This class is pretty tough, but I think having an AP chemistry background (from what I heard) makes this a lot easier, which is good for those who did it. For people who didn't (like myself), the concepts kind of come at you really fast and there is a lot of information where somtimes you are just writing random stuff down to process later. I definitely think as a paper and pen user myself that this class is structured so that those who have an IPad will flourish a lot better, otherwise you lose out on info. Her review sessions and practice problems are pretty helpful, but you will often encounter stuff in the exam that are WAY harder, though they follow the same concept, or just random problems. The grading is a mixed bag, sometimes it is too harsh and it is fair, but just know curving is highly unlikely. I don't suggest reading the textbook in depth because it is just too much, and focus more on like the homework and get the basics of what she is saying in lectures. Professor Reslan is pretty nice, but this class overall can get difficult.

This class was very hard and is even harder when you don't have a good background with chemistry or never took chemistry before coming here. Her notes are all on her ipad which makes it hard to take notes if you don't have one since she has them half complete then adds a lot of important information. Note taking was really hard for me personally having to try to take them on paper. She does a lot of review sessions which are helpful. Her office hours were always directly after class. There is weekly homework assignments. Her grading scheme is horrible. The two midterms together are 25% of your grade, the final is 35%, and the hw and discussion assignments are the rest. She is strongly against rounding and curving.

I did not enjoy taking this class with Professor Reslan. The lectures were very disorganized at the beginning of the quarter so it was difficult to study for the exams without knowing which topics to prioritize. Towards the end of the quarter, the lectures were better prepared, but the exams were still on the more difficult end of the spectrum with the averages being a B- (Midterm 1) and C- (Midterm 2).

Dr.Resland is a good professor, her lectures are helpful. If she ended up not being clear on some topics (or unable to finish it) she'll exempt it from the exams. Although she tells you what will be on her exams, her exams are still hard (72/100 for my second mid term), so don't be too excited ig for this class... Chem 20B is similar to the second half of AP Chemistry so this class should be easy if you had ap chem before. However, many materials goes beyond what we learned from AP (using calculus for example: w = -∫P dV, Δs = ∫dq/T). So this class would definitely be a nightmare for people who doesn't have prior experience with chem or being bad at math.

Personally, I hate Chemistry, with a burning passion. I did not have chemistry at my high school, so I came in with no experience. So, if you are similar to me in that aspect, I wish you the best of luck. However, I adore Dr. Reslan, she is an amazing lecturer and professor, I do not blame her for my grade, it is genuinely just me trying to learn chemistry for the first time, which is why it has been so hard. Reslan CARES about her students, she curved a midterm because a lot of students did poorly on it. She is extremely fair and genuinely funny. I really enjoyed Reslan as a professor, I just loathe the subject. You get 10 tries per question on the homework ( on OWL ) and she often extends the homework due date, I believe there was only two instances where she did not extend the homework deadline. She has many reviews for her midterms and finals and wants the class to do well. This class is easier if you have taken AP chemistry in high school. If you have no chemsitry experience... Good Luck, Charlie.

Professor Reslan is a great professor. She is someone who really cares about the students. She always asks if we understand and encourages us to seek help during office hours as class is only 50 minutes. Whenever I asked her questions, she answered them with care and without judgement. She makes funny jokes in class but gets distracted by the laughter which adds to her charm. Our class had just under 500 people which must have been overwhelming for her but she did so well with communicating and making sure the majority of the class was on track and understood the material. She held so many review sessions for a professor. Amazing professor! Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this class! I'm very glad to have gotten off the waitlist. Dr. Reslan is very helpful and wants to support her students as much as possible.

A 5 on AP chemistry should really let you skip the entire Chem 20 series, because I really didn't learn too much that AP didn't cover. Every unit added 10% new material compared to AP, but most of the time I was bored and it was difficult to remain engaged because Dr. Reslan did a great job of catering to the lowest denominator. Every lecture had lots of practice problems and she devoted lots of time outside of lecture to supporting her students, especially considering that she had to teach 2 lectures and held 6-8 hours of office hours per week. I found discussion rather useless and often did the assignment beforehand to avoid attending. It was especially frustrating because the most challenging problems were often not covered.
I loved Dr. Reslan's lecturing styles, especially compared to other professors. She did all of her work and derivations life on screen which made it very easy to follow. She also had a great attitude, was enjoyable to listen to, and made up laugh often. My only gripe is that I knew everything - I wish she could teach me a brand new class. The pacing and syllabus presented a minor challenge, as assigning the whole chapter was a waste of my time for reading when we really only focused on some portions. I thankfully built up some intuition on what kinds of topics to take notes on, but it would be a huge help for future classes to limit which textbook sections need to be reviewed. I also know that between COVID and missed classes it was difficult to stay on pace with the syllabus and content, so that's definitely an area of improvement for the next class.
Overall, everything went pretty smoothly on this class. Nothing was too hard, the homeworks helped explain how to do problems, the exams were mostly fair and curved generously, and Reslan and her TAs were genuinely interested in my success. I'd take a class with her again if I could.

I love Professor Reslan. She is just a good human being. If you need help and you ask for help, she will be there to provide what you need! Not the clearest lectures...but if you show up and TRY, you will be fine. Attended all of her office hours and her TA's office hours. Take initiative...don't be lazy...she is kind and will help you through it!

Not a lot of homework/assignments (usually one weekly hw done through the textbook). Depending on your understanding of the material read textbook in advance of class. Her midterms were pretty easy and she would host review sessions the weekend before that were SUPER helpful and those types of questions would be on the exams. The final had a lot of acids/bases on it (more than expected) so review those. Honestly her TA's vary with helpfulness some would put out slides and really help explain the material, others kind of did the bare minimum. The professor is also really nice and if you have a conflict will help you out!

#Real Rating

This class is really, really ez. I am pretty sure this was Reslan's second or third year teaching, so she is relatively new (essentially, meaning she will probably be more lenient and easier when grading, which she was). My TA was super helpful (Kat Cordeiro), had really nice slides and the worksheets we did in discussion were really reflective of the actual tests. During my quarter, on the first test, everyone essentially got a 90 or higher, so she made the second test a bit harder, and many people complained about how fast the test was going. However, the final had plenty of time and turned out pretty simple. For this class you do not need to use the textbook at all, just look at her slides (which she provides), her discussion worksheets, and the study guide which tells you which topics to look at. Unlike Lavelle, her class is super math-oriented (not conceptual), and I would highly recommend taking this class over Lavelle since it's a lot easier. However, you may be unprepared for 14B with Lavelle since he is the only teacher who teaches that class right now. The final was 30 percent and I believe both midterms were 20 (don't quote me though).

Summary: It is extremely doable to get an A, however, you may be unprepared for 14B. Focus on doing practice problems and do not use the textbook.