Selling the Introduction to Organic Chemistry Supplement for Lavelle for $25. It is brand new and does not have a single marking inside or out. Lmk if interested, 818-480-8716

I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS WITH THIS PROFESSOR IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON TAKING CHEM14C. He no longer teaches intro to organic chemistry, and students entering CHEM14C are expected to have knowledge on organic chemistry before entering the course. Unless you want to spend the entire first couple of weeks of CHEM14C teaching yourself organic chemistry, I would suggest taking a different professor that provides you with the basis of knowledge that you need for the next chemistry courses.

I had Lavelle for 14A, and while the topics in 14B were harder, I think the 14B grading scheme made it easier to receive a better grade. The pace of the course was perfect, though he didn't do a very thorough job for one of the units. He is so clear in his lectures, and he gives so many resources/opportunities for extra help. Definitely do the practice problems from the textbook and the practice exams from previous years. The course is very much math-based, so I didn't feel that reading the textbook was necessary. I enjoyed this course, and it's truly based on your own effort. The tests and grading are fair. Sad to be done with Chem 14A/B :(

I went to review sessions pretty frequently and did the homework in a timely manner, so overall, the class wasn't too difficult. The quizzes are a bit annoying due to time constraints, but they are a good indicator of where you stand with the information at the time. Lavelle gets a tad boring, but he is a straightforward lecturer. I studied for the quizzes a couple days or so before they were issued in my discussion section and then a few days to a week for the midterm and final. Definitely do the practice problems that he assigns because the tests are similar in style and review lecture notes after lecture so that you can retain more information.

I had Casey as my professor for Chem 14A so I wasn't necessarily sure what to expect from Lavelle, except that I knew that he was a highly recommended professor. This class is, in my opinion, a lot easier than Chem 14A and Lavelle provides a plethora of resources that enable students to succeed. Although I never went to Lavelle's office hours, I did attend a couple of the peer learning sessions, which were helpful at times because many sessions were one-on-one with UAs. The three tests (besides the midterm and final) are not too difficult, but a bit inconvenient when it comes to timing. Overall, I would recommend taking this class with Lavelle. His lectures and slides aren't very interesting or colorful, but he does truly love chemistry and sometimes ends lectures with chemistry jokes.

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: 9495298147 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.