Herbert Fynewever

School: Calvin College
Department: Chemistry
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Overall Rating
rated by 20 students
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He is great he actually teaches we had webCt quizzes but they are really helpful..I'm like to chemistry what Calculus is to a monkey byt fyneweaver makes it real easy...he's the best . take him you will actually learn stay on top of Homework and take good Notes u'll do fine Grade Received: A
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oh my goodness, i love this man. i hate chem but would major in it if he taught every class. he makes everything crystal clear its hard to believe that chem is the hellish subject it is when he teaches. i cannot stress enough that this is the teacher you want!!!!!!!!! Grade Received: A
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He is generous in that he offers two extra-credit assignments requiring only the reading and reviewing of current, most up-to-date articles from popular science journals. Dr. Fynewever hardly fits the image of a nit-picking,fastidious grader who'll deduct points for even the measiliest of errors. He won't exactly, in a parent-to-child fashion, spoon-feed the contents of every section from the book to you liberally,thus unfortunately leaving you with no other option but to fill in the gaps and spaces created by his imcomplete lectures ( which is only proper and fitting in such circumstances, given that the course requires a jaw-dropping dozen chapters or thereabouts heaped not into a semester, but into a short ten-week quarter.)But don't worry- the reading is often based on lightweight material since most of the more hearty,meaty portions are covered through his lectures.
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This class is not that hard. Just the key thing is GO TO CLASS. If you want in A you can get one in this class. He is a good teacher but if you dont show up it makes it a little bit harder. If you are planing on going past this chm class to 122 or ... then i would say learn the stuff becuase u will need it. Take him he is good and wont screw you over. AR
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I am in love with this man. I have attempted to take general chem twice before and failed each time. He walks you thru everything in an easy to understand way. He is possibly the best teacher at cal poly. I wish he taught every class, id surely get a 4.0. He is absolutely amazing. Its hard not to pay attention, youll never fall asleep and he is the best grader around. TAKE HIM, especially if chem isn't your thing.
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Great teacher motivates people to learn chemistry and take an interest in it. HW is all online and you can do it over and over until you get 100% and he has extra credit. If you take him in the summer then the final will be optional. Tests are just like HW. Friendly guy.
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I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Fynewever for CHM 121. His lectures are structured and very easy to follow. He gives you the important parts and leaves out the unnecessary (complicated) details--you can get away without reading the book (which I found a bit confusing) but you should go to all the lectures. Homework, for the first time, was done on WebCT...it was VERY easy to do. You had all quarter to complete the problem sets (8 total), but the weekly quizzes are based on them, so it's advantageous to do the problem sets as he assigns them. The 2 midterms were exactly like the practice midterm he posted...just do that a couple times and you should be set for the exams. The final, for us, was optional if you were happy with your grade, so I didn't take it!
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The emphasis on this class is keeping a notebook. Dr. Anz normally teached this class but Fynewever taught it this quarter. He seemed to be learning it as he went along; just as we were. Basically, he's not useful as a mentor/leader/teacher because he doesn't know any more than we do. I found that very frustrating. Lab reports focus on error analysis. He is a fair grader.
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Hey there, it's Jonnie J again. I had Professor Fynewever in BioQuest as a Pre-Frosh and we was great. I then took him for 121 in the fall and he was the some ol' Fynewever. The nicest most caring Professor at Cal Poly. Does a great job during instruction and yes he does give you 40 POINTS EXTRA CREDIT! But Chem 121 can be hard if you don't practice at home, his tests are very challenging. You can be listening to his instruction very well and screw up on the test. My advice, take him and make sure you can do each type of problem over and over again and you should be fine. Great professor, thanks Doc, even though I failed his class I had a good time failing.
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Fynewever is a great teacher, he makes Chemistry interesting and fun. He is willing to help you, if you have any questions. His tests and quizzes are not that hard, but are challenging. If you ever miss the lecture notes or need the answers to an old test or quiz, he provides them on the internet. He also gives extra credit, in case you are starving for points. I had Fynewever as a teacher for Bioquest and CHM 121, and he is one of the best teachers here at Cal Poly.
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He is a overall good teacher, but i have to warn you for the tests that are fairly challenging. A huge plus is that he gives 40 POINTS EXTRA CREDIT. With the 40 points extra it is fairly easy to get a c. also he doesnt give c-. If you want to get an A you have to work though.
