I was scared coming into this class because I had not taken chemistry since my sophomore year of high school. However, Dr. Lavelle did help make 14A less daunting. He is not a particularly interesting lecturer, but he really cares about his students and is very good at providing the resources that you need to do well in this class. I'd say that Chemistry Community (which is usually reliable) and all of the outside hours that he provides through the TAs and UAs are all useful resources. To succeed in this course, you need to read the textbook, do the homework problems (try to do the most challenging ones if possible), and see a TA if you don't get something. His tests aren't easy, mainly because they are generally harder than the homework problems and he can put in a trick question or two, but if you go to a couple of review sessions for the topics that are the hardest for you before the midterm and final, you should be fine.

The class was a little tough, but its doable with the effort and resources available to you. Chemistry Community is pretty helpful and reliable. Plus there are countless TAs/UAs willing to help if you take the initiative to earn a good grade in the class. I would recommend it - it's not as bad as people make it out to be....just practice, practice, practice to get the concepts down. Lavelle also seems genuinely nice and caring for his students.

Tests and midterm are pretty easy but the final is extremely difficult. Would definitely recommend this class though because Lavelle provides many, many resources for success. There are review sessions and practice problems available at all times throughout the quarter. Lavelle genuinely cares about the success of his students.

read the textbook! his slides are easy enough to understand but sometimes they are worded weirdly and you have to teach yourself sometimes. i know other profs say not to read a textbook but you should in this class. I got a B- based on how many stupid mistakes I made, but usually, this class is pretty nice. don't do what i did! study and do the hw questions as practice problems and you should be fine

I took this class Fall 2018 and was shocked to end with an A-.
Lavelle, in my opinion, isn’t a very good teacher. He does not go into any kind of practical problem solving during his lectures, so it is very easy to get behind.
Expect to teach yourself how to do everything. If you had good hs chem it will be no problem.

There are 3 tests in discussion, 1 midterm, and a final, along with 7 hw problems each week and posts on his bs chemistry forum.

I bought the 6th ed. solutions manual (or borrowed a friend’s Chegg) and found the textbook online.

The first test was a piece of cake, but the other two were difficult. The midterm was easy, but the final was quite the undertaking.
The last couple weeks of class were the most confusing and it seemed like it was the majority of the final.

I would highly recommend going to the LA workshops before the exams and working on practice test problems.

Take this class with Lavelle because he and his staff both offer numerous practice resources to do well in the class. Do all the homework problems because tests are based heavily on homework problems. The UAs make a lot of practice tests for students so that helps as well. Lavelle explains things concisely and clearly and makes tests very straightforward. If you do the homework, go to class, and find those practice tests and complete them, you'll be in good shape for this class!

I have zero background in chem (my last chem class goes back to 8th grade) and I found this class rather easy. Dr. Lavelle is super clear in his explanations. If you listen attentively in class, half of the work is already done. The textbook is also very good. Dr. Lavelle writes in his syllabus that one has to study 16 hours per week for his class, but that is a complete joke. I studied about an hour a week and did just fine.
Honestly, I was scared to take Chem at UCLA because I had zero background but there is really no reason to be. Lavelle is great and really helpful! the TAs not so much, but you can always seek advice on chemistry community. Just be careful with the final; most questions are theoretical, so you better know all the real-life applications from the book in great detail.

Chances are, this is probably one of the more up to date reviews on Lavelle 14A, and honestly I would tell you to disregard anything from before 2015 written on him - that includes grade distributions. When I was signing up for classes at freshman orientation. Bruinwalk scared me when it came to Lavelle. And the truth is, that it does this for most classes you will take. I got an A+ in this class. I did not work tirelessly to do this, and I wasn't an AP Chemistry genius. In fact, I never took AP Chemistry, just a regular chemistry class my sophomore year of high school. I knew absolutely nothing coming into this class. I went to lecture and paid attention there, took down notes, read the textbook whenever I was confused about a topic, did assigned homework problems, and did old tests that I found or got from other people when studying. Nothing too crazy. And I got an A+. The truth is, that Lavelle isn't an outrageous teacher. If you understand the concepts, and can apply them when solving the calculation based problems, you should be fine. He doesn't test on anything that isn't in lecture or in whatever textbook readings you've covered. His tests are fair, and his grading is fair. If you put in a good amount of effort, don't slack off, and make sure you take advantage of Lavelle's resources, you should do just fine in this class. Anyone on this site that tells you otherwise is simply just salty that they got a grade that they don't like and is trying to pin it on Lavelle, when it's really their own fault.

You do not need AP Chem to get an A in this class. You just need to work hard. Work hard, and you will do fine.

Be sure to do all the homework and post on Chemistry Community. Those points help a lot. Other than that, study hard for the tests, midterm, and final exam. His questions can sometimes be tricky, but usually they are manageable if you have studied all the material thoroughly.

Lavelle is a very decent lecturer. The materials for this class is pretty easy. I feel like I've learned most of it in high school except for the quantum part. I didn't actually put much effort into this class, and the workload is light too. Overall, would recommend it if you have some basic chem knowledge.