Love Dr. Lavelle! He’s extremely helpful and goes through lessons in a way that is slow enough for people to understand but fast enough to get through all the material. It really helps to read the textbook too though

I received a B+ in this class, and honestly I struggled a lot and am happy with this grade. Chemistry is my absolute worst subject. I took AP Chem in high school and we had a terrible teacher and no one passed the AP test in my entire school. I am convinced we didn't even really learn anything besides the material on balancing chem equations and a little more. So I went into Chem 14A with basically no background in chem, besides my minimal AP Chem experience. Even with the basic level of material I did learn in AP Chem, I struggled. I have really never understood chemistry because I can't "see" it or visualize it at all. I took 3 classes this quarter as an incoming freshman and definitely struggled the most with this class (as opposed to my cluster on aging and LS30A). It challenged me a lot. I think that the class is definitely doable for the average student, though. Lavelle is a very clear instructor and my lack of an A- or A was not because of him at all. My TA was okay, but honestly a very mean guy so I never felt comfortable going to his office hours (funny story, literally after handing in my final exam to him I said "Thank you!" and smiled and he straight up glared at me and didn't say a word back. Lol. UCLA TA's for ya). I went to lots of the review sessions Lavelle offered and honestly look at some of the other posts on here to see which ones are actually worth spending time attending. Sometimes, the TA teaching (or UA) would be SO underprepared and not knowledgable on the topic at all that regular students would be practically teaching the review session. Lavelle genuinely wants us to succeed and offers lots of resources for his students. For this reason I am choosing to take 14B with him. I feel as though I understand about 70% of the 14A stuff cold. But, the remaining 30% was not adequately explained for people who aren't chem wizards (in my opinion). I think if I could take the class again I would do the homework long before it is due. I got into the habit of doing it all a few days before the exam and it was a lot to get through. Take advantage of chemistry community (the website Lavelle offers his students access to). Attend another TA's office hours. (they say not to do this but literally no one cares and if you get stuck with a bad TA like I did it may be the difference between your grade being a B+ or A-). And remember that you are competing with some annoying gunner students who will do anything to get an A. This is a vibe in Chem 14A that I did not feel in any of my other classes. People in this class do not want to help you for the most part so good luck there. You have to be quite strict upon yourself to go out of your way to get help if you want to really succeed. Overall though, take Lavelle. Take him. Do it. Because he teaches almost all of the 14B lectures and I have friends who took Casey and feel grossly unprepared for 14B with Lavelle, because she sort of skips a lot of topics. The one thing I absolutely HATED about Lavelle were his tests: he would ALWAYS have about 4 points out of the 40 that you would only really be able to get if you ~live breathe chemistry~. Like you would have to google these things to know about them. They're concept questions that basically no one knows the answer to except for the chem majors who genuinely care about chem and are interested in it outside of class. So the highest I ever got on any test was 36/40, 90%, which was good enough for me but at the same time frustrating because I would know 100% of the content for certain tests and do all of his homework problems and prepare LITERALLY as much as I could and still could never get above a 36 just because I don't have the intellectual vitality for chemistry that Lavelle and other students may have. Knowing the content and how to do the problems was NEVER enough in this class - you HAD to go outside of the textbook to know some answers and that was always sooooo annoying.

Before taking Lavelle's class, I took AP Chemistry in 10th grade (so 3 years ago). I'd say that most of the concepts weren't brand new from AP chem, which made the class a little easier.
Lavelle's lectures are informative, yet very quick. He doesn't spend much time on any concept, as there is a lot of material to cover in chem 14a. That being said, if there's something you didn't understand in class, you could always go to his office hours and ask him to re-explain concepts. From what I've experienced, he is very patient in office hours and will make sure you understand the material. Unless you want to read the entire textbook, Lavelle's lectures are important because he goes over more of the conceptual things that WILL be asked in tests (so pay attention!!!)
In his class, there are 4 tests, 1 midterm, and 1 final. The discussion tests are the easiest (kinda your way to gather "easy" points). The midterm is definitely harder than the discussion tests, and the final is also very hard in comparison!!
So here's how to do well in Chem 14a:
- Go to lecture (duh)
- Lavelle sets up many review sessions run by his TAs and UAs... if you need help on something, GO TO THEM!!!
- Do the book problems!!! ALL OF THEM! (Multiple times if you can!!) They are very helpful and prepare you well for the tests.
If you do these things you should be good to go. :)

Dr. Lavelle is an all-star professor. He is intelligent, approachable, and (tries to be) funny. :-) I loved chemistry in high school and I found his lectures super interesting. No, I did not take AP Chemistry, and yes, it is possible to succeed in this class without that experience! In fact, Dr. Lavelle provides SO many resources it's almost as if it's your fault if you don't do well in the class...

The UAs told me that Lavelle tends to change his grading system a lot, but for Fall 2017, this was the breakdown:
500 POINTS TOTAL
MIDTERM - 110 POINTS
FINAL - 170 POINTS
4 tests, 40 pts each (160 POINTS)
2 pts each week for posts on Chemistry Community (20 POINTS)
4 pts each week for homework (40 POINTS)

How to do well in this class:
- The homework is optional, but don't let that deceive you. Do all of the homework problems assigned! He recycles a ton of textbook questions on tests/exams.
- Go to peer learning sessions! I honestly credit my UAs for helping me so much this quarter. A lot of them go through practice problems from their course readers, which Dr. Lavelle doesn't sell anymore.
- Browse through Chemistry Community. Your question might have already been answered, and if not, people respond quickly!
- Go through the Audio-Visual Focus Topics. Honestly, the videos are super long and are only super helpful if you were confused in lecture. But the post-assessments are very helpful! I wish he had more of them.

