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Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
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"Hey you Asian who has aspirations of going to med school, yes you! You're going to get a C in this class, it's inevitable. Hate to break it to you. You'll do well if you cheat and are a dirty asian like you probably are."
Just so you know, I am an Asian and I got an A in this class. You're just going to have to accept that there are many people, both Asian and non-Asian, who are intelligent and that you clearly are not one of them. Sucks for you. The fact that you have convinced yourself that those who are doing well are cheating is pretty pathetic but until you can come to terms with the truth, I suggest that you keep telling yourself that.
(Courses taken: CHEM 14A/B)
Effectiveness: Lavelle's system is very effective, and if you take advantage of it, you'll definitely walk away from the general chemistry series confident with the knowledge you've learned.
Difficulty: Lavelle doesn't make the subject any more difficult than it already is. You need to know the material to get an A in his class. Go to lecture (or read the book) and work through the problems he suggests and you should have the material down. I'm not sure where other people on here are getting the idea that he tries to trick people on tests, but all his tests and quizzes are very straightforward. If there is some kind of "trick," its only to test a very important concept.
Concern/Availability: Its clear that Lavelle tries to make times for his students, and the VOH definitely helps, but his office hours are still generally packed due to the sheer size of his classes.
Overall: Professor Lavelle is a great teacher to have for general chemistry, and his methods definitely work.
I took chem 14A and 14B, and his lectures were ridiculuosly boring yet efective. For his midterms and finals you basically need to be able to complete the practice quizes in his course reader. Recommend taking him if you are willing to study, I got an A- in 14A without any trouble.
A lot of reviewers have stated that Prof. Lavelle is a caring teacher, etc, and he's just received the school's highest teaching award, but honestly I think he's just "popular" because he gives you resources (i.e. lecture guide). His lectures are pretty bland, and it's very easy to fall asleep in class due to the dulcet tones of his voice and accent, but he is not a very kind man. If you've ever gone to his office hours, you might know what I mean. If you don't know exactly what you are talking about when you go in there, he gets very curt and rude. My overall impression of office hours was that Lavelle was very arrogant, which okay, he's a brilliant mind, but still, as a professor he could be more courteous towards his students. If you talk to him before/after lecture he is seemingly nice, but seriously, he is so rude during his office hours; maybe it's because he's not in front of the entire class.
Use the course reader, it's all you need. Even if you do all the practice tests, the actual exams are going to try to challenge you (although next quarter's class will probably think your test was easy, just like how you thought all the exams in the reader were pretty easy). My final wound up being NOTHING like the previous exams, buuut I did well on the midterms so it all turned out great. Oh, and he has a retarded way of curving the class: all the lectures take the same tests/quizzes, yet each lecture had a different curve...which makes no sense. So pretty much if another lecture happened to do worse than yours, people in that lecture who got lower scores than you might end up with a better overall grade, just because they were lucky enough to be in the class that did worse.
I personally, do not like Prof. Lavelle because he came off as very arrogant/rude when other people weren't around, but it's not too hard to get an A. Just be diligent and make sure to keep up.
I took Chem 14A/B with Lavelle, and TA's are really your best friends in this class. I got a B with a TA that I never talked to and an A with a TA that I still talk to today.
That said, there are definitely some key points to remember. Lectures aren't necessary, and avoid the 10am lectures at all costs. Do all the homework problems, and understand WHY it's being solved this or that way. It's good and all to memorize the problems, but when it comes to the midterm and final, Lavelle throws a few curveballs that require some understanding of concepts. His course reader is also dead useful for old exams (which are good practice for the actual midterm and exam), but not his notes (he has a ton of weird notations). Use the textbook to understand the concepts.
Oh, and if you can, see if you can find someone's old quizzes. My friend gave me his, and some of the problems showed up in the workbook.
