Chem is killing me... Anyone else using OWL? How much?

[iheartstats]

Hey, everyone!

I'm in Chem 1 this semester and seriously... I'm about to die. Our prof usually teaches upper level classes and he's decided to use OWL. Look, I actually like online HW programs to help me test my knowledge, but this is absurd. The volume of it is keeping me from actually studying and learning the material.

Anyone else using OWL for their Chem class? If so, how many questions/units are you being assigned for each chapter? I want some info from others so I can possibly make a case. I know I'm not the only one struggling because of this.

Allow me also to state that I don't have a problem with the volume of material. Two totally different things.

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[NickNaylor]

"The volume of the material is keeping me from learning and studying."

"Also let me state that I don't have a problem with the volume of material."

wat

 

[iheartstats]

"The volume of the material is keeping me from learning and studying."

"Also let me state that I don't have a problem with the volume of material."

wat

Ha, oops... Didn't I say I was struggling? 😛 I meant that the number of assignments is keeping me from learning the material. I don't have a problem with the volume of material... if THAT makes sense.

 

[OrangeandMaroon]

In general GChem is best mastered by repetition. Unless owl has changed is it not just practice problems with mini learning units?

 

[iheartstats]

In general GChem is best mastered by repetition. Unless owl has changed is it not just practice problems with mini learning units?

No, you're right. But, for example, for chapter three, we had about 140 questions (split into units of three), almost all involving calculations. And if you get two out of three questions wrong (and wrong is subjective- may just be a difference in syntax), you have to do them all again (no redos for questions within units). It's not uncommon to spend an hour on one unit.

 

[Maxwell7301]

Hey, everyone!

I'm in Chem 1 this semester and seriously... I'm about to die. Our prof usually teaches upper level classes and he's decided to use OWL. Look, I actually like online HW programs to help me test my knowledge, but this is absurd. The volume of it is keeping me from actually studying and learning the material.

Anyone else using OWL for their Chem class? If so, how many questions/units are you being assigned for each chapter? I want some info from others so I can possibly make a case. I know I'm not the only one struggling because of this.

Allow me also to state that I don't have a problem with the volume of material. Two totally different things.

Thanks!

You must attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Is it time to take your OWLs already?

Seriously,

OWL = Online Work Load?

Online Work Lecture?

Online Work Leprechaun?

People and their abbreviations these days.....

 

[docelh]

OWL sux.

 

[Maxwell7301]

OWL sux.

Alright, a quick Google search got me the answer.

Its Online Web Learning

To the OP, I would get a bunch of people together in your class, and talk to the professor. It's worth a shot.

 

[iheartstats]

You must attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Is it time to take your OWLs already?

Seriously,

OWL = Online Work Load?

Online Work Lecture?

Online Work Leprechaun?

People and their abbreviations these days.....

Wull, HULLO! If I had an Online Work Leprechaun, I wouldn't have this problem in the first place.

 

[OrangeandMaroon]

No, you're right. But, for example, for chapter three, we had about 140 questions (split into units of three), almost all involving calculations. And if you get two out of three questions wrong (and wrong is subjective- may just be a difference in syntax), you have to do them all again (no redos for questions within units). It's not uncommon to spend an hour on one unit.

So three units at an hour a unit? I'm assuming two or three times a week. I don't think that's excessive in the least bit. Unless of course you're a blazing through three chapters per class two and three times a week. Honestly it's only going to get longer and more complicated. There were times when I spent 20 minutes on one PChem problem of a set of 15 or 20.

Unless it's your professors first time teaching the course or their first time using OWL I doubt talking to him or her will do anything. You aren't the first person to do the work and surely won't be the last. Best of luck👍

 

[iheartstats]

So three units at an hour a unit? I'm assuming two or three times a week. I don't think that's excessive in the least bit. Unless of course you're a blazing through three chapters per class two and three times a week. Honestly it's only going to get longer and more complicated. There were times when I spent 20 minutes on one PChem problem of a set of 15 or 20.

Unless it's your professors first time teaching the course or their first time using OWL I doubt talking to him or her will do anything. You aren't the first person to do the work and surely won't be the last. Best of luck👍

I wish- Every chapter (takes us about a week to a week and a half for each) it's 30+ units plus "end of chapter" questions, which have about 25-30 and are multi-part. I promise I'm not whining for nothing! 🙂

 

[azide10]

I used OWL back when I was in Gchem. Biggest waste of time ever. I understand repition of problems is key, but I agree, repition here was useless because it was so time consuming to just get through the problems and how specific the answers need to be... bringing back nightmares.

