great professor, take him if you get the chance

Grade Breakdown:
Midterms: 35%
Quizzes(Top 4 out of 6): 20%
Discussion: 15%
Canvas Discussion: 5%
Final: 25%

A pretty fair grader, a decent lecturer, and tests are straight forward. Just go to class, try to memorize the reactions/figure out common patterns for mechanisms and do a lot of practice problems and the class shouldn't be too hard. The spectroscopy portion of the class is pretty terrible, but reaction-wise, it shouldn't be too difficult.

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.

Selling required textbook: Chemical Principles, 6th Edition (by Peter Atkins, Loretta, Jones, Leroy Laverman)

The bundle will include Textbook AND Solutions manual

Purchased from Student union for $168, selling for only $100. In very good/new condition.

Please message for details: **********

Participation doesn't matter so that slays but I don't feel like the prof is as good as everyone hypes him up to be. He goes SUUUUPER FAST!! And u have to do hella practice probs bc his tests were hard IMO. But if there's no other choices, then u can def do well in this class if u work for it

!!! THIS REVIEW IS NOT FOR 14B BUT FOR 14BL !!! (I can’t find a 14BL review section for him)

Okay to get started I’m a person that is very slow chemistry learner. I absolutely HATED this class because it had so much workload so if you take this class make sure you don’t take a lot of science heavy classes because it would be a lot. The content was easy to understand if you paid attention in lecture and went to office hours , there was no text book so gaining info from yours TAS is the best thing to do. The instructions for post or pre labs were never exactly straightforward but that is not DR.Ows fault. Now on Dr, ow, he was always helpful in office hours so that was nice.

Apart from that HIS EXAMS were honestly the best. I think he’s the only professor I’ve had at ucla that actually stuck to the same content as the practice tests. Before the midterm he gave out 6 practice tests and honestly I recommend going over the midterm study guide to make sure you know each topic that is what seriously helped me in the final and midterm. HIS FINAL WAS PERFECT ! I found questions that were either from his practice final or from the practice midterms so seriously go back and look over those. For the final we had 3 hours but most finished it in 1 ( he makes you stay until it’s 30 minutes before the exam ends which kind of sucks.)

Overall: He was a great person and his exams were great. Workload was way too much Im not even joking.

!!! THIS REVIEW IS NOT FOR 14B BUT FOR 14BL !!! (I can’t find a 14BL review section for him)

Okay to get started I’m a person that is very slow chemistry learner. I absolutely HATED this class because it had so much workload so if you take this class make sure you don’t take a lot of science heavy classes because it would be a lot. The content was easy to understand if you paid attention in lecture and went to office hours , there was no text book so gaining info from yours TAS is the best thing to do. The instructions for post or pre labs were never exactly straightforward but that is not DR.Ows fault. Now on Dr, ow, he was always helpful in office hours so that was nice.

Apart from that HIS EXAMS were honestly the best. I think he’s the only professor I’ve had at ucla that actually stuck to the same content as the practice tests. Before the midterm he gave out 6 practice tests and honestly I recommend going over the midterm study guide to make sure you know each topic that is what seriously helped me in the final and midterm. HIS FINAL WAS PERFECT ! I found questions that were either from his practice final or from the practice midterms so seriously go back and look over those. For the final we had 3 hours but most finished it in 1 ( he makes you stay until it’s 30 minutes before the exam ends which kind of sucks.)

Overall: He was a great person and his exams were great. Workload was way too much Im not even joking.

I am now in my third quarter of Dr. Ow's chemistry classes after taking 14C and 14D with him and I have to say he is the best professor I have ever had so far. 14D is not easy but Dr. Ow makes it as manageable as possible. I have had professors who clearly do not want their students to succeed and go out of their way to make their lives harder, and Dr. Ow is the opposite. He offered so many office hours, practice problems, etc and his exams were perfectly reflected by the practice ones. I cannot write enough good reviews for this professor- I used to hate chemistry after 14A and B and was so scared to take organic chemistry but Dr. Ow made the class genuinely interesting and sometimes even fun (this is not a joke). If you have to take organic chemistry or any type of chemistry, take it with Dr. Ow!

Discussion 12.5%
Homework 12.5%
Quizzes 15%
2 Exams 35%
Final Exam 25%

This part of ochem is known for a LOT of memorization, but Ow really helped break down each of the mechanisms, gave us weekly recaps, flashcards, tons of review sessions, which were really helpful. Discussion was mandatory, you would simply complete a given worksheet with a group and turn it in for completion credit. Homework was assigned twice a week and were straightforward, you were given two attempts on Canvas. Weekend quizzes were almost weekly, I think there were 6 in total, they were a little more challenging than the homeworks, but also pretty straightforward and on Canvas, only one attempt though. The two midterm exams were actually take-home and submitted through Gradescope as there were no lecture halls to have it be in-person, but Dr. Ow provides a thorough study guide with two practice exams, which are well representative of the difficulty. The final exam was all multiple choice due to the TA strike, and each question was weighted quite heavily because of this, but Dr. Ow emphasized that he would adjust scores as needed. Overall, if you have to take 14D, try to take it with Dr. Ow, he makes it so much less harder and stressful than it could be! It's not an easy class for sure, but if you do practice problems and keep up with the content, you'll be fine.

When thinking of organic chemistry in college, it can be quiet intimidating but this class was relatively out of my expectations. Many resources provided by the professor and TAs also supported our understanding of the material. There were weekly timed quizzes, weekly homework, two midterms, discussion worksheets, and a final. The midterms were very reflective of the practice midterms that the professor provided. The midterms and final were in-person and in paper format and provides enough time to finish the exam. Professor Ow goes relatively quick in lectures which can be intimidating and unhelpful sometimes, but with the recorded lectures, you can go back and reduce the speed. The lecture slides were always uploaded days before class and printed copies were provided during the lecture. He does not curve the class, but the percentages for grades are quiet flexible considering it is organic chemistry. I think what DEFINITELY helped me be successful in the class was PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE all of the problem sets provided as well as discussion worksheets.