He thinks he knows everything and he's in love with the periodic table. The course reader is heaven for studying, although you have to teach a lot of it yourself. He tends to explain it very vaguely in class. Would not really recommend him for those who like mathematical calculations.

Pretty easy to do well. You won't necessarily learn much (or remember the little that you do) but if you read/memorize the course reader, you should be fine. His tests are comparatively easy, and homework is optional. Scerri focuses on the concepts rather than the math, so have a basic understanding and you'll pass the class.

I didn't take real AP chem in High School and almost everyone in the class were IIIIINSANE with Chem. I got a B+ (which i still am pretty disappointed over because i got an A/A+ in the midterm, perfect on all online quizes, but my final was like a B from stupid mistakes). All you have to do is MEMORIZE the reader and understand ALL concepts in the reader he goes over! He teaches what i believe is descriptive chemistry. Very conceptual. The math problems in his exams are very very easy just make sure you practice! Don't want to mess those easy ones up.

His class is pretty enjoyable from the experiments to the british accent to the arrogance and the making fun of people. just as long as you're not the one being made fun off so stay low key! hehe

No tricks in his exam. I think they're very predictable. Just do ALL practice midterm questions and know every single line in the reader.

Get together with a bunch of people and do the online thinkwell quizes separately then together so you can learn more.

Difficult at times, but you learn a lot by the end, enjoyable class, a good beginning for Chem at ucla!

Well, on one hand, he is really entertaining (mostly due to his arrogance), but on the other, his tests are freaking impossible. Do not be surprised when a third of the midterm or final is on a topic you spent all of two minutes and half a page of the reader on.

Also, most of the students in the class took AP chemistry in high school, and so most of the class is review if you're in that crowd. If you didn't take AP chem (like me), then you will be curved against people who have that advantage over you, so good luck.

Going through Scerri's intro chem class is part of initiation into south campus, so have fun with it.

Personally, I thought Dr. Scerri was great. The last time I was in an actual chem class was in 10th grade, so basically everything was pretty new to me. I never did any of the readings or hw but I did pay attention during lecture and tried hard to understand all the stuff in the course reader. It is absolutely crucial to know every last detail in that course reader...no joke. There are online quizzes that you have to take which are worth 10% of your grade, and you can take them up to three times. His midterm was pretty fair (although I discovered that he looks for specific words in the responses), but the final was a bit scattered. Not so much of what we studied in class. So yea, it's not impossible. I ended up with a B+ and I'm not complaining. Long story short, I would definitely recommend him. Oh yea and Bryanna and Will are awesome tutors! Good luck!

THINGS SCERRI TOLD ME TO PURCHASE
- Principles of Modern Chemistry by Oxtoby - $176
(did not use in class)
- His Course Reader - $35
(Simply a photocopy of every one of his slides, in poor handwriting)
- His Periodic Table book - $35
- HIs Course Reader of past midterms and finals - forgot the price
- Registration for thinkwell ($20)
(simply an online quiz site, which Ive seen for free under other UCLA classes)

With two lectures a quarter at 350 students per lecture, he is no doubt making a big chunk of change off of freshmen. I think his primary goal here is to profit and not to educate. He is also verry arrogant in class, as he likes to single out and embarrass individuals. The first few minutes of lecture are always spent trying to figure out how to hook his macbook up to the projector. The reviews saying he is the "best professor Ive encountered" are probably saying so because its their 1st quarter of 1st year of college.

Yes, just go to Tom's discussion no matter who you have as TA. Trust me, he makes things a lot simpler than it seemed, especially when it gets to organic chemistry (although he's an inorganic grad student ...)

If you're thinking about buying chemistry books, please do not buy the solution manual by Oxtoby. It is a complete waste of money. You don't need it.

The course reader is vital. You should definitely study it if you want a good grade.

I felt like the tests weren't that hard, but I didn't get as high a grade as I thought. This probably means the curves for his class are very minimal.

Nevertheless, Scerri does some interesting demonstrations (blowing up a balloon, turning liquids into different colors, etc). And does anybody remember the preacher incident? Pretty funny I must say, even though Scerri wanted it off youtube.

I will admit that Scerri is a very good professor. His lectures are great and his tests aren't too hard. However I must say that his attitude is absolutely horrible. He is completely condescending and arrogant. For example, on the website where you can ask Scerri questions, Scerri's response to one girl's question was basically 'There are many things wrong with your question. You didn't mean [that], you meant [this] and you should've said "E.G." instead of "I.E." Your question is convoluted and pointless. ' And then he plugs his book and articles he's written whenever he gets a chance and then e-mails the entire class (including past students) about awards he receives. This guy is disgustingly self-centered. But if all that you care about is the grade, then take him.

This is before I get my final grade, so that I'm not biased towards the grade I receive. Scerri is a very good lecturer; his lectures are interesting, he can keep you engaged and not fall asleep most of the time, and the demos are excellent (though they might not have anything to do with the topic). The one thing I was discontent the most is that the homework did not adequately prepare me for the midterms. Midterms were nothing like homework or Mastering Chemistry (easy 20% of the total grade because they let you retake as many times as you want), and it was very conceptual, which I'm not used to at all. I found the final like what I expected (conceptual like the midterms), so I was adequately prepared for it. Just read every single page of his course reader and don't miss any line. I read the course reader for general ideas the first two midterms and didn't do very well (yes I was not very smart). Things you think aren't important in his course readers (like examples, abbreviations, random formulas) might show up on the exams as several minor questions. But their points add up and will pull you from an A down to a B. That being said, I learned a lot from Scerri's class. I just didn't like his tests and think I might have a better grade taking another professor. If you're willing to study a lot and pay attention to the course reader closely, you'll have a pleasant time in his class.