This class was a lot tougher than 14A in terms of the material. Although we covered less chapters than we had in 14A, there were way more concepts to learn in 14B because the areas we studied were so broad. We first did thermodynamics, electrochemistry, kinetics, and towards the end, an introduction to organic chemistry. The first midterm covered thermodynamics and some basic electrochemistry, and it was actually a pretty easy and fair test. The final, however, was a lot tougher. For this particular final, the thermodynamics questions were really easy, and the kinetics and o-chem questions were tricky, but not too bad. The electrochemistry problem was really hard, and looking at the past finals, the electrochemistry problems were usually the trickiest and toughest ones, so look out for that. There are two quizzes in this class instead of the three in 14A, and in place of the third quiz we have an organic chemistry worksheet, which is probably easier to get full credit for than the quizzes (which are actually pretty fair and not too bad). My advice is to go to lecture. A lot of people say Lavelle's lectures do not help, but I think that he actually simplifies a lot of the harder concepts and makes them easier to understand. You should definitely read the textbook and know the concepts well for the final, and of course look over homework problems (since at least one will be on the test) and go over all the past midterms and finals in preparation for the exams. For organic chemistry, you basically just need to memorize the rules for naming and keep on practicing with naming different molecules. You should get good at it with a sufficient amount of practice. And if you have trouble visualizing the molecules, use the molecule building kit. I found that to be very helpful! And not to mention that you can also use the molecule building kit on the final. :) Oh, and I know this may be tough, but REALLY try to get a good TA. That will help you so much! That's really all I have to say about the class. As for Professor Lavelle, he is such a funny and nice person. His lectures get a bit dull sometimes, but he'll throw in a few jokes to lighten things up, so it's really not too bad. Overall, I really liked a lot of the material that was taught in this course, especially the organic chemistry section, but 14B required a lot more work than 14A for sure.

Professor Lavelle seems like a very well learned and sincere individual. He is the type of professor who will keep elaborating until he gets a sense that the students understand what it is he is talking about. He is confident about his know-how in chemistry but is not cocky like Scerri. Overall a good professor, TA (Sarah) was nice too. Got a "B" with very minimal effort.

I took his this spring quarter, and yes I wasnt sastified with my grade (C). BUT he does teach well, and if you notice he repeats things so that you can understand them. The key points like any class is to go to lectures, (buy his lecture notes) and do the problems on the text ( which i didnt do and later regretted).

He is a great teacher, I recommed him to anyone who is up to doing their work. :-)

If he actually did problems during lecture that were on the test, the class would be easy. But, he spends his time explaining the same, easy concepts over and over that everybody understands and will never be on the midterm or final. Plus, he's really boring. The final probably made some people cry.

I would not reccommend taking it with this guy at all. The quiz's are extremely difficult, even if you study well for them. Unless you did well on AP chem in High School, do not take the course with him. For his tests, go over all the practice problems (because one of them is guaranteed to be on there) and review his lecture notes because usually the lower valued questions are extracted directly from them.

I really liked Lavelle! He's so cute! His lectures were really easy to follow, and the tests and quizzes were EXTREMELY fair! Go to Lecture and take the notes, and do some homework problems if you have time. A good TA helps, too!

Lavelle is a really nice guy, and a great professor. I didn't got to lectures, relying on the book for the first half of the class, and bombed the first midterm. When I started going to lectures, however, I hardly needed to read the book because Lavelle taught the material so well. Unfortunately, he masks this ability under an almost impenetrable layer of boredom, and his voice is so soft that from the back of the class it seems to blur completely into white noise. Drink some coffee, take a nap before class, pop some no-doz, do whatever it takes to stay awake in this class. And know things conceptually, the way Lavelle teaches them, because he tests them that way as well.

Lavelle seems like a nice professor, but it is hard not to get frustrated at him for expecting you to pull answers out of your ass (figuratively speaking) during the exams. The quizzes are fine, but make sure that you review the material for them. Know how to derive equations (IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT CALCULUS IS DO NOT TAKE THE CLASS). Read over his lecture notes and memorize examples because he might put them on the test and them you can't complain about not knowing how to name that organic compound for instance. His entire lecture consists of a long series of transparencies (which could get really annoying) and his accent sometimes trails off. The most amusing part of the class was the explosion experiment right before you guys start o-chem. Buy the molecule modeling kit (especially if you are spacially challenged like me), it will save your life and you can bring it with you to the final exam. Prey for you life that you get a good TA. Mine was terrible!!!! Made no sense and managed to confuse me even more. All in all, if Baur is teaching this class take Baur instead.

Here is one good advice for the 14B Spring 2002 students, HAVE FRANKLIN OW AS YOUR TA. He\355s the first and probably last best TA that I will have while I serve my time here at UCLA. He sees his students as if though they\355re his brothers and sisters. He will go all out to help you and he knows how to teach. The whole classroom (even the two aisles on the sides!!!) was filled up during his final review, which shows you how good he is, and most of the students from other discussion sessions go to his sessions so that they could learn. I know this site is for reviews of professors, but I\355m doing this because he IS THAT DAM GOOD! If they have a review website for TAs, he will be on the top of the top-ten-TAs list. As for Professor Lavelle, all I got to say is \354KNOW HOW TO DERIVE EQUATIONS,\356 because he loves to give derivational problems. People say his lectures are boring, that\355s because they don\355t get what the heck he is talking about because they don\355t read before going to class. I was like that at the beginning of the quarter but then I started reading before going to class, and his lectures are from the books but he expands on it, and his midterms are usually based on his lectures and there is always be a trick or hard question on his midterms, so be prepared But over all, he\355s really nice and can be funny sometimes. So if you go to lectures, go to Professor Lavelle\355s OH and have Frank as your TA and also go to his OH, then this class should be a walk in the park for you. Good luck to you all. And remember DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET INTO FRANK\355S SESSION. Beg, cry, and whine your way in if you have to, it\355s worth it. For those of you who had Frank with me and thinks I\355m just exaggerating about him, give me one good reason not to\326I\355ll be waiting.