I took CHEM 14B and 14A with Professor Lavelle. He is very knowledgeable in the field of chemistry, and has a very thorough course reader with all of his lecture notes. In lecture, he elaborates the material pretty well, although his British accent is kind of soothing and sometimes put me to sleep. The class is pretty fair, but is fast-paced. Not recommended for those who aren't ready to compete with all the pre-meds. There wasn't a curve for my 14A class, but there was a slight one for 14B. Good luck.
WOW. I had a great time taking 14A and 14B with Professor Laurence Lavelle. Thank you Lavelle, I learned a lot of interesting chemistry from you. Study with friends who want good grades and secretly beat them by studying harder. The secrets of getting A's are 1) do lots of examples from the book and previous exams in your course reader 2) ask and read answered questions on his Virtual Office Hour 3) expect the unexpected on his midterm and final because his TA's are very smart and creative. If you are considering taking his classes, stop and enroll in his class now! YOU WILL LEARN A LOT OF GOOD CHEMISTRY =]. Have fun in his class. If you get B's, then my bad... you have enrolled in the wrong lecture.
14B is definitely harder than 14A. The material is much more interesting, but there are many more equations and everything is much more conceptual (stuff like expansion work, galvanic cells). There are two quizzes this time and and O-chem worksheet. The worksheet is free points. The first quiz is a time crunch and pretty difficult if you didn't study (I failed it) and the second quiz is pretty easy since kinetics is a joke. Check your workbook with knowledgeable people and its free points to cover your bad quiz. As usual, the midterm is very straightforward while the final is more conceptual. The O-chem that we learn is really easy (just naming and some conformations and mechanisms) too.
If you did well in 14A, you should do fine in 14B. Lavelle is a pro teacher and has way too many resources to complain about anything. The curve will only be around 2% though so don't rely on it (the quizzes/worksheet make everyone's averages pretty high). Pretty easy A after I picked up my slack after failing the first quiz and started to look at homework, but more work was needed than in 14A.
"Hey you Asian who has aspirations of going to med school, yes you! You're going to get a C in this class, it's inevitable. Hate to break it to you. You'll do well if you cheat and are a dirty asian like you probably are."
Just so you know, I am an Asian and I got an A in this class. You're just going to have to accept that there are many people, both Asian and non-Asian, who are intelligent and that you clearly are not one of them. Sucks for you. The fact that you have convinced yourself that those who are doing well are cheating is pretty pathetic but until you can come to terms with the truth, I suggest that you keep telling yourself that.
(Courses taken: CHEM 14A/B)
Effectiveness: Lavelle's system is very effective, and if you take advantage of it, you'll definitely walk away from the general chemistry series confident with the knowledge you've learned.
Difficulty: Lavelle doesn't make the subject any more difficult than it already is. You need to know the material to get an A in his class. Go to lecture (or read the book) and work through the problems he suggests and you should have the material down. I'm not sure where other people on here are getting the idea that he tries to trick people on tests, but all his tests and quizzes are very straightforward. If there is some kind of "trick," its only to test a very important concept.
Concern/Availability: Its clear that Lavelle tries to make times for his students, and the VOH definitely helps, but his office hours are still generally packed due to the sheer size of his classes.
Overall: Professor Lavelle is a great teacher to have for general chemistry, and his methods definitely work.
I took chem 14A and 14B, and his lectures were ridiculuosly boring yet efective. For his midterms and finals you basically need to be able to complete the practice quizes in his course reader. Recommend taking him if you are willing to study, I got an A- in 14A without any trouble.
A lot of reviewers have stated that Prof. Lavelle is a caring teacher, etc, and he's just received the school's highest teaching award, but honestly I think he's just "popular" because he gives you resources (i.e. lecture guide). His lectures are pretty bland, and it's very easy to fall asleep in class due to the dulcet tones of his voice and accent, but he is not a very kind man. If you've ever gone to his office hours, you might know what I mean. If you don't know exactly what you are talking about when you go in there, he gets very curt and rude. My overall impression of office hours was that Lavelle was very arrogant, which okay, he's a brilliant mind, but still, as a professor he could be more courteous towards his students. If you talk to him before/after lecture he is seemingly nice, but seriously, he is so rude during his office hours; maybe it's because he's not in front of the entire class.
