Enrollment Questions
What does an impacted course mean?
Do I need to show up during the first day of lab if it is before the first lecture?
Am I automatically dropped from the course if I miss the first day of the lab?
How can I switch to another lab section because of time conflicts?
Exams/Quizzes and Writing Assignments Questions
Are there any quizzes and/or exams for the class?
Are there any on-line writing assignments for the course?
Are there any old exams that are avaialble on-line for the course?
What should I do if I miss an exam or a quiz?
Where can I pick up my final exam?
Common Lab Courses Questions
Where can I buy the lab coat, goggles and the lab notebook that are required for the class?
When are the office hours for the teaching assistants?
Are lecture guides available on-line for the course?
What should I do if I miss a lab?
Are grades for the course based on a curve?
How do I check my course grade?
Can I discuss my grade with the course instructor?
Do I need to show up during the last day of the lab?
Can I e-mail or call the course instructor for my final course grade?
Common Lab Report Questions
When are the reports due and what is the format for the reports?
How long does it normally take for the teaching assistant to return the graded reports to us?
My friend or classmate wants to borrow my report and copy it. What should I do?
Miscellaneous Questions
How can I locate a good private tutor for my chemistry classes?
How can I get a letter of recommendation from the lab faculty?
Do the lab faculty hire undergraduates to work on course development?
Does the uclaprofessors.com Web Site accurately reflect the rating of a professor?
All the freshmen laboratory courses (14BL,14CL,20L & 30AL) are impacted courses. Impacted courses mean that you CANNOT drop the class AFTER the end of the second week of the quarter. This is due to the fact that there are more students that need to take those courses than the number of lab spaces that we can offer.
You only have 2 weeks to decide whether you want to keep the class for the quarter. This rule is strictly enforced each quarter.
For more information about the last day to drop an impacted course, click here.
Attendance for the first day of the lab is MANDATORY. This mandatory attendance applies to zero week as well. You MUST show up to the lab section that you are officially enrolled WITHIN THE FIRST 30 MINUTES. If you miss the first day of the lab or if you are late to the lab (after the 30-minute limit), your space in the lab will be given to someone else who is on the waiting list.
If you miss the first day of the lab or late to the lab, your space in the lab will be given to someone who is on the waiting list. HOWEVER, you MAY NOT be automatically dropped from the course. Never assume that you have been officially dropped from the course even though you fail to show up on the first day of the lab. At the end of the quarter if your name is still on our roster even if you never attended the lab, your final course grade will be an "F".
IMPORTANT: It is your responsibility to make sure that you check URSA to see whether you are enrolled in the courses that you plan to keep for the quarter and NOT in courses that you are not planning to complete.
The information on where to buy the lab coat, goggles and the lab notebook is listed on the course syllabus. There are links to AXE office and Scrubs Unlimited on the Course Resources Web page. These are two reliable places where you can purchase the lab materials (except for textbook and lab manual) for the class.
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There is no need to buy a new lab notebook if you have plenty of pages remaining in your 20L or 14BL notebook.
Report guidelines are posted on Virtual Office Hours. Due dates for the reports are listed on your lab schedule.
The complete list of office hours for all the teaching assistants is normally posted on Virtual Office Hours by the end of the second week of the quarter. Office hours for the course instructor are listed on your course syllabus.
You are welcome to attend ANY of the teaching assistants in your course if you have questions.
Exam and/or quizz schedules are listed on the course syllabus and lab schedule. Please read those materials carefully so you know the dates of the exams and/or quizzes. You can also download e-copy of the syllabus or lab schedule either on VOH or on our course Web site.
Refer to your course syllabus and lab schedule to determine whether on-line writing assignments are required for the course.
You can also download an e-copy of the syllabus or lab schedule either on VOH or on our course Web site.
Just like any other class, laboratory courses are filled with concepts and principles. Many students think that lab courses only deal with lab procedures and nothing else. Students always think that as long as they complete all the experiments, they should get an "A" in the class. Unfortunately, this is not true. Knowing how to perform a certain procedure does not correlate with understanding the concepts behind it. The careers that UCLA students aspire to require that students will be able to adapt to new technology that is based on fundamental concepts.
Lab courses contain as much chemical information and concepts as your regular science courses. Everything you observe and perform in the lab is based on chemical principles. This is why the 50% rule in the exam/quizzes category is such a vital part of passing (C-) the class. Exams/quizzes evaluate your understanding of the chemical concepts behind the experiments. In other words, demonstrating your ability to be a critical thinker is one of the important goals of any class at UCLA (not just in science).
The best ways to prepare for an exam includes
(i) Reviewing all the lecture guides and your notes so that you understand the CONCEPTS. Paying attention during lectures makes studying before the exam much easier. DO NOT simply memorize the lecture guides or the lab procedures.
Lectures bridge the conceptual understanding of the material with the practical application of the procedures.
(ii) Reviewing the assigned reading materials (refer to the lab schedule).
