I saw a bunch of bad reviews for Lavelle so I wasn't really looking forward to taking 14B with him. Turns out he's not bad at all. He's got a million resources for his students (chemistry community is super helpful), he's hilarious, and he genuinely cares about his students. The grading scheme is pretty straightforward so by the end of the quarter, I knew exactly how many points I needed to get an A. If you took chemistry in high school, paying attention in class and doing the homework problems is pretty much all you need for an A.

I took Chem 14A last quarter and 14B this past quarter with Lavelle, and they were definitely challenging, despite the fact that I took AP Chem in high school. Lavelle's lectures, however, allowed me to clearly understand concepts that I could not grasp during my other two Chemistry courses, as well as gain more appreciation for chemistry in general. The other reviews say that Lavelle simply regurgitates the course reader, however, during lecture, Lavelle uses the notes as an outline to effectively convey the concepts to us. He clearly wants us all to succeed, and this is evident in his creation of chemistry community, his constant reminders about office hours, his extra credit (which helped me clutch an A- in 14A and maybe in 14B), and in his review sessions. I highly recommend this class because success is definitely reachable and because Lavelle truly loves his students.
The key to getting an A in this class is simple:
1. Take notes in the course reader (aka go to lecture)
2. Do ALL of the homework assigned because hw questions appear on exams.

I took Chem 14A with Professor Lavelle before taking Chem 14B with him this past quarter. I have found that although this is not meant to be an easy class, Lavelle provides a huge amount of resources to help you succeed. His course reader and the Organic Chemistry supplement are both key components of the class. I like that the homework is not optional, but do not think that this means that you don't have to do any of it. Do enough to understand the concepts, and don't ever hesitate to make use of the UA, TA, and professor office hours. Make friends in the class, form study groups, and help each other out. This class is definitely not impossible to succeed in as long as you pay attention during the lectures or make sure you Bruincast them as well as do enough practice problems to feel comfortable about the concepts.

Dr. Lavelle is a really caring professor, and he has a ton of resources available for his students. However, the material is extremely hard. The homework is optional but do every problem & understand how to do them. The quizzes were realitively easy, but the midterm and final are extremely hard. Overall, this class is very manageable if you put in the effort.

As someone who works in the biochemical industry and gotten an A in Chem 14A, I have to say that Chem14B was my worst experience with chemistry. The class was not engaging, Dr. Lavelle only read off the course reader (which could be made public for free, but instead costs $100-- with proceeds going to Dr. Lavelle), and the TAs were not helpful in going into further explaination of the concepts Dr. Lavelle glossed over. The majority of my success in this class is attributed to things I ended up teaching myself (not even using the poorly written textbook). Honestly, you can do well in this class, but Dr. Lavelle's teaching has left me disheartened with the state of UCLA's academics and staff. I sincerely hope that upper division chemistry is an improvement from this weeder class, but know that taking this class with Dr. Lavelle will leave you having to do most of the teaching yourself, which isn't feasible for most students with busy schedules.

Selling the Decade of Midterms and Finals for Chem 14B and 20B Review book for $30. The original price is $40. It is in great condition, I have not written in it intensively. All I might have done is circled and ticked off questions. Please contact me at (818)-480-8716.

Professor Lavelle is very clear in his lectures, and is always willing to help. I found that the three quizzes were fair, while the midterm and final were a bit more tough. Just study hard, do your best and you'll be fine. Overall, I would give this class a 4/5 stars.

this class is hell. i learned almost everything off the textbook and course reader. it sucks ass but do the readings and homework problems and you should be fine.

Selling course reader (has some annotations, some in pen towards the beginning because i didn't realize i was going to sell it) plus ill link you the pdf to the textbook

msg for info at (619)587-4601

I took Chemistry 14 A and it was a very difficult and challenging class. Lavelle goes over basics in class and then expects you to learn the more difficult material on your own. The questions on the midterm/final were extremely involved and nothing like you learn in class. However he does include old copies of finals and midterms in the back of the course reader and you can buy a book of all the past midterms/finals from 2007-2015. It is helpful to do old midterms/finals, go to discussion and office hours, and do textbook problems. The textbook is helpful but not necessary in the class. I personally did not find the Chemistry Community website to be that helpful but I know a lot of students use it as a resource.

Professor Lavelle is an excellent Chemistry professor! I had him for both 14A and 14B and got an A for both classes. Chemistry is hard but he does everything he can to help his students succeed. He explains concepts clearly, he is always available to answer questions, between the TA's , UA's, office hours and Chemistry Community, you can get help any time you need it. The resources he has in addition to lectures are extremely helpful. You can see he cares deeply about his teaching and the students. You will work hard but he is the best you can get for a Chemistry Professor!