This was a really great class. The topics covered are a bit complex at first, but you start to get the hang of it fairly quickly into the quarter. Kaner is also a fantastic Professor and is a master at explaining conceptually challenging material; that being said, I found it particularly helpful to rewatch lectures and write down most of what he says in lecture. You may not understand the more challenging topics immediately so writing down what he says in class really helps paint a better picture of the concepts. Also if you don’t understand something immediately it may be helpful to just go ahead into the next lecture since he does helpful reviews of the previous lecture at the beginning of each class. also found it helpful to study from old exams so you get an understanding of the important takeaways that he wants you to take into each exam. He does curve the class; I believe the first midterm average was around a D+ and the second was in the B range. Attendance is not required in discussions although the extra review may help solidify the material learned in the week. I went to one discussion and was able to get an A. Overall a great class, one of my favorites so far at UCLA.

Chem 171 with Kaner was overall a very enjoyable experience! At first, I wasn't sure I would fully enjoy the class as I struggled with some of the earlier topics (point groups, for example) but everything just started to make sense once we got further along into topics like crystal lattices and crystal field theory. I think one of the biggest advices I can give to future students is not to worry if you don't understand concepts initially - Kaner understands that the topics are challenging and he does a nice review at the start of each lecture of the topics we covered in the previous lecture, so there's a lot of time to digest new materials. His tests were overall pretty fair I thought - for fall 2020 (taken during COVID), he had two midterms + a final, and he gave us extra time on the exams which helped relieve some of the stress. The tests are relatively long though and you will find yourself pressed for time so I definitely recommend practicing with his old tests so you can see the types of questions he likes to ask.
And if you're a biochem major looking for a chem elective, I would definitely recommend this class. It's not an easy class but not extremely hard either (somewhere in the middle difficulty-wise I'd say), but you definitely learn a lot and you expand on topics that you might have only briefly covered in Chem 20A.

Extremely engaging lectures and instructions despite being online and remote. He encourages and appreciates questions and explains with depth and clarity. Made me enjoy learning Inorganic Chemistry. Best professor I met so far.

Dr. Kaner is one of the best professors i have had at UCLA thus far. His classes are always well organized and engaging, even though he does not use any slides. You can tell that he loved what he teaches and his explanation are usually fantastic. I bought the book for this class, but i didnt end up opening it once, thats how good his explanations are. The TA's were helpful in clarifying any other discreteness I had in my knowledge. The homework sets were helpful in further putting the class concepts to work. The tests were a little difficult since he is truly testing you understand the material, but extremely doable. I highly recommend taking this class if you can

Loved him and this class! But make sure to listen to lectures again on BruinCast because it really helps! There tends to be some stuff you miss because he goes fast. I purchased the class notes from the bookstore at the beginning of the quarter and found that helpful, although there were a couple mistakes so do make sure to pay attention. I always added extra notes from lecture - so I used the purchased notes as a skeleton. Tests were kind of hard for me. The midterm was difficult because it was really long. The final was not too long but was difficult material. Overall though, it's a great class with a great professor.

the class sizes are getting way too big for this sort of lecture. not the fault of the professor (whom is a very very respectable guy and the TAs are "chill bros" and much respect to the class big up big up kaner HOWEVER down with gene d block budget cuts up with education!!!)

Best professor I’ve ever met .
His logic is so perfect.
It is not easy class but with this great professor, you will be okay.
TAs are also very helpful and smart.

Prof Kaner is really enthusiastic about the material he teaches, which makes it way more enjoyable to learn. He also brings in a ton of examples and does a lot of demos in class, so his class is way more engaging than most chem lectures at UCLA. The homework problems he gives are helpful, but don't always accurately represent what he will put in his exams. I definitely found his practice (old) exams helpful for studying. The grading is pretty fair, and Kaner said that he would take out our midterm score when calculating our final grade if it would bring our grade down-- which I thought was fair, since the midterm was WAY too long to finish in the time allotted (50 minutes) so the average was in the 50s. His final exam was also really long (I could have used a little more than three hours) but it was fair, albeit challenging. I'd definitely take a class with Prof Kaner again! Bottom line, he cares about his students and gives fair exams. What else can you ask for?

he is a graet prof......nice grading....
the midterm was quiet long and but not hard.....u dont have time to think.....so be sure to understand all concepts....final was 25-30% harder than midterm coz he needed to separate A and B students....
contact ************* if u guys need any help

Kaner is awesome. He is so knowledgeable and helpful. The class material is not too difficult. Definitely helps to attend lecture due to Kaner's use of molecular model kits to show symmetry. Class itself consists of weekly homework questions, which are very easy if you understand the lecture material. There is one midterm and one final. The midterm was terrible, had 50 minutes to complete it. Class average was about a 60%. About a 65% is a B in the class. I also took his Honor's class which is highly recommended, all you do in it is a paper. There are one hour weekly discussions where you talk about chemistry in everyday things. Lot of fun! Highly recommended.