(iii) Reviewing your reports and making sure you know and understand the concepts and calculations (especially for the group reports)
(iv) Watching the assigned technique videos on-line (refer to the lab schedule or go to our web site)
(v) Making sure you work on the practice exam questions.
(vi) Attending office hours.
(vii) Studying the materials every week and especially after each lecture. Falling behind is the biggest enemy when it comes to classes. If you keep up with the class, you should be able to do very well.
Currently, we do not provide old exams on-line nor do we provide old exams in class. We do, however, provide practice exam questions before any actual exam.
Note: Practice exam questions are not necessarily the same or similar to the actual exam. The purpose of the practice exam questions is to make sure that you are directed to focus on the concepts behind each practice question. Understanding the fundamental concepts will help you do well on the exam. All lab courses exams are CONCEPTUAL.
DO NOT SIMPLY MEMORIZE THE ANSWERS FOR THE PRACTICE QUESTIONS. MEMORIZATION DOES NOT EQUAL UNDERSTANDING!!
If you miss a lecture, please see the course instructor and ask for a copy of the lecture guide. Lecture guides are NOT available on-line.
Lecture guides are NOT complete "replicas" of the lectures given by the instructor. Lecture guides are "simplied" version of the lectures. They are designed to help you focus on the details during the lecture and later to guide you when studying for the exams/quizzes.
Don't expect that you can absorb and understand all the material just by attending the lectures. You need to make sure that you keep up with the assigned reading materials (refer to the lab schedule) and frequently attend office hours to ask questions. This is the only way to succeed in any classes (especially science classes).
If you miss a lab for any reason, you MUST contact the course instructor (NOT the teaching assistant) immediately. Lab make up is ONLY granted if you have a valid reason for the absence AND if space and chemicals are available.
If you miss an exam or a quizz, see the course instructor immediately (NOT the teaching assistant).
All the freshmen lab courses are graded on mastery basis. There is NO curve for the courses. Refer to the course syllabus for the letter grade assignment.
Lab attendance during the last day of the lab is MANDATORY.
Course grades CANNOT be given out either via email or by phone. You can check the course grade through URSA on-line .
Agreement to write a letter of recommendation is based on a variety of factors other than doing well in the class. You need to discuss the policy with each instructor. You should recognized that performance in a course taken three or four years earlier is not necessarily a good reflection of your current strengths when you are applying to graduate or medical schools or other professional schools.
If an instructor agrees to write a letter on your behalf, please allow sufficient time (at least 4 weeks) for the instructor to write the recommendation letter.
If you are interested in hiring a private chemistry tutor, go to the chemistry department undergraduate office (4009 Young Hall). The office has a list of chemistry graduate students who are willing to tutor various chemistry couses. The tutorial fees will be set between you and tutor.
Your current teaching assistant for the class CANNOT be your private tutor. This is the University policy.
Occasionally undergraduates are hired for course development in various types of projects. If you are interested, please visit one of the lab faculty for more details.
Reports (both pre-lab and post-lab) must be written in your lab notebook. Typewritten reports are NOT acceptable. However, you may use computer software (EXCEL, Delta Graph, Quattro Pro or Lotus etc.) to plot the graphs.
Due to the high demand for lab courses, we suggest that if you do need to switch the lab section, you should find a student who is officially enrolled in the section that you wish to switch into and "swap" spaces. Once you find that person, both of you need to go and see the lab instructor for the offical switch of the lab sections.
No section changes are allowed after the second week of the quarter.
Note: Section changes are restricted to time conflicts only.
Normally, teaching assistants should return the graded reports to the students in about a week but definitely no more than two weeks. If your teaching assistant has not returned any graded materials to you for at least two weeks, please see the course instructor immediately.
All cheating cases (which include submitting identical reports, lab data etc.) will be reported to the Dean of Students for appropriate actions. It is the policy of the general chemistry lab faculty as well as teaching assistants often to report all cheating cases (no matter how small) to the Dean of Students Office. In some cases, fellow students also report cheating cases to the faculty and teaching assistants. Cheating carries significant penalties. Our advice is "Don't ruin your academic record by cheating in the class". If you find yourself in a situation where cheating appears to be the only option, please speak with your instructor; there are many honest ways to deal with every situation.
Another good source of reference of what constitutes and the consequences of academic dishonesty.
All grade changes must comply with the University policy. The instructor will not lower or raise a student's grade without a legitimate reason based on student performance.
The OFFICAL evaluation of the instructor is conducted by the University NOT by the uclaprofessors Web site. Since the creation of the uclaprofessors Web site, there have been more than 13,000 students finished our first-year chemistry lab courses. Opinions on uclaprofessors.com Web site are usually submitted by only a very small fraction (amount to less than 2%) of the students that completed the First-Year chemistry lab courses here at UCLA. Whether a student wants to use that Web site as a pre-judgement of the course instructor is really a matter of personal choice.
You can check your course grade on-line through URSA.
Discussion of course grade is available through appointment only. You MUST email your instructor to set up a time for grade discussion.
Email your instructor for the final exam pick up information.