AI Rate Professor

Chemistry

David Cao

CHEM3A · CHEM1B · CHEM28A · CHEM1A · 35 lifetime ratings

AI rating
83/100
RMP rating
4.4/5
Take again
80%
Difficulty
3.3

The decision

if you want a strong chemistry teacher and are ready to study consistently, practice heavily, and use office hours.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerCaringAccessible Outside ClassClear ExplanationsHeavy WorkloadTest Heavy
  • Most students strongly recommend him because and gives substantial support.
  • The course is not an easy A, but , office hours, practice problems, and .
  • Online reviews are more mixed, with but also reports of .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

64/100

Good grades are realistic with consistent practice, office hours, , and homework, but students do not describe it as effortless.

, while online evidence includes more warnings about difficult exams.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

36/100

Chemistry remains conceptually difficult, but and resources make the material more manageable.

Both formats show challenging content, with online students more likely to say the format increased difficulty.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

34/100

Several reviews say lectures, labs, participation, and is mandatory.

Attendance expectations are mainly supported by in-person reviews; .

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

82/100

Students recommend him because , and makes a hard subject feel possible.

, while online recommendation is still positive but more mixed.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

58/100

He offers and , but students also report tough grading, hard exams, and firm policies.

Format shift

In-person reviews often frame strictness as fair, while .

Workload

Heavy

34/100

Students frequently mention labs, homework, lectures, practice problems, and substantial studying each week.

Format shift

Both formats mention significant work, with and homework.

Teaching experience

Excellent

89/100

Most students describe him as , and unusually helpful for difficult chemistry courses.

Format shift

, while online feedback remains good but less consistent.

Assessment method

Balanced

62/100

Grades appear to combine exams with , and .

Format shift

and , while online reviews provide clearer exam policy details.

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

29 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person reviews are highly positive, emphasizing , and a demanding but fair chemistry workload.

Main concern

Students must keep up with , and .

What students said

“If !”
CHEM1A
“He's a and , but the reward is you become a better student.”
CHEM1A

Remote format

Online

6 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

Online reviews praise his care and feedback but are more mixed about difficulty, with .

Main concern

Online chemistry can feel unusually difficult, especially when exams are hard or the student lacks chemistry background.

What students said

“He allows open resource use (notes and the internet, but excluding question posting sites such as Chegg) on the 3 exams we had + the final.”
CHEM1A
“He says that he made the because it is easy for students to cheat.”
CHEM1B

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are important and often hard, though some courses include student-friendly supports such as open resources, retakes, corrections, or .

Hard ExamsOpen Resource Online ExamsRetakes MentionedExam CorrectionsTest Heavy

Assessment risk

Standard

59/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews show exams are central and demanding, with , and but no clear proctoring policy.

Test HeavyHard ExamsExam CorrectionsExtra Credit
“The class was very test-heavy, .”
CHEM1A
“ and .”
CHEM28A

Online

Online reviews explicitly mention open-resource exams and , but , so online exam friendliness varies.

Open Resource ExamsRetakes MentionedExtra-Hard Online Tests
“He allows open resource use (notes and the internet, but excluding question posting sites such as Chegg) on the 3 exams we had + the final.”
CHEM1A
“the tests were so difficult and not really related to the lectures.”
CHEM1B

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“Dr. Cao is an elite professor. He provides you with all of the resources you need to succeed plus more.”

Voice snapshots generated from 35 reviews, highlighting key themes in , and support. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

89/100

“His office hours are great and .”

👍 Recommendation Rate

82/100

“If !”

📚 Workload Reality

34/100

“Labs and HW can be substantial, but if you budget your time wisely the entire class is doable.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • He made difficult topics really easy to understand.
  • .
  • He is always very willing to help.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • Be prepared to do a lot of studying to get a good grade.
  • Just do what he tells you to do and you will get a good grade.
  • He's a and .

Theme 3

❤️ About Support

  • and you can ask questions through Discord or office hours.
  • He offers his powerpoints to take notes for lecture which is super convenient and always .
  • He really does care about his students passing his class and learning !

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

35

Recent reviews read by the AI

35

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

The analysis uses 35 detailed reviews across several chemistry courses and years, with strong consistency around teaching quality, workload, and .

Inside 35 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 525
4 out of 53
3 out of 53
2 out of 53
1 out of 51

Course coverage

CHEM1A16 reviews
CHEM1B10 reviews
CHEM3A8 reviews
CHEM28A1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

34 reported outcomes

A range

14

A+ 2 · A 10 · A- 2

B range

12

B+ 2 · B 7 · B- 3

C range

7

C+ 1 · C 4 · C- 2

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

1

Not sure yet 1