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.