Professor Neuhauser is about as useless as they come. His lectures are so useless towards what is actually on the tests/homework. He goes off on these tangents showing how smart he is but he is completely disconnected with the course. The TA's ran the course and he was the figurehead. My suggestion is to stick close to the TA's and ask relevant questions to make up for the random things he teaches. Good luck and have fun learning on your own.

Professor Neuhauser cares about his students, but he is an ineffective professor. I find that it is most effective to read the material on your own, attend his lectures, and then go to his office hours and shower him with questions. If you try to understand the material on your own, it will be very difficult. The class isn't impossible, though. Of all the classes that I have taken at UCLA, it is relatively easy.

I took this class my first year of fall quarter and despised it! Even though he genuinely cares and tries, Neuhauser cannot teach at all. He cannot bridge the gap between his and our intelligence. His lectures seems like he is trying to teach us what we already know, but the truth is, no one understands and everyone is confused. He simply cannot teach, but he tries his hardest. Of the 10 weeks in this class, I feel like I have not learned a single new chemistry thing. I mainly survived off my AP Chemistry background =/. If you are a chem expert, then take this class, but if not, run for you life!

no, don't take his class. he doesn't teach. his exams vary. you don't learn a thing. the only thing that kept me alive was my previous background on general chem. i had a group of friends in his class and by the end, only two of us remained. please try a different professor because as nice as neuhauser is, he cannot teach

Ok, here's the thing. Neuhauser is a really nice guy and actually cares for the students and wants them to do well. The problem is he just can't get across what he's trying to say very well. I think the reason is because he's brilliant and has trouble explaining things in a way first-years taking Chem 20A can understand, and he has an accent. But he does everything he can to help and is very available in office hours and other ways. Make sure you print out his lecture notes and take them to class, and read the Heath Notes, not the book. His class is tricky, not just memorization like Scerri's class. You have to be creative. Its hard, but do-able. His lectures are also podcasted, which is a nice thing. Try to stay awake in class, because it will start to make sense after a while, although its difficult to not doze off.

I think I literally learned nothing in this class. The stuff I did understand I got from my high school chemistry class. The curve is generous I guess because it seems like everyone else is clueless too. All I could do for midterm and the final was memorize his previous midterms and hope that similar things would show up on ours, and then I would just write down whatever hoping that something would be relevant for partial credit.

When I did feel like trying to learn, google was much better help than the book or his lectures, which would put me to sleep every time. Tutoring would probably be better tho :)

Eh, whatever, didn't learn anything and had no idea what the crap meant that I transcribed onto my tests, but I came out with a B-

This prof is exactly what everyone else says, a great and brilliant guy, but worthless at teaching. I honestly didn't learn anything, yes, ANYTHING, in his lectures. In fact, I chose to have Scerri originally but the two profs switched their lectures on me, and I was stuck with this guy. If you do get him, make SURE you get yourself into a tutoring session, and if you couldn't formally enroll into one, go anyway. Also, make sure you go to a good discussion session. Those two things literally saved my life in that class. These are mainly due not only to the abysmal professor, but the book and the course itself, are simply horrible. Instead of chemistry, you learn almost purely quantum mechanics (ok, we did do stoichiometry in the first week). Instead of learning about reactions, gas laws, acids and bases, we learned about wave functions and the Schrodinger's equation... for the entire quarter. The book does not help either, it goes on for pages and pages to explain simple concepts that can be defined in one sentence. On a better note, like the others are saying, the curve IS quite generous. I have friends who thought they were going to fail for sure ending up with a B, and I myself somehow BSed into getting an A. So basically, if you want to actually learn something and like to actually understand chemistry, try not to take him. If you are stuck with him anyway, do tutoring and discussion. You wont learn anything, but at least you'll do well.

He barely managed to speak 50 words in a minute. Most of them were 'er's and 'ah's. He cant remember half the stuff. Not a good professor. Difficult midterm but the final wasnt that bad.

He really knows what hes talking about only his students dont. His tests are based mostly on lecture notes but not even that. Homework is not useful but its 10% of the grade so its important. The first midterm was impossible but the other two were easy if you knew the concepts that you should know. Personal opinion dont take him. Hes not much help outside of class though he is relatively available.

Perhaps one of the most painful experience I had. He talks like he has a Ping Pong ball in his mouth, and extremely difficult to understand. Homework are LONNNGGG, and don't even worth that much.. I got myself to do the first few, and really lost motivation to do the rest.

I think he is a very brilliant scientist, but as a professor? no way...