Selling required textbook: Chemical Principles, 6th Edition (by Peter Atkins, Loretta, Jones, Leroy Laverman)

The bundle will include Textbook AND Solutions manual (VERY helpful to do the practice problems from which Dr. Lavelle chooses an exam question from.)

Purchased from Student union for $168, selling for only $100. In very good/new condition.

Please message for details: **********

Selling chem 14a textbook pdf version for $15. Email me at *************

*DISCLAIMER*: I am a UA who taught for Dr. Lavelle for 5 quarters (5x Chem 14A, 2x Chem 14B) but never actually took his course. However, having attended all lectures and holding office hours, I feel like I can talk about the course at least semi-accurately.

Dr. Lavelle takes characteristics from the epitome of the classic college professor with that of a sweet, understanding, caring uncle.

First, his course is structure just like your other lower div. chemistry classes. 1 midterm, 1 final, 4 quizzes throughout the quarter, and some graded homework. Lectures are informative, to say the least, and while they may be fast paced, they certainly help prepare any incoming student what's to come in later chemistry classes. Additionally, his course reader is a carbon-copy of his lecture notes, so it's very easy to follow along and catch-up on anything you may have missed (especially since lectures are podcasted).

As I mentioned above, Lavelle is the epitome of a college professor and as any incoming freshman should know, his course gives you your first opportunity to learn how to teach yourself. Often times in lectures, Dr. Lavelle does not explicitly outline how to solve specific problems, something you'll find as a common theme in most, if not all of your chem/math/physics courses. This certainly makes the course more difficult but as compensation, it's most definitely rewarding, especially for those looking to take the MCAT in a couple years.

Outside of lecture, Dr. Lavelle couldn't root for your success more. He's always moderating Chemistry Community and always more than happy to hold office hours for his students. He's super friendly and extremely approachable and will never give a snarky or mean answer when questioned. While his course may be challenging and demanding, his course is well worth the time if you want a strong chemistry background to help with future coursework/the MCAT!

This is exactly hoped and expected out of a science class at a university. Lavelle is clear, concise yet thorough, and genuinely cares about the success of his students and in our interest of chemistry. Many complain that he is a boring lecturer, however, the fact that the topics are interesting and require thought to grasp, it is easy to stay attentive in lecture.

His grading scheme is daunting:
3 quizzes--> 120 points total (120min)
1 midterm--> 110 points (110min)
1 final-->160 points (160min)
Weekly Discussion posting (participation)--> 10 points total.
Homework is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL but that is what really sets people apart from one another. DO IT!

His exams are hard but fair, as long as you take advantage of all his resources (TA's and his office hours, UA sessions, and do the assigned problems) YOU WILL BE FINE!!! I did all of the homework and practiced significantly and I perceived them as easy. Also the number of points on each exam and quiz is EQUAL to the number of points which should allow you to pace your self on the exam. He recycles questions from previous exams and always uses at least one question assigned in the homework.

So I took Professor Lavelle's class my first quarter of college because I knew he would be teaching 14B and I would get him then, so I thought I might as well start out with it. The class overall has nothing that is exactly DUE. However, he gives a TON of practice problems that he recommends...do them. no matter how time consuming no matter how much you hate it, do them. and redo the ones you got wrong, trust me it will save your butt (saved mine on my chem 14b final). so no there's not a lot of assigned work, but if you want to do well i would say do the practice problems. this class was amazing bc whenever i was stuck, i would literally just pull up the list of ta, lavelle, and ua office hours and go to any of the ones that fit my time. again this will help so much if you're confused (saved me more than once). if you took ap chem it will help a lot, but he's good at skimming through old material you should have a background of. i'm not quite sure why his reviews are so low on here, but honestly professor lavelle was one of the most caring professors i had (and genuinely loved the subject too) and the key to doing well is seeking help when you need it and practice practice practice. its stressful but doable!

Selling the Decades of Miterms & Finals Review for Chem 14A and 20A. I'm selling the book for $30. Original Price is $40. Contact me at **********.

I took AP Chemistry during my senior year of high school and didn't struggle too much with this class (despite not studying for it all that much), so if you took AP Chem recently enough to remember the basic concepts, this class probably won't be too much of a struggle.
He has a lot of resources for the class (undergraduate assistants w/ office hours, TA's w/ office hours, Chemistry Community forums, etc), so if you feel that you need the extra help, you can go to these office hours or post on Chemistry Community. He undeniably has many resources he wants to provide for the students, so I appreciated that (though I didn't use them).
He doesn't require homework to be turned in, but doing them helps. He's an OK lecturer and tries to be funny once in a while. The class was alright and manageable.

Lavelle is an OK lecturer, some days are better than others for sure. He pretty much lectures straight out of the course reader, so lecture can be pretty boring. However, he has lots of resources for his students and I would recommend taking advantage of them. Homework isn't mandatory, but you should definitely do all the problems that are assigned because he'll put them on quizzes/midterms/finals. The class consists of 3 quizzes, which aren't too bad, a midterm, and a final. The midterm and the final are more challenging. The material can be confusing sometimes, but this class is definitely manageable.

Before taking this class, I had taken one year of honors chemistry in high school and expected this class to be a struggle. However, I think this class is do-able and not as bad as it seems BECAUSE of the TAs and UAs, not because Lavelle is the best lecturer. (But he is a really nice guy) Lavelle's lectures themselves were of no help to me whatsoever, but he arranges so many TA/UA office hours every day of the week, including weekends, that it was easy for me to get the help I needed. I passed the class from watching youtube videos and going to office hours at least two hours a week. In addition, I spent about 5-6 hours a week doing the homework. His tests are fair and as long as you do the homework, you should be fine.

Lavelle is a good teacher, he gives homework assignments that are optional to turn in. Definitely do them or you will fall behind, I had to watch lots of videos coming in but he does brush on old information, he provides a lot of resources, USE THEM!