Grades just came out today, March 29. I would take the reported grades before this date with a grain of salt—I'm not sure how they would know their grades and the final is a large percent of the grade.
I think a lot of people saying Lavelle is a good lecturer have simply only had him as a chemistry professor and have no standards for what a good professor should be like. I had Casey for 14A and he is by far worse. His lectures are dull—they aren't in a powerpoint format and are just big pages of text with no organization or emphasis of important concepts. Listening to him is helpful but don't expect to learn from reading the slides. I did go to class every day.
As others have said, his class is much easier than it was a few years ago due to restructuring; he's removed organic chem topics almost entirely from the course. Looking at older finals and midterms in the course reader, the level of assessment difficulty has stayed roughly the same; the volume of content covered is just lower than it was even last year. In my mind, this is a detriment. I feel much less prepared going into 14C with no experience in Ochem nomenclature AND this is definitely one of the reasons why his lectures were boring, as he kept the exact same lectures as the past but spread over a longer time period. However, I definitely think this is one of the reasons why I was able to receive an A in the class.
HOW I SUCCEEDED IN THE CLASS:
• I did not go to any peer learning sessions or office hours. The only review sessions I went to were the sessions accompanied by a practice midterm/ final, which were helpful for the tests themselves.
• I did every homework problem in a timely manner! They do reappear on the midterm and final.
• Get a course reader or a friend with a course reader and do every practice midterm and final before the fact. They are a bit off because electrochem used to be on the midterm but is now covered afterwards— those midterm problems can be saved to study for quizzes.
• Read the textbook chapters and take notes BEFORE Lavelle covers it in class. This helped me a ton with getting through his lectures.
MY GRADES
Chem community: 30/30
Homework: 70/70
Test 1: 33/40
Test 2: 31/40
Test 3: 40/40
Midterm: 106/110
Final: 160/170
The quizzes can help your grade a lot but they just hurt me in my case. They can be really tricky with how they write the questions. I personally thought the quizzes were much harder than the midterm and final—the midterm especially was a piece of cake.

!!!SELLING COURSE READER!!!
$30 for course reader - I bought it for $35, but there's writing in it so lower price for you!
Lavelle no longer sells these because of a change in the department policy. Nonetheless, it is an amazing resource for acing exams. The 2015 version is an almost word-for-word carbon copy of his lectures with additional midterms and finals from past years. Saved me multiple times because I was prepared for his curveball questions. The quiz workbook prepares you for the quizzes well, which should be easy points.
CONTACT: ********** if you would like to purchase.

Tips for doing well:
1) Go to lecture. He often uses further discussion of the textbook material on exams.
2) Do ALL the homework. Don't be lazy and you won't fail.
3) Aim for a 93% on quizzes and exams. With your other easy points you should get an A.

I am writing on here because Lyndon said that Dr. Lavelle felt sad because he had gotten a "bad grade". First off. Dr. Lavelle does not deserve a bad grade because he is one of the most impassioned professors I have ever met. His lectures are absolutely amazing and clear. And he offers so many resources (chem community, UA sessions, TA office hours... chances he will probably say this in class at least 100 times). Furthermore, his philosophy about "exercising your mind and body" is so important. The HW problems he assigns are such a major part of studying for the class. I did all of them at least 4 times each. Furthermore, the decade book of midterms and finals is so helpful. But besides that GO TO OFFICE HOURS. Like actually Lyndon was the most helpful TA ever. If Lyndon is reading this (and I know he will), I just wanted to say thank you for making all our lives easier even though you had your own work. You didn't have to do all of that for us but you did and I am eternally grateful. Anton (my favorite TA ever!!!!!) is also the absolute best. Like he is the smartest chemist I have ever met and never fails to answer my MANY questions without fail. Overall, chem 14b was hard. But it is totally possible. I implore anyone reading this to take Lavelle no matter how hard you thought the class was. You will not regret it.

The later class would’ve worked better for my schedule but I just had to have Dr Lavelle again! And I don’t regret it! He is funny and helpful and really wants his students to do well! He has many resources available (and chemistry community 24/7 as he advertises every class.) His tests weren’t too difficult (some of the homework questions were harder) as long as you know your stuff. I really recommend him and am sad he doesn’t teach 14C and D as well!

Lavelle isn't the best professor but he provides a ton of resources. His Ta's and Ua's have around 40 hours of office hours open every week for students. In addition, chemistry community is really helpful. His tests are reasonable and there's usually only 1 or 2 questions that are slightly harder. Nothing on his test is out of the blue, just make sure to look at his course outline and go to Lyndon's review session! A very doable class, however you do have to try to get an A.

Live, Love, Lavelle.

Chemistry 14B can be challenging but Dr. Lavelle is very clear and extremely helpful. He truly cares about the success of his students and is an extremely passionate professor. You definitely get what you put into it. Dr. Lavelle provides you with every possible thing to help you be successful....tons of office hours, TA/LA workshops, chemistry community, and much much more. Even his assigned homework problems are super helpful and follow his lectures; you just have to discipline yourself to do it. Dr. Lavelle is extremely clear about what is going to be on the test. He also provides a ton of review sessions before midterms and tests. I wish he taught 14C and 14D too! Tate Reuter is an awesome TA! He is very clear and knowledgable with the material. He clearly outlines lecture material and provides very helpful worksheets. Lyndon Bui, a UA, is awesome. He voluntarily puts in a lot of time in order for us to be successful. His practice midterm and final are super helpful and his review sessions are even more helpful. Lyndon is very good at outlining EVERYTHING we need to know and telling us how to solve things in a very direct way. He is also very funny.

The material is a bit hard, but you can't ask for a better teacher. Definitely recommend taking Lavelle.

14b was hard. That being said, it is substantially easier than it was a few years ago. Thermochemistry and thermodynamics are fairly easy to get, but electrochemistry is where it gets tough. Study those hard and do all of the questions. All of them. Even when you get to the number where you're thinking "No way, he wont ask us this", he honestly might. Make sure you understand each question too. Chemistry community is essential, make sure you use that and don't be afraid to ask "dumb" questions, because so many people want to ask the same things but can't. Also attend Lyndon's review session. He's the og and super super helpful. Some good TA's to look for are Anton and Joe Mazzeti. Lavelle himself is a super sweet guy and his lectures are exactly how you would expect a chem lecture to be. Not extremely engaging, but not mind-numbing.

Chemistry 14B has a lot of difficult material and is definitely a lot more challenging than 14A. With that being said, Dr. Lavelle lectures in a way that a lot of these topics seem much simpler than expected. You will definitely need to put in work in order to be successful in this class, but it is very doable. Dr. Lavelle is extremely clear about what is going to be on the test. If you go to lecture you will know what to expect and will not see many surprises. There are many resources for help including UA sessions, TA office hours, Dr. Lavelle's office hours, and chemistry community. I highly recommend utilizing all of the resources that Dr. Lavelle provides. If you seek help when you need it then you will be successful in this course. Additionally, 10000% be sure to go to Lyndon Bui's office hours if he is still a UA for the upcoming quarters. Lyndon's sections provided a lot of clarity for me during confusing sections. He explains things in a simple manner and provides excellent practice worksheets.