The midterm and final were both a lot tougher than the tests, but overall I think the class was super fair. Dr. Lavelle cares about his students like no other teacher/professor I have ever had. He is so wholesome - he wants his students to thrive! Good luck everyone, you'll kill it. :-)

I came from a pretty bad high school and didn't take AP chem so I felt pretty behind at some moments. Chemistry is a lot to take in and many small details to remember. It's possible to get a good grade in the class as long as you're willing to put the work in. I recommend doing all the homework problems because they DO show up on the tests. Make sure that you can do the questions without looking at the solutions manual. Make sure to understand the concepts behind the math. My mistake was not placing enough attention on the concepts and as a result I would miss a lot of points on exams. Make sure to do practice exams. Always do your homework and post on chemistry community. They are easy points and add up in the end so just do them. Also make sure to go to as many review sessions that he organizes for midterms and finals.

HOW TO GET AN A+ OR A IN THIS CLASS:

-Do the HW. I re-did all questions before the exams, because he throws in HW questions in his exams

-Do the old exams. This is excellent practice.

-Attend lecture. Lecture was very conceptual, while the HW was very mathematical. His exams are a combination of both, so you want to attend lecture and pay good attention.

-Attend UA Sessions. Go to Lyndon B and Michael J, especially their review sessions. They fill up entire lecture halls. You will learn so much and feel so prepared.

Ok so here it is. I'm a freshman who just got to UCLA and hasn't taken Chemistry since 10th grade, and believe me, it was a battle. Lavelle doesn't test your knowledge, no. He tests to differentiate A, B, and C students. Also, keep in mind you're going up against brilliant kids, not your average joe. The curve is almost non-existent when you're at UCLA so don't rely on that (especially since you're going up against pre-med students). In 2017-2018, he changed up a lot on how he grades, what kind of tests he gives, and how much tests are worth compared to the previous 10 years. He used to sell course readers and give practice exams but now he doesn't do that anymore. I did almost all his past exams from previous years and it was a breeze. It was mostly math-problems (as easy as just putting in numbers into a formula and know what formula to use). This year, his tests are heavily tested on conceptual things. Me personally, I never read the textbook. I just did previous practice exams, and listened to his lectures (and pulled off a B). I knew almost everything, except when it came to the test, he made sure to trick us and put the hardest problems available. If you're a freshman, I suggest taking this class winter quarter. Why? Well let me tell you ... Make some friends your fall quarter who are taking CHEM 14A, and then after they're finished, ask them for their exams, notes, and etc. Trust me, it'll help a LOT! He changed up all his tests/exams so they're definitely not the same as 2008-2016. Beware! Overall though, you're a UCLA student so you will do fine. He has a bunch of resources you can use. Make sure to go to ALL TA OFFICE HOURS. They usually will get into the quirky stuff of the concept instead of the basics, which is basically what the tests are on. The tests are not going to ask you simple questions on whether or not you know the concept. No. They're made to trick you. YOU LEARN A LOT IN THIS CLASS THOUGH! haha

I enjoyed taking Chem 14A with Dr. Lavelle. I did not take AP chem in high school, so I felt a little bit disadvantaged amongst my peers. As a result, I had to put in more time. I went to as many TA, UA and professor office hours as I could. Did a bunch of homework problems and practice tests and managed to get a B+. With the amount of time that I put in, I could have gotten an A-, but I made dumb mistakes on the midterm, final and some quizzes. In class, Lavelle pretty much reads off the slides. At office hours, he is helpful and explains the material much better because he isn't lecturing 300 kids. I found the TA and UA office hours the MOST helpful because they were ongoing: they were available 7 days a week!! To succeed in this class, I recommend to do ALL the assigned hw problems, go to a lot of office hours, and don't make dumb mistakes on exams because they add up. If you didn't take AP Chem, don't be hesitant about taking his class, but know that you have to be putting in much more time than those that took AP chem.

This class, to me, was a bit challenging to adjust to since I did not have a great AP chemistry teacher in high school. Nevertheless, I find Lavelle's style of teaching helpful to me and I find myself understanding and liking chemistry more after taking the class. Although his tests are not easy (somewhat tricky because he LOVES his conceptual questions), you'll do fine if you prepare well. I'd advise to do all the HW he gives out and know important concepts. Like other people have said, the class is somewhat based on the effort you put in to learn the material. Although he goes fast in his lectures, Lavelle gives LOTS of tutoring and review sessions.

Tough class but REPETITION of the homework problems will lead to success in Lavelle's class. And make sure to do every single homework problem because that actually can make the difference for tests since each one has a question from the homework. It's a time consuming process but the good thing is that it's a simple formula to follow. Lavelle is a great lecturer and he genuinely cares about the success of ALL students in his class. Take his class you'll learn a lot. Live Love Lavelle <3