Pros
- Lots of resources — TA office hours (shoutout to Arthur!), UA Workshops, optional practice problems, optional discussion sections. I do recommend going to at least a majority of these, especially the office hours or workshops, and be sure to ask questions on ANYTHING you're not sure about. If you're also low on time, focus on the Focus Questions that he assigns instead of the individual sections, because they're slightly more reflective of his exams.
- Final grades are curved — not exactly sure what's the specific grade breakdown, but a 50% is passing with a C- and 82% is a B+
- Derivation-based lectures — This could be a pro or a con to be honest. Personally, his explanations made more intuitive sense to me and helped me on the exams, and even when I didn't understand exactly what he was talking about, asking a TA or UA makes everything a loooot clearer
- Bruincasted lectures — not required to go to to lecture :)

Cons
- Exams — His first midterm kinda came at a surprise because it wasn't like this at least four years ago. They are MCQ, mostly conceptual-based exams, and each question is weighted pretty heavily (ie: Missing one question docks you 4 points out of your total grade of 300 points). Also, you can only see your exams from a TA and you can never see them again.
- Chemistry Community — Sure, I guess in theory it's nice to have students actively answer other students' questions about chemistry, but it just felt like a giant groupme that you're forced to talk and ask questions in
- Not receptive to emails — People made a fuss about Midterm #2 because it was thermochem, which is admittedly difficult conceptually, and there was a question where Lavelle (or his TAs; it was never really clear) had to go back and manually change each individual's exam grade. I guess he got annoyed and TAs were warning everybody not to email him because he would deduct points off your grade for whatever reason. I have no idea if this was true, but I would err on the side of caution.

Overall, I liked Lavelle's class, but I definitely know a lot of people who didn't. It's a hard class, so just be open to reaching out for help whenever you need it.

I don’t know where to start. I felt really hopeful about this class in the beginning because I really enjoyed the lectures and found the way he taught helpful in understanding the information. He also includes a significant amount of resources for practice: TA worksheets, an online chemistry forum, textbook problems and solutions, and online homework. This class was set up to be everything I could ever ask for in a chemistry course. I had so many resources at my disposal to use for practice which is usually what rigorous courses can lack. That being said, this class was a disaster. I used every resource, yet the exams reflected none of the information I had been given to practice. Multiple choice exams also left no room for partial credit. Exams were 100% conceptual. I couldn’t solve one practice problem without my calculator but on the exam I’d use my calculator maybe once and sometimes not at all. The TA practice worksheets were also unrelated to exam content as he never shared the exam with even them. It didn’t matter how hard I studied or how many resources I used, the exam would have 4-5 problems about concepts that I’d never heard of and certainly never heard of in lecture. Since the exams only had 15 questions, if you miss any more than 3 questions you’re already at a C. The class looks so incredible on the surface, but because of the exams alone I think I can safely say I’ve never taken a worse science course. This same quarter I took Chem 30B and finished with a B+ so that should tell you I’m by no means a bad student, this class just isn’t practical. I will probably have to retake it. Hoping my review can steer everyone far far away. If you take this class you WILL deeply regret it.

Distribution:
Chemistry Community: 50 points
Weekly Homework: 50 points
Midterm 1: 80 points
Midterm 2: 80 points
Final Exam: 140 points

Dr. Lavelle is a great professor, who has clear and engaging lectures. The workload is extremely manageable with the required homework not being long, and Chemistry Community simply being an online forum where students can ask and answer questions (you're required to post/answer 5 times a week, 50 by the end of the quarter). The required homework problems have unlimited attempts. There's also recommended textbook problems, which I definitely recommend doing, as a couple of the problems are on the exams. Chemistry Community is also a very helpful resource, and Dr. Lavelle and other students are very active on it. UA sessions are also an excellent resource for extra practice and to ask questions, with sessions being available daily. The lectures are also recorded and uploaded in a timely manner. The exams themselves were all online and were pretty straightforward (mix of conceptual and calculation questions with 4 pt and 8 pt questions, 8 pt questions having partial credit). One of the questions is always given beforehand in order for you to test the lockdown browser. There were 15 questions (1 hour) on both midterms, and 25 (1 hour 45 min) questions given on the final, which was ample time to complete the exams. My exam scores were 68/80, 80/80, and 140/140. The way I reviewed for exams was to review lecture notes and recommended textbook problems.

