Eric R. Scerri
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
AD
3.2
Overall Rating
Based on 157 Users
Easiness 2.7 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 3.1 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.5 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 3.0 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
  • Tolerates Tardiness
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
19.7%
16.4%
13.1%
9.8%
6.6%
3.3%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

16.1%
13.4%
10.7%
8.0%
5.4%
2.7%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

16.3%
13.6%
10.8%
8.1%
5.4%
2.7%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

16.3%
13.6%
10.9%
8.1%
5.4%
2.7%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

18.7%
15.6%
12.5%
9.4%
6.2%
3.1%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

13.9%
11.6%
9.3%
7.0%
4.6%
2.3%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

26.8%
22.3%
17.9%
13.4%
8.9%
4.5%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

18.8%
15.7%
12.5%
9.4%
6.3%
3.1%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

18.3%
15.2%
12.2%
9.1%
6.1%
3.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

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Reviews (132)

1 of 14
1 of 14
Add your review...
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A
Nov. 20, 2023

14A test bank avail, email me at annoyingemailthrowaway at gmail for prices

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
July 23, 2011

This guy wasn't that good for me. He's whatever.

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2019
Grade: A+
Aug. 7, 2019

I actually really loved this class. From the students I talked with that were also in the class, this seems to be one of the most polarizing classes I've been in. You either love it or you hate it. But that makes sense, since general chemistry is often a weeder-type class for many pre-med students.
I will say this though: it's possible for anyone, even if you're not "good" at chemistry, to get a good grade in Eric Scerri's Chem 14A and have an appreciation for the material.
40% of your final grade in this class is the final exam, and 30% is the midterm. Dr. Scerri will give you several old exams to study and STUDY THESE!! Even MORE importantly, go to the test bank and search for as many old exams as you can find. Split it up between you and your friends to get literally as many exams as possible. These past exams are very useful because Dr. Scerri has been known to copy and paste pretty much all of his exam questions to his current exams, or he may change a single word or number. Understand how to do problems on as many practice exams as you can find and you'll be golden. I got a 98% on the midterm and a 97% on the final through this method, because as I reviewed more and more practice exams, the problems that I had with the material eventually disappeared. I can guarantee you that people who don't do well in this class don't do this.
20% of your grade is online quizzes, which aren't too difficult, and 10% is homework, which can be quite tedious but is overall manageable. Scerri is very funny at times, but can also be quite dull at other times. However, I would say he's in the better half of professors I've had at UCLA. Don't even bother wasting money on the textbook.
Lastly, going to discussion definitely didn't hurt me either. Some of the more complicated concepts such as molecular orbital theory and hybridization were ironed out for me through my TA's teaching.
Overall, this class is manageable, and the resources for you to do well are definitely there.

Helpful?

4 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: B-
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Jan. 15, 2023

Okay so coming from a low education background, this was my first REAL chemistry class. And oh my goodness, this professor made me hate chemistry.

I honestly believe that this class is just dependent on how you learn... and I've met people who really like Scerri as a professor. But he just wasn't it for me. Hardly anything stuck and I found it hard to find the correlation between some concepts and what we were talking about last week. Again, might just be me, but I feel like I didn't learn much coming out of this class and was just scraping by.

All in all, easy workload (as long as you don't put it off) and an okay class. Not my vibe though.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
Aug. 27, 2019

The Chem 14 series is just hard altogether, there is no "easy" professor, especially if you don't know how you learn. With that being said, GOODLUCK. Try new methods, and rely on yourself rather than the professor! I personally liked Scerri for 14A, but don't rely on my review

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A+
Sept. 23, 2017

Great class! Loved Professor Scerri. He is so intelligent and very willing to help you at office hours!

Selling textbook and solution manual--$30! Message me at **********!

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
March 25, 2011

Wonderful professor, take this great man for 14A!!

As a north campus major having never taken AP chem, I felt uncomfortable heading into this class. However, Scerri's teaching style is extremely student friendly and easy to grasp. As multiple reviews below me have advised, MEMORIZE THE COURSE READER. EVERYTHING from his exams comes from the course reader. If it's not in the course reader- it won't be on the test. But if it is, even if it's some insignificant graph you didn't think to glance at, it might very well be.