That on top of a terrible lab prof when everyone else's was so easy is why Gchem was my most hated pre-req and my poorest pre-req grade.

Get together with friends, separate the problems per friend. Rotate to each other. Each person will get good at their individual section quick and it will go by much faster. Unless the OWL questions are actually useful for what you will see on the tests, which was not the case for me, they are pointless.

 

[psilovethomas]

I, too, suffered through OWLs. I worked on sets throughout the week (sets due on Saturday at 8am😕) so the work didn't pile up. The sets are definitely repetitious, but they ingrain the methods and calculations into your head, albeit for a short time for myself. All I can say is to trudge on through it. If thousands of other students can finish their OWL sets on time, so can you.😉
Good luck
tl;dr: you have no case. welcome to college.

 

[rxlea]

lulz. Us old folks did gen chem pre-OWL days. oh, the glory of just doing the problems you want/need to do...

Suck it up, man. If you're complaining now, I cannot even imagine what's going to happen to you in med school. There are days where I go to school and then come straight home and study til I go to bed...and I do this multiple times a week, after all the other **** I have to do...Juggling 8-9 classes of intense material makes me WISH all I had to do was a bunch of gen chem problems on some stupid blackboard site.

consider it practice for when you have to deal with the big guns.

 

[raltima07]

We used wiley...which also sucks

 

[EgotiStick]

Also had OWL. Every class (think just gen chem and physics) that I had these kind of assignments I always ended up forgetting to do probably 1/4-1/2 of them every time.

Just think, someday you'll be forcing YOURSELF to repetitiously pound your head against the desk. At least right now you can say your masochism isn't self-inflicted 🙂

 

[Danlee07]

i didn't have OWL but another computer-based too-many-repetition style homework structured gen chem class. gen chem is fundamental so might as well learn it well the first time.

 

[brisingr]

i'm in gen chem 2 now and we've used owl for both semesters. my class actually has a student board of sorts that meets with the prof regarding issues the students are having and they got him to make most of the owl problems optional. now, last semester i did all the optional problems anyway because i felt it helped me learn the material better. this semester...not so much. but you could ask him to make some of the problems optional because doing all of them really does take a long time and i just dont have as much time to devote to it this semester so i understand what you mean.

 

[Political]

im using it right now lol,
its not bad actually,even if you mess up a question it tells you exactly how to do it, and you learn the stuff better.
oh btw you know those CWK questions, if they give you a question that involves checking off correct answers on a list, just click one of the answers and press submit on the bottom it will say either "there are more correct answers to choose" or "your answer is incorrect" so just keep clicking each individual answer till you get all the correct answers =]

 

[Tatastrophy]

never used OWL but webassign was the bane of my 2 semesters of physics...once I forgot to do it, started pregaming to go out and realized as I was walking out the door that it was due in the morning. Guess how long doing physics drunk took 😛.
Curious though-why are you whinning to us and not along with your classmates? If it really is as time consuming as you say...sdn wouldn't be the first and most satisfying place to vent. Just sayin.

PS to dude who took PChem....guuuhh those problems drove me nuts! I'd spend half a weekend doing those problems and then the other half doing advanced inorganic ones. Made for a...."fun" interview season.

 

[sc4s2cg]

Ugh, OWL. Our Physics 1 professor used OWL.

I used to just google the answers the night they were due, and then do the homework on my own when I had the time to read the chapter. Worked out pretty well. 🙂

 

[Mystery_doc]

You must attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Is it time to take your OWLs already?

Seriously,

OWL = Online Work Load?

Online Work Lecture?

Online Work Leprechaun?

People and their abbreviations these days.....

whatever it is it is not Hogwarts owl, Answers Owl or a lol owl!

Are there any good solutions available for OWL? Chegg and HomeworkMarket helps, but any solution manuals?

 

[cyclopes93]

I had online homework and it took a while to complete. You're not alone. Take notes as you go through the chapters in the book and then set up a time to take the online hw when you are done reading all of the assigned chapter(s). It is important to do that AFTER you have read everything.

 

[meander]

Do you have unlimited attempts? Since OWL provides the answer and a solution method after your first attempt, it's easy to really speed through (if you're not concerned with learning the concepts or already know them). Good luck if you ever have to use MasteringPhysics.

 

[Psai]

Already got an Outstanding on my chemistry and potions OWLs