Best chemistry professor I've had. Doable 14 series (A's in both quarters) as long as you simply do that work, pump that iron, and prepare well for all quizzes and tests. Kind and caring professor, will miss him.

I took 14a and 14b with Lavelle. I'll miss seeing him come into class with a big grin on his face and greet everyone with a lively "Good afternoon!" He's very organized. Every lecture proceeded efficiently (a couple of pages from the course reader per day). He's got an army of TA's. If you get a lowsy one, find the one that suits your learning style and you can visit his/her office hours if anything needs extra explaining. If I remember correctly, chem 14a had 3 forty minute quizzes, one of which was dropped and replaced if you scored higher on the workbook. The ta's make the quizzes, and they're actually more difficult than Lavelle's midterms and finals.

14a was easier for me than 14b. The material in 14b is very mathematical and it never really all came together. I would suggest doing the homework, however. It is excessive, but it helps tremendously since Lavelle focuses more on mathematical problem solving than conceptual examples.

You'll be surprised when you get a midterm or final. You might just see a problem that includes Pokemon or Harry Potter ;).

So let's go over the grading scheme really quickly.
Quizzes(x2): 40 points each
Workbook: 40 points in total (20 points for each prep quiz), use to replace one of the two QUIZZES (only quizzes)
OChem Worksheet: 40 points
Midterm: 110 points
Final: 170 points

About quizzes: Quiz 1 will be really really hard. Don't worry too much if you fail it (the average is like 10-20 points out of 40 anyway). So focus on your quiz 2 (which should be pretty easy) and finish the workbook flawlessly. For most people, quiz 1 will be the one that will be dropped.

Lecture: For me, lectures are not fun to watch, but they are essential. I would rather not read the book than not watching the lectures. Dr. Lavelle is efficient in explaining things. Everything is clear, concise, and well explained; it's just that his voice can put some students right to sleep...

Homework: Please, please, please do the homework. Or at least look over them along with the solution manuals. I found them pretty helpful for studying for Chemistry assessments.

About midterm and final: They are pretty fair, in my opinion. The midterm was a bit rough, but the final was fine. (I haven't seen my scores yet, so...)

I personally think that Dr. Lavelle will prepare you well for other Chemistry classes. He is very application-based, and that is a really nice thing, because labs are applications as well as the graduate-entry tests (such as MCAT, GRE...)

OChem Worksheet: I personally think it shouldn't take that long to finish. Go with 1-2 friends (you will need some help/more eyes to catch things, but too many opinions at once will be a major delay in finishing up works, unless you all will be working on different computers), and use Chem3D directly (rather than using ChemDraw...). I was able to finish the whole thing within 40 minutes.

Be aware: 14B WILL be harder than 14A though.

First off, selling Chem 14B textbook and solutions. E-mail applelover_21@yahoo.com (I can be haggled on the price!)

Now for the review :)
I have taken both Lavelle and Scerri and I can honestly tell you the differences between both of them are pretty drastic. Scerri is definitely more conceptual, so for him, it is more like you know it or you don't. There's no deducing the answer because there are so little math based problems in his class. He is extremely disorganized to the point where even his course reader is difficult to understand (took him for 14B and after studying like a mad person, pulled off a B in his class after getting a 70%, the average, on his midterm).

Obviously, I did not like Scerri very much, so apologies for being biased. Lavelle, on the other hand, is a very good professor. Extremely organized, thorough explanations of concepts, and lots of review sessions! Taking chem 14B more recently, I can remember exactly what happens, and will give some pointers:

1. The quizzes are a B****, so don't be depressed if you fail one of them. However, prepare as best as you can for them, since only the lowest score out of the 2 quizzes will be replaced by your workbook score. Seriously, the quizzes can actually be more hard than the midterm and final.

2. Try to get a 40/40 score on your workbook. It will save your butt. I got 38/40 because I didn't compare my answers to anyone else's the first time and it screwed me. (There are 2 quizzes in the workbook for you to do. The workbook will be included when you buy your course reader).

