Harder than 14A for sure, but still pretty easy. If you do all the homework questions and the review questions the UAs provide this class should not be too hard. Of course the questions are worded harder than they should and there is some promotion of chem community, but the tests and class itself are not hard if you put in some effort. If not there really are a lot of resources available. I really like how the test questions are really straightforward. Now, Lavelle is an alright lecturer but it gets a bit dry. He loves explaining the conceptual parts of chemistry but not really showing enough of the harder examples that would be helpful.

OVERALL: I had Dr. Lavelle for Chem 14A as well, and I found this class to be a bit more challenging just because of the scope of the concepts - thermodynamics, electrochemistry, kinetics, etc - which are what most life science students tend to find more difficult. It definitely helps to have a solid background in chemistry (such as having taken AP Chemistry or equivalent in high school), but not necessary to do well in this class. I would recommend that you take advantage of all the review sessions, Step-Up Sessions, and office hours offered; I really appreciate the UAs for all their contributions in helping us students succeed.

LECTURES: Although in my opinion, Lavelle is not the most engaging lecturer, he does go out of his way to organize lots of review sessions before midterms and finals. He also does not upload slides or Bruincasts on CCLE (he has his own website), so if possible I would recommend getting a coursereader from previous years from upperclassmen.

HOMEWORK: Homework consists of 5 HW problems from the textbook and 5 Chemistry Community posts each week. Like many other reviewers have said, I would also definitely recommend doing ALL the homework problems. It's a lot of work, and time-consuming, but it would have been impossible for me to do well on tests solely based on what we covered in lecture.

EXAMS: For our year, at least, the first midterm heavily covered Acid and Base/Chemical Equilibria rather than Thermodynamics/Thermochemistry, which is what most people studied for. So, when preparing for midterms and finals, I would recommend going over every topic at least once because you never know which concept will be heavily emphasized by Dr. Lavelle.

His exam problems are relatively straightforward but can be worded in a very confusing manner, so don't be afraid to ask a TA or UA for clarifications. Everyone studies differently, but for me, my studying consisted of going over homework problems, skimming over my notes on confusing concepts, asking questions on Chemistry Community whenever needed (I know some people disliked Chemistry Community, but I thought it was a really helpful resource), and attending UA sessions. I also read the textbook, which was a little extra, so I don't think it's all that necessary unless you're super confused about a topic.

Dr. Lavelle's finals are always the most challenging, but this year due to the COVID-19 fiasco, we had ours online on CCLE - around 30 MCQs scaled to 180 points (some MCQs were worth 14 points, which was a little scary), all of them very fair and doable.

Shout out to Matthew Tran and Lyndon Bui, their sessions were especially helpful!

Also, if you would like access to past exams/notes as preparation, shoot an email to *************! The notes/past exams are free, I just want to help new students succeed :)

Best of luck with the class!

I definitely felt like the material for this class was harder than in 14A. There's so much material to cover that even though Lavelle tries really hard to get through everything, oftentimes you will have to do a lot of work outside of class. My biggest piece of advice is to do every single homework problem assigned. It may seem like a lot but it's honestly the best way to study, hands-down. On the midterm, 2/8 problems were just homework problems with different numbers, so they were easy points if you did them beforehand. You should also go to the huge midterm and final review sessions, because 1) free practice problems that mirror the exam 2) a step-by-step solution is worked out for each problem. They used to be done by Lyndon (a legendary UA god bless), but the other UAs are honestly underrated and will most definitely do an amazing job taking over for him in future years. Overall, this class is definitely doable as long as you stay on top of your work and take advantage of Lavelle's extensive outside resources.

Another quarter, and the last quarter with icon DJ Lavelle...

Professor Lavelle is someone you can feel is super passionate about his class. However, his tests are insanely tough. The midterm was a ~joke~ but at least his class is easy to pass (same as 14A, only need 250 points to pass the class). Final was made easier due to special circumstances, though it was a shame he had to cancel all of his review sessions (the review sessions carried me through 14A).

