CHEM 14B
Thermodynamics, Electrochemistry, Kinetics, and Organic Chemistry
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Enforced requisite: course 14A with grade of C- or better. Enforced requisite or corequisite: Life Sciences 30B or Mathematics 3B or 31B with grade of C- or better. Not open to students with credit for course 20A, 20B, or 30A. Phase changes; thermochemistry; first, second, and third laws of thermodynamics; free energy changes; electrochemistry and its role as energy source; chemical kinetics, including catalysis, reaction mechanisms, and enzymes; coordination compounds; general classes and naming of organic molecules; structure, conformations, and relative energies of organic molecules; application of thermodynamics and kinetics to organic and biochemical reactions; use of molecular modeling software to illustrate molecular structures and their relative energies. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2023 - This class was asynchronous with prerecorded lectures during the summer. I appreciated this because I could pace myself. I will say the homework problems assigned could be excessive, but that's to be expected when it's summer session. Pros - Asynchronous - Slides were clear, and lectures were clear - You could email him or post on the Canvas discussion board if you had a question - other students could also answer questions - Exams were fair - The "final" wasn't cumulative - it was just the last 2 weeks of the course (so technically, there were 3 exams that tested you on different topics) Cons - Homework can be long and tedious, especially if you don't have the answer immediately - Summer session can feel very fast paced - I fared well because I took AP Chemistry in high school, but I still had to brush up on YouTube videos and do a lot of practice problems Overall, just make sure you do the practice problems and understand all of the homework problems he assigns. Exams are not that difficult, but they still require a level of understanding.
Summer 2023 - This class was asynchronous with prerecorded lectures during the summer. I appreciated this because I could pace myself. I will say the homework problems assigned could be excessive, but that's to be expected when it's summer session. Pros - Asynchronous - Slides were clear, and lectures were clear - You could email him or post on the Canvas discussion board if you had a question - other students could also answer questions - Exams were fair - The "final" wasn't cumulative - it was just the last 2 weeks of the course (so technically, there were 3 exams that tested you on different topics) Cons - Homework can be long and tedious, especially if you don't have the answer immediately - Summer session can feel very fast paced - I fared well because I took AP Chemistry in high school, but I still had to brush up on YouTube videos and do a lot of practice problems Overall, just make sure you do the practice problems and understand all of the homework problems he assigns. Exams are not that difficult, but they still require a level of understanding.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2021 - TAKE THIS CLASS WITH PROFESSOR QUINLAN! She is so sweet and very understanding of students' needs. Personally, I took Chem 14A with Scerri, and he scarred me for life lol. Taking this class with Quinlan was really refreshing and nice because she actually cares about teaching, and about her students. There are so many opportunities for points, so getting an A shouldn't be too difficult. And she emphasizes that EVERYONE can get an A because there is no curving relative to other students' performance, which I was so happy with. The exams weren't very difficult as long as you study the problem sets and lecture slides. Overall, really good lecturer and professor overall! We love you, Margot <3
Spring 2021 - TAKE THIS CLASS WITH PROFESSOR QUINLAN! She is so sweet and very understanding of students' needs. Personally, I took Chem 14A with Scerri, and he scarred me for life lol. Taking this class with Quinlan was really refreshing and nice because she actually cares about teaching, and about her students. There are so many opportunities for points, so getting an A shouldn't be too difficult. And she emphasizes that EVERYONE can get an A because there is no curving relative to other students' performance, which I was so happy with. The exams weren't very difficult as long as you study the problem sets and lecture slides. Overall, really good lecturer and professor overall! We love you, Margot <3
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - Scerri is the most confusing, least helpful professor I have ever had at UCLA. He is somehow worse than the entire 7 series which is saying a lot. He curved everyone's grade down incredibly this quarter--I earned a 99% in the class, opted out of the final due to the circumstances, and somehow got an A- in the class. He rarely knows what he's talking about, does not care about students, and is pretty much only teaching for tenure. Instead of grading on a bell curve, he should maybe make his exams more challenging? Students should not be penalized because Scerri makes his exams so easy. AVOID THIS PROFESSOR AT ALL COSTS.
Spring 2020 - Scerri is the most confusing, least helpful professor I have ever had at UCLA. He is somehow worse than the entire 7 series which is saying a lot. He curved everyone's grade down incredibly this quarter--I earned a 99% in the class, opted out of the final due to the circumstances, and somehow got an A- in the class. He rarely knows what he's talking about, does not care about students, and is pretty much only teaching for tenure. Instead of grading on a bell curve, he should maybe make his exams more challenging? Students should not be penalized because Scerri makes his exams so easy. AVOID THIS PROFESSOR AT ALL COSTS.
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