Use the course reader, it's all you need. Even if you do all the practice tests, the actual exams are going to try to challenge you (although next quarter's class will probably think your test was easy, just like how you thought all the exams in the reader were pretty easy). My final wound up being NOTHING like the previous exams, buuut I did well on the midterms so it all turned out great. Oh, and he has a retarded way of curving the class: all the lectures take the same tests/quizzes, yet each lecture had a different curve...which makes no sense. So pretty much if another lecture happened to do worse than yours, people in that lecture who got lower scores than you might end up with a better overall grade, just because they were lucky enough to be in the class that did worse.
I personally, do not like Prof. Lavelle because he came off as very arrogant/rude when other people weren't around, but it's not too hard to get an A. Just be diligent and make sure to keep up.
I took Chem 14A/B with Lavelle, and TA's are really your best friends in this class. I got a B with a TA that I never talked to and an A with a TA that I still talk to today.
That said, there are definitely some key points to remember. Lectures aren't necessary, and avoid the 10am lectures at all costs. Do all the homework problems, and understand WHY it's being solved this or that way. It's good and all to memorize the problems, but when it comes to the midterm and final, Lavelle throws a few curveballs that require some understanding of concepts. His course reader is also dead useful for old exams (which are good practice for the actual midterm and exam), but not his notes (he has a ton of weird notations). Use the textbook to understand the concepts.
Oh, and if you can, see if you can find someone's old quizzes. My friend gave me his, and some of the problems showed up in the workbook.
I took CHEM 14B and 14A with Professor Lavelle. He is very knowledgeable in the field of chemistry, and has a very thorough course reader with all of his lecture notes. In lecture, he elaborates the material pretty well, although his British accent is kind of soothing and sometimes put me to sleep. The class is pretty fair, but is fast-paced. Not recommended for those who aren't ready to compete with all the pre-meds. There wasn't a curve for my 14A class, but there was a slight one for 14B. Good luck.
WOW. I had a great time taking 14A and 14B with Professor Laurence Lavelle. Thank you Lavelle, I learned a lot of interesting chemistry from you. Study with friends who want good grades and secretly beat them by studying harder. The secrets of getting A's are 1) do lots of examples from the book and previous exams in your course reader 2) ask and read answered questions on his Virtual Office Hour 3) expect the unexpected on his midterm and final because his TA's are very smart and creative. If you are considering taking his classes, stop and enroll in his class now! YOU WILL LEARN A LOT OF GOOD CHEMISTRY =]. Have fun in his class. If you get B's, then my bad... you have enrolled in the wrong lecture.
14B is definitely harder than 14A. The material is much more interesting, but there are many more equations and everything is much more conceptual (stuff like expansion work, galvanic cells). There are two quizzes this time and and O-chem worksheet. The worksheet is free points. The first quiz is a time crunch and pretty difficult if you didn't study (I failed it) and the second quiz is pretty easy since kinetics is a joke. Check your workbook with knowledgeable people and its free points to cover your bad quiz. As usual, the midterm is very straightforward while the final is more conceptual. The O-chem that we learn is really easy (just naming and some conformations and mechanisms) too.
If you did well in 14A, you should do fine in 14B. Lavelle is a pro teacher and has way too many resources to complain about anything. The curve will only be around 2% though so don't rely on it (the quizzes/worksheet make everyone's averages pretty high). Pretty easy A after I picked up my slack after failing the first quiz and started to look at homework, but more work was needed than in 14A.
Based on 206 Users
TOP TAGS
- Uses Slides (62)
- Useful Textbooks (60)
- Tolerates Tardiness (45)
- Needs Textbook (58)
- Tough Tests (56)