The past reviewers are definitely right.. there's no reason to take this class. You don't really learn anything from him and it only kills your GPA. Lectures were... repetitive and tedious at best, horrendously confusing and really irrelevant at worst (he kept going off on tangents). The midterms aren't too hard if you read the book, go to your TA, and write down every possible equation you can think of. The final, however, was kind of a ***** to take. He specifically said that certain material won't be on the test (after repeated questioning too!) but lo and behold, it was on the test. Honestly, I think I heard a girl crying on the day of the final (or at least sniffling).
Bottom line: STAY AWAY FROM THIS GUY. He will screw over your GPA (I never went below an A- in math or science classes until this class...) for the reward of learning nothing that Wikipedia can't provide!

I definitely agree with all the people who say "NEVER take his class!". I was expecting to have a horrible time with his class before it started because of the reviews on here, but I had to take Chem 20A so I wouldn't fall behind in the requirements for my major. However, after this quarter I am definitely postponing Chem 20B/Chem 20L until someone else is teaching because I will never take his class again.

I learned absolutely nothing from his lectures except realizing that I didn't know anything. I can't think of a single helpful lecture. His review sessions weren't any better and we never knew what was going to be on the midterms or finals until we got there. He never even taught us two of the chapters we were supposed to know for the final (not that it would've helped if he had).

The first and second midterms were difficult but nothing compared to the final. I was pretty good at BSing the midterms, but it was so hard to think of anything to write on the final. One of the questions was "What was your favorite thing you learned about chemistry this quarter?" I'm not joking. That was really on there. However the rest of it (even the easy definition portion) was extremely frustrating and difficult. The TAs spent the whole time asking questions and trying to figure it out themselves.

Advice if you are stuck taking his class:
1) TAKE COVEL TUTORING!!! I learned EVERYTHING I knew from that. My tutor was awesome and there's no way I would've passed without her (or I'm assuming I passed...he still hasn't posted our final grades so right now it just says "NR").
2) Put absolutely EVERYTHING including every single equation (I scanned them and copy and pasted them onto a word document) and most definitions on your cheat sheet. Type in size 6 font if you have to!!! This is basically how I did decently on exams. I just found equations that seemed to fit whatever the problem might be asking about and went from there. There is also always a definitions question which is easy points as long as you have the right definitions on your cheat sheet. He always asks for some kind of graph too so know those.
3) Attempt to read the book. He asks stuff on his exams that he doesn't even cover in lecture and random little details. It might also help you to learn something.
4) Good luck!

"Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY!" <- These people are absolutely right.

Fortunately, I only have to take 20A before completing all my chem requirements (as a EE major), but this class was as nightmarish as it comes. You can imagine for a freshman taking this (winter quarter 09) what a stressful load it must have felt to feel like you know almost NOTHING when you come out of the class but a bunch of equations you can just look on wikipedia.
The ONLY good side to taking this class is that i probably studied from the book (and took tiny notes on the cheat sheet) more diligently than i ever did for any other class. Ever. Every lecture you go to will simply drain your confidence on actually learning something or grasping what is actually going to be on a test. He jokes quite often, which i would love to say in a context of a good professor could be extremely hilarious (his demonstration on quantum jumps comes to mind). But in this case it only scares us into thinking that he doesn't care about our learning at all. There would be SOME moments, a rare lecture or two, where Prof. Baugh totally wipe the floor with some UNDERSTANDABLE and INTERESTING knowledge, which of course would shock us. But one or two lectures (and the first 5 minutes of a normal lecture) do not justify you taking this teacher. Well said past reviewers, avoid him at all cos!

I thought I would be able to get through this class since 20A is the only chemistry class i really have to take for my major... but professor baugh made it a horrible class. I followed his lectures for the first few weeks before the first midterm, but after that, I stopped taking notes and eventually stopped listening because his lectures were not very relevant. They were mostly theoretical and never dealt with the stuff that appeared on the exams. He never really told us what would be on the exams - he would only give us the chapter numbers in the book, which didn't prepare me at all for his second midterm and final. Professor Baugh was a horrible professor. I dont believe he even got through all of the material that should be covered in that class. Even if you only have to take one chemistry class, you should wait until a good professor is available. There is no sense in taking a hit to your GPA like you will with Baugh, especially because you will learn nothing.

What a waste of a quarter. After those 11 weeks, I felt like I learned NOTHING about general chemistry/quantum mechanics/or whatever the hell I was supposed to learn in this class. As everyone's said in their reviews, he is one hell of a horrible lecturer. The class average on both midterms were F's. My final... I felt like all the studying I did (straight off the book as I compared my notes from his (lack of) lecturing to Oxtoby) was completely useless in preparing for the exam. Even as we tried to decipher what in the world he was asking on the final, the TAs ultimately went with the "this is what we think he wants..." approach. Even they were lost when it came to dealing with him!

The only pros of this guy: He's pretty much always available at office hours, only because going to him to ask for help is as helpful as talking to a wall; you'll get nothing out of it. He's a professor at UCLA.. so I don't doubt that he's an intellectual individual. But his ability to pass his knowledge onto the next generation of engineers and scientists and whatnot.. totally lacking.

His grading scheme of adding all the points lost onto the final.. I don't even know what to say to that because I have no idea where I stand coming out of the class. (Finals still not graded as of this evaluation) What I do know is that I am royally screwed because I need to continue this series (Chem 20/30) to finish up my pre-reqs. And the only class of 20B next quarter.. you guessed it. I'll have the pleasure of listening to Prof. Baugh for another 11 weeks. What hell.

AVOID HIS CLASSES AT ALL COSTS. If you can, take whatever class you need the next quarter. In the summer. A year later. Whatever. Just don't EVER take his class. Period.

A really bad professor, his lectures are pretty much worthless to go to because he clouds them with complicated equations that he doesn't explain. He also teaches 20A as though he's teaching 20AH, essentially "teaching" us a lot of stuff we don't need to know. His tests are really hard to study for because you can never really guess what he's going to throw at you. overall, if you plan on taking chem 20A and he's the only option, wait until you can take scerri or lin.

hmm...caring guy, nice guy, know A LOT about chem, bad teacher, bad, preparer, and doesn't show anything in relation from hw to the test questions