This class itself was alright. Gober tries his best to be funny during lectures and comes across as corny, but he really is a warm guy and cares about his students. He was featured in NELK's vaping prank video but handled the situation well. His midterms can have some pretty ridiculous questions (with equally ridiculous answers), but he does grade on a lenient curve. He also usually tells you what to study ahead of time for the two midterms and finals as well. This quarter, due to coronavirus, Gober does have to administer the test online. His lectures are mainly based on slides he posts ahead of time online, and you're not any worse off just going off the slides and textbook alone to study. (Textbook can be found for free online at Z-Lib).

Discussion is basically an hour long block of TAs explaining homework answers (you have 7 assignments out of the textbook). I personally found my TA hard to understand and he often went off-track a lot, and the whole discussion period was more or less a waste of time for students who know how to do the problems and just need to turn in their homework.

Gober was such a funny and kind professor, so if you have to take this class and can take it with him, do so. That being said, I hate chemistry so I kind of hated this class. We never got through all of the slide material he set out for lecture, and my TA, Zhang, was kind of useless when it came to explaining material (he was just clearly too advanced in chemistry to be good at explaining basic ideas to us if that makes sense). Homework was manageable but I can't say I felt like I learned much from it. I did ok on the midterm, but the final was a lot easier which saved my grade (our final was unique though because this was the period in which UCLA rapidly changed to online finals bc of covid-19). I was told that this would be an easy A, which it ended up being for us because Gober was considerate about the covid crisis, but I honestly can't say I thought the material itself was super easy to understand. That might just be because I suck at chemistry since I'm a psych major though, who knows.

The content in this class begins quite easy making the first midterm a breeze. However, very quickly following the midterm the content picks up and becomes a bit confusing and difficult to follow, especially if it is your first time seeing the concepts. The overall topics are explained fine, but they are not introduced the best for those who do not already have a solid foundation in chemistry. The class is 2 midterms and a final, which are all curved to around a B-. I did very well on the first midterm, but my second midterm score was almost 30% what my first score was which was surprising since I studied the exact same for both exams. The lecture before the exams, Dr. Gober goes over what will be on the exam so you have an idea of what to study, but be warned there may be more specifics than he lets on in this mini review session. Section also goes into the grade by way of getting points for completing homework assignments, but those are quick and solutions can be found online if you get stuck!

The lectures were pointless for the most part. Gober was always all over the place. However, there were instances where he'd say something that was going to be on the test that were not in the slides. All Fridays before exams he goes over what's gonna be on the test so GO. Ask lots of questions. Also, I joined the PLF which helped me a lot. I took this for psych major requirement and did not have a good chem background. Definitely take this class if you feel like you do not have a good chem background.

I took this class to fulfill a requirement for my psychology major. The professor is entertaining and funny, but it was oftentimes difficult to stay focused in this class. There is a low workload--just homework due once a week, but I felt like I had to teach myself the content in this class to do the homework. The exams were pretty difficult as well. Professor Gober tells students what to study the class before the exam. which was very helpful, but there were still questions that we rarely covered in class. I recommend that you take notes on everything he writes on the board in lecture because anything can pop up on the exam.

Do not buy the PDF from the other person for this class you can find it online for free. Overall, I did not need this class, but it was a good refresher of basic chemistry. Gober is a boring lecturer, and it was hard for me to stay engaged. He teaches based off a lot of practice problems, but usually the content from lecture did not help with the homework. The homework is pretty easy, it comes from the PDF, and usually the odd numbers are assigned so you can check your work. Gober grades on a very lenient curve, which is helpful because some of his test questions were unexpected. He lets you know what will be on the midterms, and make sure you study the experiments because he has an emphasis on those. Overall, it was a pretty easy class, but since I have a previous background in chem, I should've started the 14 series.

I took this because I thought I didn't have enough chem background for the 20 or 14 series. Honestly I should've just started with the series. I didn't really like the class because we would go off topic way too much to the point I would just teach myself the actual material. Gober is a nice person but not what I would consider the best teacher.

Professor Gober is one of my favorite professors at UCLA. He is engaging, hilarious, and knows how to explain complicated concepts in an understandable fashion. I am not a chemistry person at all and I thoroughly enjoy this class. Would take a class again with him for sure!

I took this class for Psych major so I'm not great at science. BUT, Professor Gober is amazing! He cracks so many jokes that lectures (even for a non science lover) were enjoyable. He is a great teacher and makes sure you understand the concepts. The first half of the class is VERY easy. Basically high school chemistry. Tests aren't bad (2 midterms and a final) as long as you study. He also goes over pretty much what is exactly on the tests on the Friday before the test so you know what to study. I would definitely recommend taking this class with Gober if you just need to get a chemistry class out of the way. Grades are curved so the median is a B-. Easy A!

Very easy A+, there is no need to attend lecture or discussion as long as you go through slides on your own, and do the textbook problems.