3. At the very least, for heaven's sake, look at the HW! The HW is excessive at the very least, and sometimes downright unnecessary. However, if you do not do any of the HW he assigns, I can guarantee you that you will get no higher than a D in his class!! The HW teaches you how to apply concepts he gives you in class to actual problems, so DO NOT NEGLECT THEM LIKE I DID (after the 1st quiz I learned my lesson and did them all)

3. Lectures are a B****. But then again, so is Chemistry. I took Scerri, and fell asleep in all his lectures so I had to watch the podcast. I took Lavelle and fell asleep in almost all his lectures. Just watch the podcasts if you fall asleep in lecture.

I have more to add, but I'm lazy now, so I leave it up to you guys to choose. I don't know what my grade in Chem 14B is yet, but I hope for a B, but this (possible?) B was a lot LESS stress to work for than in 14A. Also, if you need to know, I only took Chem Honors in high school sophomore year, so basically no knowledge of chem at all (no AP Chem either) coming into either Chem class -like, seriously, I didn't know wtf a covalent bond was. Work hard, play hard, then work harder to make up for playing! Enjoy UCLA :)

Selling practically new (used few times) Chemical Principles The Quest for Insight 5th edition, Solutions Manuals, unopened chem modeling kit and chem 14b course reader for Lavelle

text 310 592 4822

Let's be honest. This class sucks. I did not enjoy one single lecture, the best part of going into class was when he came out smiling and saying "good morning!". Fell asleep in nearly every lecture. I have had no prior chemistry experience and BARELY, I mean barely, passed this class. And I'm not the only one. I'd just say to be weary of this class and know that his midterms and final are going to hit, and they are going to hit HARD.

Selling textbook: Chemical Principles The Quest for Insight, 5th Edition

Great price and in good shape!
E-mail me if you're interested :)

denisenavarro5@yahoo.com

Lavelle is not a bad teacher at all. He was surprisingly better than I thought he'd be. I had a decent amount of Chemistry in high school, so I found Chemistry (14 A and B) to be fairly easy and great courses to take my freshman year. He doesn't lie when he says he'll take midterm/final questions from the homework. I didn't do all of them, but I made sure I understood the concepts behind each question. DEFINITELY be sure to do all of his past midterms and finals. His tests format and question styles are always the same and he re uses questions from the past exams pretty often. Honestly, if you do these, you should be set.

Lecture wasn't crucial to go to because you have the course reader anyway, but I always liked going to lecture because for me just reading the course reader wasn't helpful at all. His lectures acted as a "gap filler" for the words on the course reader. People say he's boring, but he's not too bad. I chewed gum in class to stay awake.

Okay so first off...f*** the guy who got a A+ and is saying how predictable lavelles tests are....they aren't. Studying alone won't get you through this class. You need critical thinking as well. You really need to understand how to apply all the concepts. Took 14a and 14b with him..honestly the biggest mistake I've made so far. Got a A- and B+. He basically ruined all my confidence in chemistry. He made me think gawd damm this is what college chem is like...im soo f*****. But I just took 14c with hardinger and I'm pretty sure i got a A. With that said, if you're an incoming freshman reading this, want to start freshman year off right, wait a quarter and take sceri. It will save your ass. Trust me. I'm still trying to recover from lavelle. He scarred me for life...really though its just harder than intro chem needs to be.

the kid who posted about his A+.... SHUT UP.

Seriously, don't take this class. Lavelle does give practice finals and midterms, but he is NOT predictable. he throws the weirdest curveballs at you and there will ALWAYS be atleast 3 questions on the test that you're staring at, like, WTF is this? I've never seen this in my life.

And just look at the grading distribution. barely anyone gets A's. I got a C+ and this is one of the hardest classes I've taken and it killed my gpa. seriously don't take lavelle, wait a quarter to get a better professor. he sucks.