that Friedman did a better job at teaching than Brooks, but his test was much harder than it should have been. Overall, I learned barely anything, and the class was a waste of my time. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: C+ January 27, 2009, 12:02 pm | He is a nice guy, pretty funny, lectures can ramble on a bit but I enjoyed most of them. His tests are pretty hard... make sure to go over all material well... and go to every lecture because of the clicker questions which count for 2 points each. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: B December 23, 2008, 11:18 pm | Sure the class is challenging. But then again, mostly everyone found it challenging because the class average was really low. With that in mind, try hard, ask questions, go to office hours, do the homework, go to discussions. Your grade reflects on what you put into it. Really happy I had him as a Prof, he's funny and he remembered my name after going to ask him a question during office hours. He knows who comes and talks to him...he WILL bump your grade up if he sees you trying. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: A December 20, 2008, 12:42 pm | Dr. Lee, as he likes to be called, is a really good teacher. Despite what other reviewers have said, I took the class and a got a lot out of it. Dr. Lee writes clear examples on the board, and tells you exactly what you need to know. If you write down everything he puts on the board, and study a decent amount, you will get an A! It only takes a high 70's average to get an A-, so it really isn't that hard. Also, the clicker questions are often right out of the book, so if you review the current chapter, you shouldn't have a problem. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: A December 19, 2008, 12:55 pm | I thought he was a good lecturer. he is funny and i thought he explained the material well. his exams are definatly difficult, but not impossible, and the homeworks are usually pretty easy. as stated b4 there is a large curve, so if u study, it is possible to do well. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: C December 16, 2008, 10:28 pm | He acts like a teenager. He teaches like one as well. He makes it so that the object of the course is not to learn chemistry; it is to pass the class just barely. It is easy for those who have taken AP Chemistry recently in high school. For those without that luxury, there is little chance that the information he hastily runs over in his lectures will stick, and an even littler chance that an average person with less than AP knowledge of Chemistry will get more than a C in the class, even with the generous curve. |
| tizhang Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: A December 16, 2008, 2:17 am | I thought this class seemed pretty great. He's a funny professor and his in-class examples were pretty straightforward. It's a good idea to attend class, especially for the clicker questions. The huge curve is true, he aims for an average of 60 for his exams. But this is a big bonus for anyone who has any prior knowledge of chemistry. |
| jessgord Course: CHEM131 Grade Expected: B November 14, 2008, 7:59 pm | Dr Lee was a really nice guy and was pretty funny too. He used clickers during class which forces you to pay attention. There was also online homework every week that was practically impossible, but you got a few tries to get it right. Hooray for there being a curve in the class! Overall I thought he was a pretty decent teacher. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: C June 12, 2008, 10:54 am | CHEM135 was very hard! Dr. Lee Friedman did not make things any easier either. His homework assignments and examples during lecture were easy, but the exams were impossible. The average for the 4 exams, including the final, ranged from about a 45-60%. Therefore, the final semester grades were low too. With the curve, an 'A' was around 75 and above. Also, none of the students ever finished exams. If all 300 students in the class are rushing to finish the test when she says to turn them in, THEN THE TEST MUST BE TOO DIFFICULT! But apparently it didn't matter to him. The main thing to remember is that you will pass CHEM135 as long as you TRY. I know people who had final grades in the high 40s/low 50s (without the curve) and still got a 'C' in the class because professors with low class averages are pretty much forced to curve final grades. Otherwise, they would get fired for failing so many students. Once again... I REPEAT... TRY! TRY! TRY! Do not drop this class if you feel like you are failing! Because with the final curve, there is a very high chance you will pass. Also, another reason not to drop the class is because you have to take it anyway! CHEM135 is required for ALL engineering majors. So you might as well risk failing the class rather than withdrawing from the class. Either way, you would have to retake it. If you want a hard class with a huge curve, take this class with Friedman. If you want a GOOD professor, DONT take this class with Friedman. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: A May 22, 2008, 9:16 am | He's funny, but is a bad teacher. He doesn't explain stuff in class and he expects all of his students to know everything about chemistry prior to the class. Test average is low... around a 50. ~70 = A for the final class grade. Does not like giving points back to students when mistakes are made on grading tests. His exams frequently contain errors and questions that don't make sense. Overall... bad teacher and when him and Michelle Brooks are combined, it's even worse. |