Yeates made this class incredibly easy during the COVID-19 pandemic. All you had to do to get an A was attend discussion and do the homework assignment every week. You get most of the homework answers during your discussion section and if not, the TAs give you homework answers during office hours. This was a good and bad thing; good because it was low stress, bad because it meant you really didn't have to learn anything. I stopped keeping up with this class after week 3 when things started to pick up the pace in my other classes (AHEM Nakamoto's CHEM 154) and never caught back up to speed. So yes, I got an A in this class for putting in the work, but I barely touched the textbook, didn't watch the lectures, and put in the minimum amount of time on the homework assignments which means I didn't learn much. I know that this will hurt me down the line so I might go back and learn everything now that I've graduated and have time haha

I took this class during Spring 2020 when it was completely offered online because of COVID-19. During this quarter, Professor Yeates pre-recorded the lectures, and the only live components were the discussion sections. I found the lectures fairly helpful, though they were essentially a verbal version of the textbook (so it might help to read the textbook if you're having trouble with a concept). Discussions were helpful as the TAs went over homework problems and we were put into breakout rooms to discuss those problems.
For this quarter, Professor Yeates decided to get rid of all exams (including the final) which made the class a lot more stress-free. Our grade was based purely on weekly assignments which were due once a week, and graded on a check minus/check/check plus basis. As such, I found the class pretty straightforward. The concepts were alright; honestly I was super passionate about them as they were kind of all over the place - one week we'd learn about protein symmetry, another week we'd learn about kinetics. It seemed like just a bunch of random biochemical topics thrown into one class.
My only gripe with this class was the Python coding assignments that were on the homework. Professor Yeates assigned us coding assignments, but for someone like me with no coding experience, I didn't really understand what was going on at all. I pretty much relied on the TA to carry me through that portion of the course, but even then - I had no idea what was really going on. It would have been helpful to get more basic Python info/tutorials for people with no coding experience though.

Overall, though, this is a decent class (especially if it's being taught online) - I would recommend Yeates to the prospective chem 156 student!

If you are taking this class with Professor Yeates and hated CHEM 110A like I did, rest easy. This class is nowhere near as bad as CHEM 110A and it is actually fairly interesting.

Class breakdown: - Midterm 1: 100 points
- Midterm 2: 100 points
- Midterm 3/Final: 130 points
- HW (he never told us how much HW was actually worth)

Professor Yeates is a good professor. He doesn't overload you with material and presents it in a clear and concise way although most of the lectures will be almost completely from the book. Another great thing about this class was the fact that you don't have to shell out for an expensive textbook. Professor Yeates sold us his textbook on the kindle store for like $2.

The exams for this class are all pretty fair. Midterm 1 average was a 70 and Midterm 2 average was 85 (I think the second midterm was a bit too easy). Homework in this class is fairly tricky because all of them are old exam questions but there's no penalty for giving the wrong answer because all of the homework is graded for completion but the TA will take off points if it looks like you are writing random things.

CHEM 156 is one of those rare classes where the final isn't fully cumulative which was really nice. Despite it being not cumulative it was definitely more difficult than the midterms.

Overall this class was a good experience. Definitely take 156 with Yeates if you can

Highly recommended. His lecture is clear/easy to follow. Readings are helpful. Essentially no homework. Midterms/Final are straightfoward from lecture/practice questions he uploaded. Generous curve (average=B). Friendly and does really care about his students. Final is not cumulative. His class does not require a heavy amount of work, but appropriate. Best choice for chem classes!

If you are reading this, you are probably a biochem major who has been through a wide range of science classes, and maybe some general education classes and a number of writing classes if you are premed and will probably continue facing several other classes before graduation. chem 156 with yeates is one of the better taught courses. doesnt saturate you with material like mimg101, or 153c. The only better class was 110a with baugh but baugh is going to be gone for a year. yeates lectures, while mostly involve chalk board, are easy to note down and follow (Compared to writing classes where they just lecture on and on with little to no chance to catch up). It might be a challenging class, but its less work than some awful classes out there (again Im looking at you mmimg101 and hardline writing ta's)

He's a pretty cool teacher. He explains the material really nicely. If you attend all the lectures and do the homework, then it should be an easy class. The key to success in this class is to attend all the lectures, because all his tests are from the lecture material (reading the book doesn't help that much). Overall prof. Yeates rocks!!!
cool dude, funny, smart (knows a lot of stuff, way more than any other professor probably does). Grading is also good. He's average is B, which isn't terrible compared to other upper division classes.

Yeates is the most effective and most interesting professor I have had in the chem and biochem department at UCLA. He outlines concepts very well, and in the end you actually feel like you have learned something useful, not just memorized a bunch of worthless biochemical pathways that you will forget after the final (like MOST biochem classes). This definitely has to do with the material being interesting as well, but even interesting material can be butchered by a bad professor. He welcomes questions and is interested about helping you out. Overall, he is a great professor who is enthusiastic about his class, writes fair exams, and is very concerned with your understanding of the material.

Definitely among the best professors at UCLA. Lectures are very conceptual, easy to follow and enthusiastic, making the material much more accessible. Dr. Yeates also has bright and helpful T.A.s who help the class run smoothly. I had a very good time and can honestly say I learned a lot. Would recommend his class to anyone and more professors like Todd Yeates to the chem department.

I do not know why people like his class. He does not know what "teach" and "be patience" at all. I fell sleep every class, becuase the materials are boring and he is boring too. He does not be patience when people ask him the same question in the office hour. overall, I think that he does not get really low rate on this website, because he looks cute.

He is a great prof! His exams are straight forward if you do all the study questions he gives you right before the tests. Also, there is no homework to turn in.