The grading system for our year was simple- 30% midterm, 30% thinkwell quizzes, & 40% final. Thinkwell quizzes are a bit frustrating since they often cover different concepts than you learned in class, but just go by the videos posted on their site and you'll secure a 90%+ on them. Plus you get 3 tries on each, so don't sweat it too much.

All in all, this guy is amazing. He's funny, kind, and there to help students- not to mention he has an awesome accent. Nearly every lecture was entertaining for me, and again, I am not a science person. With a 92% quiz average, 91% (unweighted) midterm, and unknown final, I came out of the class with an A. If I did it, anybody can do it. Put in the time, review the course reader every night, and you'll be rewarded with that seemingly unattainable Chem 14A 4.0.

And a shoutout to the most amazing Teaching Assistant a student can ever ask for- Heidi Bednar. This woman will simply chem concepts for you like none other. Find her on the first day of lecture, write down her discussion times, and attend them. I could write an entire essay on how awesome of a teacher she is, but I'll leave it to you to go to one of her section and find out for yourself.

Helpful?

1 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2023
Grade: A-
Nov. 13, 2023

Honestly, I strongly disliked Scerri because he was egoistical and made fun of students for asking questions during lecture. He also read off of his slides and did not do a great job at explaining pretty much anything. But besides this, the class wasn’t so hard because he reused A LOT of his past midterm and final questions. So, if you review and do his practice midterms/finals religiously, you will be more than fine. I would probably recommend Scerri but only for this reason because he is a terrible lecturer but he will make you laugh when he roasts students publicly.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: B
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
May 23, 2023

If you take this guy, you’re asking to be depressed. Legitimately begging for depression. You’ve been warned. As someone who loved AP chemistry in high school and was one of the top students of this course, he made me hate chemistry instantly. He jumbles between topics during lectures and legitimately makes no sense ever. His exam questions are also always wrong and he makes corrections mid-exam which is beyond annoying. I truly don’t even know if he speaks proper English, nor understands how to create a fair exam that actually reflects anything we’ve learned, and he also treats every student like it’s easy and everyone should know it, yet as an AP chemistry student in high school even I struggled hard and used to love chemistry. He’s also rude if you ask him questions and will embarrass you willingly in front of the class to get everyone else to laugh, not kidding..

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: B+
April 4, 2023

horrible !!!!!!!! do not take !!!!!! he is so mean and a horrible teacher. he does not explain anything and rushes through all the slides. the midterm was so hard and the final was even worse. the TAs saved me in this class but even showing up to class was a waste of time. if you didn't take AP chem do not take this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A
Nov. 20, 2023

14A test bank avail, email me at annoyingemailthrowaway at gmail for prices

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
July 23, 2011

This guy wasn't that good for me. He's whatever.

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2019
Grade: A+
Aug. 7, 2019

I actually really loved this class. From the students I talked with that were also in the class, this seems to be one of the most polarizing classes I've been in. You either love it or you hate it. But that makes sense, since general chemistry is often a weeder-type class for many pre-med students.
I will say this though: it's possible for anyone, even if you're not "good" at chemistry, to get a good grade in Eric Scerri's Chem 14A and have an appreciation for the material.
40% of your final grade in this class is the final exam, and 30% is the midterm. Dr. Scerri will give you several old exams to study and STUDY THESE!! Even MORE importantly, go to the test bank and search for as many old exams as you can find. Split it up between you and your friends to get literally as many exams as possible. These past exams are very useful because Dr. Scerri has been known to copy and paste pretty much all of his exam questions to his current exams, or he may change a single word or number. Understand how to do problems on as many practice exams as you can find and you'll be golden. I got a 98% on the midterm and a 97% on the final through this method, because as I reviewed more and more practice exams, the problems that I had with the material eventually disappeared. I can guarantee you that people who don't do well in this class don't do this.
20% of your grade is online quizzes, which aren't too difficult, and 10% is homework, which can be quite tedious but is overall manageable. Scerri is very funny at times, but can also be quite dull at other times. However, I would say he's in the better half of professors I've had at UCLA. Don't even bother wasting money on the textbook.
Lastly, going to discussion definitely didn't hurt me either. Some of the more complicated concepts such as molecular orbital theory and hybridization were ironed out for me through my TA's teaching.
Overall, this class is manageable, and the resources for you to do well are definitely there.

