Like many people have already said, Lavelle expects you to know almost every topic he covers. It is completely ridiculous because a lot of people did not take AP chem and some just did not remember anything at all. Don't get me wrong, the majority of the lecture is filled with crazy, cut-throat pre-meds who freakin memorize the chem book, which is the reason this class becomes so difficult. Lavelle feels the need to throw crazy questions on the final (some which he NEVER covered in class)!! This class is honestly bullshit, if you get a bad t.a. you are screwed because they make the quizzes and your grade essentially depends on their method of grading. So if you (like me) get stuck with a T.A. who gives no partial credit, your grade will suffer. Lavelle is completely full of himself and he thinks he is the best professor at UCLA...yeah complete opposite. My advice: get a chem review book over summer and practice, practice, practice. If you have no backgroud in chemistry (like me) you are really on your own in this class. Your grade will depend on how hard you are willing to work. Get covel tutoring and go to office hours with T.A.s who seem like they actually care. Good luck and don't give up so easily! I know I wanted to drop, but I stuck through it.

So, here's the story:
YES, this class is hard.
YES, there is a curve cause it's a competitive class where there are premeds.
YES, you WILL fall asleep.
YES,lavelle does expect you to have prior knowledge in chemistry.
(Sometimes, he even begins with asking the question "How many of you have seen this is high school?")
BUT, there are things you can do to get an A:
1.) Have already taken chemistry in high school or if you have the $.$ take some chem course with princeton review/kaplan/private tutor or probably the best method get one of those AP Chem review books from Barnes and Nobles and self learn some chemistry over the summer or do all the odd problems in the fundamentals of the "Chemical Principles" textbook anytime BEFORE you take this class. That would actually help you because it would give you some sort of foundation to build on, because believe me- lavelle does not construct a foundation, his class builds on the fundementals. Honestly, I cannot imagine anyone just learning in all in the one week that lavelle spends on fundamentals, but I applaud you if you can.
2.) Do ALL the homework lavelle gives you and go into TA/professor office hours or use VOH to ask questions and such
3.) Study all the midterms/finals at the end of the course reader to get an idea of what sort of problems are on the quizes, midterms and finals
4.) don't depend on the curve- try you're hardest to earn all the points you can (this means, actually work hard to earn full credit on workbook)
5.) Make some good friends and get together a study group (although this may be hard if you come across some unfriendly premeds)
6.)If you find yourself struggling after 3 weeks, you are just not ready for this class. You can either wait it out in which you need at least a 50% to pass the class with a C-, and average to pass with a B-. Or, you can drop the class and take it winter quarter, which may actually be more to your benefit because the curve might be better.

One thing that's good about Lavelle is that he curves to a B-(unlike other professors who curve to a C), which means that if you're average, you're probably going to get a B-. And yes, he might be a bit boring but's he's alright, at least he gives you resources to pass his class; there are professors who are far worse.

THIS IS THE MOST HONEST REVIEW YOU WILL EVER HAVE:

I DID NOT take AP CHEM and it KILLED ME AND IT WILL DESTROY YOU TOO. If you didn't take AP Chem, then DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Professor Lavelle, like an asshole, AUTOMATICALLY ASSUMES YOU HAVE TAKEN AP CHEM, WHICH IS A TOTALLY UNFAIR THING TO DO. A lot of these premeds did take AP Chem in High school. Just wait to take Scerri in the winter quarter, he is a better professor and you will get a better grade. This course consists of 3 quizzes, a midterm (on a sunday: wow lavelle thank you get a life!), and a final on a sunday. YOU MUST do well on the quizzes. The first quiz is a speed test so do well on it. Do well on the other two quizzes. Also check your workbook, and make sure you get a 100 so it can replace your lowest quiz score. The midterm was sort of easy and you need to get a good grade on it. I had an 89 going into the final. THE FINAL WAS HARD AS HELL AND HE PUT STUFF HE NEVER TALKED ABOUT. The final dropped my average by 11%. WOW thank you lavelle, I worked my ass of in this class and I get a fucking C+. This guy is a douchebag, he doesn't know how to teach (he reads off a stupid useless course reader), and his explanations are about as good as a 2 year old's.

SO HOW DO YOU GET AN A?