Online discussion: 50 points
Weekly homework: 50 points
Test 1: 50 points
Midterm: 120 points
Test 2: 50 points
Final: 180 points
=>500 points total (need 250 to pass with a C)

Overall, bearable class. Professor Lavelle is a humorous guy and cares about his students, often ending his lectures with reminders to have fun but be safe and healthy. I enjoyed his poetry times and jokes at the end of lectures, but I'm glad it's finally over.

Compared to 14A, you definitely need to put a lot more work to get a good grade in this class as the concepts are more math based and are less dependent on pure memorization. Lavelle's tests are pretty straightforward (mainly since they are made by the TAs) but the midterm will definitely screw you over. Make sure you do chem community+ the homework problems, they'll act as padding for your grade. Best way to study is to do as many practice problems as possible, whether in the textbook or online. Lastly, just wanted to shout out ochem tutor on youtube and covid19, wouldn't have clinched an A without them!

His class is definitely tough. The material in 14B is harder than 14A too. He only provides you with the basics and expects you to have a lot of prior knowledge. We got saved by COVID 19 since he gave an online final that was definitely a lot easier than the final we were supposed to take. He has 2 tests, a midterm, and a final. I'd suggest taking 14B with someone else if you can.

Although he is definitely egotistical, he's very helpful, very clear, and gives almost no homework, yet his class is extremely difficult because of the exams. Lavelle is a good professor, and the only complaint I had about him were his dry lectures. However, he does explain concepts well (I just wish he did more examples) and provides unlimited resources for the class which are very useful. He does appear to be very nice, but don't let his image fool you when it comes to the exams. I came into Chem 14A and 14B without taking AP Chem, and had a terrible honors chem teacher my sophomore year of high school, which was honestly the only reason why these two classes were so hard for me. It doesn't sound good to say that my grade suffered because of my prior knowledge, but it really did. If you took AP Chem, you are at a significant advantage and I saw that among my peers. The only way I got an A- in both 14A&B were by studying my ass off. I studied around 5 hours each for the 2 tests in discussions, 15 hours for the midterms, 25 hours for the 14A final (only about 15 hours for the 14B final since it was easier because it was online), and did every possible textbook question multiple times. Tldr: if you did well in AP Chem you'll be just fine, but if you didn't be prepared to study an excruciating amount if you want a good grade.

This class is difficult. 2 Tests, 1 Midterm and 1 Final. 50% of all points to get a C- which is extremely helpful He is a good professor and tries his best to explain the lecture slides. There are no clicker points, but he doesn't upload his slides so you're kinda forced to go to lecture. He does offer a lot of help which is nice too.
The only thing that bugged me was during one of his lectures he called out a student for using their phone, but honestly, in a large lecture room of 300 people, he should really mind his own business. I bet that student must've been embarrassed, but I guess so you know don't use your phone during lecture lol.

Don't be fooled by the many fans of Lavelle, his class is hard. There are those who do well in the class, and those who don't. If you have a strong background in Chem, specifically if you did well in AP Chem, you will do well. AP Chem wasn't offered at my high school and I was at a severe disadvantage compared to others in the class. Its a huge lecture and there are only a few really good TAs. Lavelle assumes you know more than you probably do, but if you are super well prepared, your grade will reflect that. Otherwise, expect to learn from YouTube videos and the textbook.

Basically, you can get away with doing zero work in this class (you only have to do 5 homework problems per week and post 5 times in Chemistry Community). However, the tests and midterms are what you should study for. Lyndon's review sessions are good although I think this quarter is his last quarter so RIP. Anyways, Lavelle reuses past exam questions and homework questions so do the homework questions even though it isn't require of you and search up old exams in Chemistry Community. Also, I felt the midterm was a little unfair because there was a problem on it that was 4 points, which you couldn't receive partial credit for that only his past students who had him for Chem 14A would know how to do. I had Professor Caram for Chem 14A so I lost 4 points right there because I did not know how to do the problem. One thing I appreciated about Dr. Lavelle is that he organizes a ton of peer-learning sessions and review sessions to help students succeed. Although he boasts about them a little more than is necessary.