Helpful?

4 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: B-
Jan. 15, 2023

Okay so coming from a low education background, this was my first REAL chemistry class. And oh my goodness, this professor made me hate chemistry.

I honestly believe that this class is just dependent on how you learn... and I've met people who really like Scerri as a professor. But he just wasn't it for me. Hardly anything stuck and I found it hard to find the correlation between some concepts and what we were talking about last week. Again, might just be me, but I feel like I didn't learn much coming out of this class and was just scraping by.

All in all, easy workload (as long as you don't put it off) and an okay class. Not my vibe though.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
Aug. 27, 2019

The Chem 14 series is just hard altogether, there is no "easy" professor, especially if you don't know how you learn. With that being said, GOODLUCK. Try new methods, and rely on yourself rather than the professor! I personally liked Scerri for 14A, but don't rely on my review

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A+
Sept. 23, 2017

Great class! Loved Professor Scerri. He is so intelligent and very willing to help you at office hours!

Selling textbook and solution manual--$30! Message me at **********!

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
March 25, 2011

Wonderful professor, take this great man for 14A!!

As a north campus major having never taken AP chem, I felt uncomfortable heading into this class. However, Scerri's teaching style is extremely student friendly and easy to grasp. As multiple reviews below me have advised, MEMORIZE THE COURSE READER. EVERYTHING from his exams comes from the course reader. If it's not in the course reader- it won't be on the test. But if it is, even if it's some insignificant graph you didn't think to glance at, it might very well be.

The grading system for our year was simple- 30% midterm, 30% thinkwell quizzes, & 40% final. Thinkwell quizzes are a bit frustrating since they often cover different concepts than you learned in class, but just go by the videos posted on their site and you'll secure a 90%+ on them. Plus you get 3 tries on each, so don't sweat it too much.

All in all, this guy is amazing. He's funny, kind, and there to help students- not to mention he has an awesome accent. Nearly every lecture was entertaining for me, and again, I am not a science person. With a 92% quiz average, 91% (unweighted) midterm, and unknown final, I came out of the class with an A. If I did it, anybody can do it. Put in the time, review the course reader every night, and you'll be rewarded with that seemingly unattainable Chem 14A 4.0.

And a shoutout to the most amazing Teaching Assistant a student can ever ask for- Heidi Bednar. This woman will simply chem concepts for you like none other. Find her on the first day of lecture, write down her discussion times, and attend them. I could write an entire essay on how awesome of a teacher she is, but I'll leave it to you to go to one of her section and find out for yourself.

Helpful?

1 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2023
Grade: A-
Nov. 13, 2023

Honestly, I strongly disliked Scerri because he was egoistical and made fun of students for asking questions during lecture. He also read off of his slides and did not do a great job at explaining pretty much anything. But besides this, the class wasn’t so hard because he reused A LOT of his past midterm and final questions. So, if you review and do his practice midterms/finals religiously, you will be more than fine. I would probably recommend Scerri but only for this reason because he is a terrible lecturer but he will make you laugh when he roasts students publicly.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: B
May 23, 2023

If you take this guy, you’re asking to be depressed. Legitimately begging for depression. You’ve been warned. As someone who loved AP chemistry in high school and was one of the top students of this course, he made me hate chemistry instantly. He jumbles between topics during lectures and legitimately makes no sense ever. His exam questions are also always wrong and he makes corrections mid-exam which is beyond annoying. I truly don’t even know if he speaks proper English, nor understands how to create a fair exam that actually reflects anything we’ve learned, and he also treats every student like it’s easy and everyone should know it, yet as an AP chemistry student in high school even I struggled hard and used to love chemistry. He’s also rude if you ask him questions and will embarrass you willingly in front of the class to get everyone else to laugh, not kidding..

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: B+
April 4, 2023

horrible !!!!!!!! do not take !!!!!! he is so mean and a horrible teacher. he does not explain anything and rushes through all the slides. the midterm was so hard and the final was even worse. the TAs saved me in this class but even showing up to class was a waste of time. if you didn't take AP chem do not take this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
1 of 14
3.2
Overall Rating
Based on 157 Users
Easiness 2.7 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 3.1 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.5 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 3.0 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
    (31)
  • Tolerates Tardiness
    (29)
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