Chem 14A is the first part of the chem series. While this class is a general chem class, and many topics are most likely already known prior to this class such as balancing chemical equations and stoichiometry, new topics are taught including molecular orbital theory and acid/base reactions.

Chem 14A is very structured because Dr. Lavelle has every lecture planned out. He also has an array of TA's (teaching assistants) and UA's (undergraduate assistants). Literally every hour is either an office hour or discussion, so make sure to go to the TA's and UA's to get your questions answered (don't wait until exam time!) There is also an online discussion board, so there are a ton of resources in this class! What this means is that no matter what background knowledge of chemistry you had coming into this class or what high school you came from, you can definitely do well in this class!

Overall this class is tough, but fair. I remember spending hours doing all the textbook problems and attending review sessions and TA office hours in addition to discussion.

My main advice is to do ALL the assigned textbook problems. Although homework is not factored in the grade, this is the best way to know if you are truly prepared for the exams. He may even include a textbook problem in the exam!

Good luck and remember that the work you put into Chem 14A corresponds to what grade you get in this class.

Does anyone know around what range an A and A- would be out of 400?

Professor Lavelle is pretty good. He teaches well in a systematic manner. He approaches each topic as if no one has ever heard of it before. He cares about his students a lot and has so many resources to help anyone. His homeworks do not need to be turned in. If you do the homework problems, you will realise that the questions on the quizzes and exams are easier or of the same difficulty. I had a great time in 14A and I am excited to take 14B with prof Lavelle.

Professor Lavelle is outstanding, one of the best professors I have ever had. He is always well prepared, his lectures are clear and very informative. If you need quality it doesn't get any better.He truly cares about his students, the quality of his lectures and the course. He wants his students to do well, is always positive and helpful in office hours. His course also has lots of resources to help students do well, Chemistry Community is one of the best resources I have ever used in a class. I got an A :)

Dr. Lavelle is an amazing professor!!! He genuinely cares about his students and wants them to succeed. He has a multitude of resources to assist all of his students. With all his TAs, UAs, and himself, there are 40-50 hours of office hours each week for students to attend and ask questions on homework, lecture, or online material. Even if you are studying chemistry in the evening and have a question, Dr. Lavelle’s online chemistry forum, Chemistry Community, allows you to ask your questions, answer other students’ questions, or even read previous posts at any time of the day. They are virtual 24/7 office hours. Before the midterm and final exams, there are over 24 hours of review sessions! Dr. Lavelle wants everyone to excel in his class and it shows through his numerous resources and his videocasts and podcasts of all his lectures. He has 3 quizzes per quarter, but believes in second chances. If you do the graded practice quizzes in his workbook, you can use the totaled score to replace your lowest quiz score. Bottom line…if you see Dr. Lavelle is teaching Chem14A or Chem14B, TAKE HIM!

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Coming from absolutely no prior chemistry background I thought this class was not that difficult. Of course it was a very challenging class but hearing all of the rumors of Lavelle I was scared to take him. I ended up loving him and wish I could of taken him for 14B . Also, during the summer since there is only one "Midterm" and "Final" I think it made it that much easier as well. You can find the PDF for the book online, you would just need to buy the course reader ( which honestly you can live without since all of the slides he lectures with is exactly what is written in the course reader, but there are practice midterms and finals that do come with the course reader. ((But honestly you will survive if you do not have it))). If I had some prior chemistry knowledge I think I could of done better but hey I'm fine with my B-. It's lit.

I took Lavelle over the summer and his grading curve is waaay easier, especially if you have a background in chemistry, you'll definitely be ahead of the curve.

His exams are incredibly difficult, but he provides his students with a PLETHORA of resources inclung 4 undergraduate assistants (who are amazing), 3 TA's, himself, and 24/7 access to chemistry community.

He gave us 10 hours worth of review sessions for the midterm/final, that were incredibly helpful. The hw he assigns is unfortunately not given credit but I highly recommend doing all of it, as many of his quiz/test questions are based off of questions in the book.

Also purchase his course reader as his lecture notes are straight off the CR. I usually took extra notes on them and didn't have to write at lightspeed to keep up with his lectures.

Definitely not an easy professor, but he gives you plenty of opportunities to ask for help as he does care about his students.

Ok for the person two comments below I can tell you're a bitter student who took Chem last year with lavelle and did not do well. This is the first time Li will be teaching 14a so you can't know what you claim to know about her exams and teaching method in that class. She's an award winning instructor who got a job at UCLA right after her PH.D. I'm sure she's qualified. You just want people to go into lavelles class so their gpa can take a hit like yours so transparently did. I personally had lavelle and he is not great his exams are very difficult often combining different concepts per question he says himself he has trick questions to separate A from B and B's from C's. Please stop trying to steer new freshmen away from Li just cause they'll have an easier time than you and I did with lavelle. Having taken lavelle I would choose Li in a heartbeat. I mean look at the percent of A's in lavelles class SO FEW !