1) Get a good TA because they make the quiz and they grade the quizzes too.
2) Go to a good TA's office hours and dont be afraid to ask questions.
3) BOMBARD Lavelle with questions on his Virtual Office Hour website (If he is going to make the class extremely hard and make you work, then you should make him work too :D
4) Take the practice exams in the course reader.
5) Do EVERY HOMEWORK PROBLEM! They will probably pull a problem from Chapter 1 to put on the midterm.
6) Do not go to lecture, just read the book.
7) ENROLLING IN LECTURE 3 or 2 DOES NOT HELP YOU ANYMORE; LECTURE 1 HAD THE EASIER CURVE THIS YEAR.

Try to avoid lavelle, if you can, please!!!! Take Scerri Winter quarter, there is NO HURRY to take it in the fall! If you do take it in the fall, PICK UP AN AP CHEM REVIEW BOOK AND READ IT OVER THE SUMMER!

THIS IS THE WORST PROFESSOR EVER. HE IS SUCH A DOUCHEBAG! DONT LISTEN TO THE GOOD REVEIWS FROM PPL BELOW; THEY ALL TOOK AP CHEM! IF YOU TOOK AP CHEM AND YOU GET BELOW AN A, YOU ARE A DUMBASS! GOOD LUCK! MAY GOD BE WITH YOU!

Sure, he's not very animated like some professors/teachers you may have had in the past. This is chemistry though; I'm sure you'd fall asleep regardless. It's really no big deal though, and the guy tries to crack jokes every now and then which actually sometimes get through. Just go through the course reader, do the homework problems, and go to TA office hours (or ask on Lavelle's Virtual Office Hours) if you see you need help. TAs really do make a difference with this class; find one that you hear is really helpful (in case she does appear again in following years, Desirae Lau was a very good TA and a lot nicer compared to other TAs). If you happen to get one that isn't so helpful, again no big deal. Although you have to attend the discussion section you enrolled in (mainly to take your quizzes), you can go to any TA's office hours. If you're afraid your TA will grade harder than the others, Lavelle collects all the TA's class averages and normalizes them. Also even though the homework problems are never collected or taken into account for your grade, it really helps to do them. Try not to fall behind either; it's less work for you to do at the end of the quarter (or middle) when you're scrambling to prepare for the final/midterm. I felt that this class wasn't impossible to get through and Lavelle wasn't that bad (I'm sure there are much worse professors out there). With any class, just stay on top of things, ask questions, and study hard.

Note: If you took AP Chem in high school, this class will go over mostly familiar material which is helpful.

Professor Lavelle's class WILL put you to sleep. He has a very soothing voice and he uses an overhead so he dims the light, the chairs in the lecture hall are comfortable...You will fall asleep. His course reader is very useful because it has past exams in it and if you do them they help a lot. However, there will be that one question in the exam that throws you off. Most of the test questions are math based. I found his quizzes to be hard but his final and midterm were easier...at least for me. Overall, if you have basic knowledge of chem and if you just do the bookwork that he assigns you (which btw is never due, it's for your own benefit) you will do fine in his class.

Fuck lavelle

You're screwed if you don't have a good TA, and the only decent TAs this quarter were Jennifer Casey and Terry. Lavelle's lectures are conceptual but all of his tests are calculation-based. If your TA sucks then you're basically on your own. Get Covel tutoring--it really helps. Lavelle has a very soothing voice and so it might be difficult to stay awake in his lectures, but I'd recommend going anyway since his webcast isn't any better and you might as well suck it up and get it over with. Take Sherry if possible.

Wow. Lavelle teach straight from the course reader. Everything he teaches is in the course reader with the same examples, and no more. Avoid. Seriously.

Course: Chem 14A & 14B
To get an A:
1. read the textbook IN TIME.
2. do as many problems as you can. for midterm/final practice with the old midterms/finals.
3. you honestly don't have to go to lecture. he has podcasts. honestly for me, i didn't go to his lectures but still pulled of an A- in the class.
4. go to discussion sections.
5. review and review for midterm and final. just do a bunch of practice problems. then you'll be fine.

it's not an easy class. but you'll learn so much after you've worked your butt off. i recommend taking Lavelle. he'll really set a good foundation for general chemistry.

Avoid Lavelle if you can. Don't go to lecture, just read the textbook and coursereaders. Enroll in the 3rd lecture if you can, the curve is lower and sometimes the other lectures don't have curves. I had him for 14a and 14b. B and B- which is ok, but everything you read below is complete BS. all those people are the crazy curve killers who miss ONE POINT on the tests...Lavelle is doable but you either get chemistry or you don't. I'd try another professor if I were you.