Michael Strathern

CHEM9 · CHEM1307 · CHEM1119 · CHEM10 · CHEM1324 · CHEM1364 · CHEMISTRY10 · 68 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 27/100
RMP rating: 2.7/5
Take again: 33.33%
Difficulty: 3.7

The decision

Avoid unless you thrive under strict, high-pressure chem with and can stay on his good side.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerPublic HumiliationTough GraderPop QuizzesOffice Hours GatekeeperPolarizing Chem Instructor

Many students report humiliation, sarcasm, and intimidation that and hate of chemistry.
, and use office hours can earn As with drops and .
Attendance and ; missing class or .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

36/100

An A is possible with , and , but laziness or missing class usually blocks high grades.

Online and in-person both stress effort; and lab pressure.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

32/100

, and many students struggle even with .

Both formats report high difficulty; and daily quizzes.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

18/100

; skip class and you will not pass, with late lab policies that force students out.

; online still flags skip-class-and-fail messaging.

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

32/100

, and many warn others to stay away due to humiliation and harshness.

In-person warnings dominate; online has both a and .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

34/100

Tough grader tags are common, though and large can soften outcomes for engaged students.

Format shift

; online mentions clear criteria for some.

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Lots of homework, reading, pop quizzes, long labs, and .

Format shift

Heavy load appears in both formats; and daily pop quizzes.

Teaching experience

Poor

38/100

Some find him funny and helpful if you play by the rules, but , and hostility to questions.

Format shift

Negative climate themes are stronger in person; online still reports rudeness and ignored help requests.

Assessment method

Balanced

55/100

, and finals all matter, with practice exams sometimes provided.

Format shift

and exams; and lab heavy.

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

47 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

polarizing between extra-credit helpers who want you to pass and instructors who yell, embarrass late students, and make half the class transfer.

Main concern

Public humiliation and harsh classroom climate .

What students said

“He constantly makes students uncomfortable and makes life a living hell.”
CHEM10

“Hes a good teacher who wants you to pass”
CHEM10

“Do the homework, attend every lab, laugh at his jokes and go to his office hours. go to office hours and gives 100 points .”
CHEM9

Remote format

Online

3 reviews

Low confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online CHEM10 is mixed: one student calls him challenging but fair with , and rude treatment of questions.

Main concern

Unhelpful responses and the stupid-questions culture discourage asking for help.

What students said

“Strathearn is a challenging though fair professor. His lectures are straight out of the textbook, so you can just read the book if you don't want to pay attention.”
CHEM10

“He said in our first zoom class that there are "stupid questions". Why would anyone want to ask him a question when saying that?”
CHEM10

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are hard but often similar to practice materials; , and appear when students engage.

Pop QuizzesPractice ExamsHard TestsCurve PossibleExtra Credit

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

, labs, and sometimes practice exams from office hours.

Pop QuizzesPractice ExamsHard TestsLab Heavy

“Lots of reading and studying for exams and he gives you a practice exams and questions are similar, he gives you a ”
CHEM10

“Gives out take home practice exams to the people that go to office hours and gives 100 points .”
CHEM9

Online

Online reviews ; focus is on textbook-based lectures and .

Textbook-Based LecturesExam Prep Emphasis

“ , and he prepares you very well for exams.”
CHEM10

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“He constantly makes students uncomfortable and makes life a living hell. I genuinely like chemistry but this guy made me absolutely hate it.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews (3 online, 47 in-person), highlighting polarization on climate, effort, and grading. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Climate

38/100

“he loves to humiliate his students”

📈 Path to an A

36/100

“Pay attention in class and .”

🚫 Recommendation

32/100

“Stay away!!”

📚 Workload Pressure

28/100

“This professor relies too much on online homework to teach us&he yells at us the students when questions are asked”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Uses public humiliation, yells at ppl for being even a min late
He's pretty funny and isn't too difficult if you just study
he will make fun of you and them answer it

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

The way he grades pretty much ensures you a B as the highest grade possible.

Theme 3

⚠️ About Classroom Climate

After he made a girl
more than half the class transfers the first week
Stay away!!

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty detailed reviews over many years show consistent polarizing themes on classroom climate, workload, and .

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 516

4 out of 513

3 out of 56

2 out of 58

1 out of 525

Course coverage

CHEM1037 reviews

CHEM98 reviews

CHEM11191 review

CHEM13071 review

CHEM13241 review

Show 2 more courses

CHEM13641 review

CHEMISTRY101 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

11 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 2 · A 2 · A- 1

B range

No reported values

C range

C 1 · C- 1

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 3 · Not sure yet 1

Michael Strathern

Avoid unless you thrive under strict, high-pressure chem with x x and can stay on his good side.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Mandatory

Avoid

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

🎯 Teaching Climate

📈 Path to an A

🚫 Recommendation

📚 Workload Pressure

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

⚠️ About Classroom Climate

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

Avoid unless you thrive under strict, high-pressure chem with and can stay on his good side.