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i took Mr Fyneweaver for Chm 121 lab a very Good teacher did a Good job of going over the LAB and providing an outline on the board of how to do the lab, he quized us on the previous weeks lab (simple math problem) and something basic about the lab which you would do that day (Chemical used) actually helps on how to do the lab and provides assistance on answering questions for the lab book, i enjoyed his class and wish i would of taken him for lecture but i got him for lab. His office hours were convient and i used them once not for lab book help but for CHM lecture help and answered my questions. Mr Fynewever is a shining example of what i think Cal poly is looking for in a teacher.
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Great teacher. Explains everything clearly and just at the right pace. Every week there will be a quiz and homework unless otherwise noted. Quizzes are based on the homework so if you do the homework than the quizzes should be easy. He will post the answers to the homework before the quiz online so you can study off of that if you didn't do the homework or if you have the wrong answers. There are 2 midterms and a final which are based on the homework and the quizzes. I never really had to read the book and I just did the work annd still ended up with an A. He also offers extra credit. These helped me a lot. Definitely take this teacher, you will understand what you are learning.
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Fynewever is the BEST professor i've had at cal poly so far. he is sooooooooooo nice and teaches very well. he breaks everything down for u especially if u don't like chem. i don't like it. he is funny n it's like he's a student as well cause he is so young. he really knows his stuff n makes u feel very comfortable during his office hours. he's vey understanding. i took him for chm 121 and now 122. i would definetly take him for 123 if he were to teach it (crossing my fingers)i recommend him 110% plus he gives easy extra credit work. we need more professors like him. good job fynewever.
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This has to be the best chemistry teacher i have ever taken. He listens to the students and understands their questions. His quizzes are off of the homework. Homework is assigned every tuesday and turned in the next tuesday. His midterms are similar problems from the homework and quizzes. Two extra credit assignments and he curves! Good stuff. Overall, he's a great guy and not intimidating. I recommend him very much. I don't like chemistry much, but he got me into liking it. I got a C, but i learned more than i have from other chemistry teachers.
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This instructor is great, I learned a lot from this class. The weekly quiz is fairly easy, the homework a lot, but he always in his office hour so I don't have problem figure out the answer. The test is realtively hard, you MUST know you stuff in order to pass, he grade fairly hard on last exam (final), and fairly easy on first two exam. My recommendation is take this class if you are willing to study.
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The best teacher for CHM121 there is out there! He makes sure you know what he's talking about. Ask any questions! I haven't gone to his office hours but from friends i hear he is even cooler when you go to his office hours! He helps more then in class. HIGHLY SUGGEST TAKING HIM FOR CHM 121 OR A 121L CLASS HE IS THE BEST! But i dont know if he's teaching any chm121 classes in winter.
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What can i say about this professor Fynewever..he is THE best teacher i ever had at cal poly..he really cares about the students and he makes the class fun..IF you hate chemistry, i guarantee if you take him, you will like it. His tests are pretty easy if you study the study guide that he gives you..if you study the study guide, you should have no problems and should be set to get a good grade in that class. Not much homework in there either..jsut weeekly problem sets and quizzes every friday..but if you do ur homework, the quizzes are easy as can be.other then that he is an excellent chemistry teacher compared to other chemistry teachers that grade real hard and they expect you to know alot when coming in..if your taking chem 121 or 3 watever..TAKE FYNEWEVER..thanks professor, it's beena fun quarter..m.d.
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Although I do not really like physical chemistry that much (because I am more into biochem and organic), I do enjoy the class very much ... So much new information about what p chem is all about is introduced in the class ... and I am kinda interested in p chem (although the math really sucks). I thought the prerequisite of the class is 1 year of calculus of single variable and differential equation, but why do we meet so many partial derivatives? I've never had calculus of multivariable before .. But anyway, I can live with that ....Dr. Fynewever is a really cool and nice guy. He's not demanding at all. I do like his weekly homework, and most of all the PRACTICE EXAM. He keeps his promise that the midterm will be similar to the practice exam, and it really was. He has good sense of humor, and most of all I like the idea of the blue dice of destiny or the dull penny of prophecy.If any of you have to take gen chem or p chem, take Dr. Fynewever. You'll never regret ....To Dr. Fynewever: keep on the good work ... I enjoy your class ...
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Very energetic and witty; Has extensive knowledge of the subject and can communicate the day's lecture very well to the class in an organized format. Keeps the class lively. Understands the needs of the student well and gives reasonable exams--no surprises or trickery. Prepares the student for the exam by giving a sample exam, which helps tremendously because it gives the student a good idea what to expect in the test. Very approachable during office hours. Easy to talk with--never condascending in manner. Always friendly and wants to help students out. All in all a wonderful teacher and an excellent addition to Cal Poly's Department of Chemistry. Very highly recommended!

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