This class was just as hard as 14A with the same professor. I really appreciate Lavelle offering so many help hours though, even if you can't go to all of them the UA's are extremely helpful and they're basically the reason I got a B in the class (was close to a C+ before the second midterm and final). Go to as many review hours as possible starting week 1 DO NOT WAIT UNTIL WEEK 9. I went to at least six hours a week of review per week every week starting week 1 and that earned me a solid B, which to me is pretty good considering I never took AP Chem in my life and the entirety of the material is completely new to me. I'm also not the best at chem in general and it doesn't really interest me at all (not because of Lavelle, this is a me problem). The achieve is super helpful for test review, and doing the textbook questions. The work can really pile up if you decide to put the effort in and study because that's what this class requires. It's doable, but the constant testing can really get on top of you. Overall if I absolutely had to take general chemistry again (emphasis on absolutely have to) I would 100% take it with Lavelle because he has an amazing number of help hours that makes the material manageable.

I had previously taken Chem 14AE so I was a bit nervous switching into Chem 14B, but it was actually a really easy transition and maybe even a bit less stressful. I was used to in Chem 14AE with long discussions with required worksheets and really difficult midterms on top of quizzes and loads of other little assignments. In 14B, all there is to do each week is achieve HW, chemistry community posts, and keeping up with textbooks problems. Discussions are not even required, but they can be helpful so I definitely recommend them as a good way to digest lecture content. The only hard transition was the multiple choice midterms and finals. Each midterm was only 15 multiple choice questions, so you cannot mess these up if you want an A. The final was also just around 30 multiple choice questions and you cannot mess this up either. Basically, you whole grade is determinant on your midterm and final grades. Most of the time you spend in this class will be on studying for these tests. Textbook problems are really helpful to learn from and some of them will show up on the tests so I 100% recommend you do them when you’re studying, and do not start them the day before cause they’re way too many to finish all in one day. However, you are always given one test question in advance so it is basically a free question. Lavelle himself is such a joy and I loved going to lectures to see him! Definitely recommend taking Chem 14B with Lavelle.

As someone who took 20A and then switched into the 14 series to take 14B, I highly recommend Dr.Lavelle. His lectures are very straightforward and understandable. He has so so many resources that help students study and reach out for questions. He has many TAs hold office hours and review sessions a week before the midterms and final. The exams are all multiple choice with plenty of time to complete them. The one thing that can be a little worrying is the point distribution. The homework is completion and discussion is not mandatory but I highly recommend you attend. The class is 400 points in total, and 100 of the points are from homework/Chemistry Community posts. Honestly, he is a very good and passionate professor who wants his students to enjoy the subject and succeed. I would highly recommend taking his class for 14A or 14B.

Out of all the 14 series professors I think Lavelle is one of the best, but his grading is kind of a pain. If you're aiming for an A, you can't miss too many points and there's not much cushion or any extra credit. Some people find 14B easier than 14A, but I personally found it a bit harder. Participation and discussion not mandatory and TAs can be hit or miss, but his tests use textbook questions and are very similar from year to year, so there's a lot of practice available (tests are proctored and use lockdown browser live). Lectures pretty clearly organized and easy to follow too (were bruincasted)

The concepts in this class are harder than that of 14A, but you can still get an A in class, just attend a UA session weekly, do ALL the hw problems as he puts some on the tests, and don't fall behind on lectures.
Lavelle is actually a very kind professor and he gave us an opportunity to earn 4 points extra credit on both MT2 and the final. (I completely disagree with the review saying he was self-infatuated).
If you put in the work you'll easily be able to get an A, def would take Lavelle again if I could!

I thought Lavelle was a wonderful professor and I genuinely enjoyed the class. He teaches at a really slow pace, but he makes each topic really simple and easy to understand. The tests weren't hard; it was all really fair. He's also so passionate about his peer learning groups and his blog but its actually really helpful. Overall, an easy class, a great professor, and loved the vest and hat combo.

Selling pdfs of past notes, tests, midterms, and finals. Text me at ********** if you're interested.