For his first semester, Dr. Tainter did a great job lecture-wise. He was willing to answer any questions during class and put a lot of effort into making the concepts as clear as possible. The tests in this class are institutional and purposefully difficult, so you will still have to put in work outside of class, especially if you haven't taken AP.

His lectures were basically outlines from the chapter, but he presented all the information clearly. His in-class examples were fine, and he did a good job answering questions. However, the tests are institutional and meant to be tricky. You will need to put in a lot of extra time to get a good grade.

Dr. Tainter is an amazing professor, especially for being so new. I really appreciated his lectures and advice. You can tell he really does care about his students and that they not only succeed but also fully understand basic Chemistry. His tests are uber-hard but it's totally worth it. He will prepare you for the rigor of upper level STEM classes

Good lecturer- funny, and engaging as well as knowledgable.

Dr. Tainter is the man. I never once opened the textbook, I only went to his lectures and took notes. I found his teaching style to be very clear and straightforward. Everyone I've talked to who had him last semester is sad he wasn't an option for this one (that's only four people but still).

Tainter is a good lecturer. He is helpful outside of class, but he wants you to have good questions. Homework is not too bad, but you definitely should work more problems outside of class. I feel that reading the book is optional, but still have it for charts and practice problems. Remember that this course is completely designed by the department

Professor Tainter's lectures made 8 a.m. gen. chem very bearable. He starts every class with an interesting couple of facts before jumping into material. He is very neat with his notes and makes very good use of diagrams and drawings. Overall, his lectures are very simple and very clear. He is open to questions and very helpful with his answers.

I really enjoyed Dr. Tainter's class! He presented all the topics we needed to be successful very clearly and answered some questions in class. His office hours were also very helpful. I also read each chapter of the textbook. Although the tests were still incredibly difficult, it was a fair class.

Pro: clear grading expectations, responsive to e-mail, overall good and kind person, sometimes responsive to student feedback Con: write-ups for labs are tough and extensive (usually 10ish pages), concepts don't make sense in class, hard final, doesn't really answer questions directly

Dr. Tainter is great. He is a clear, engaging lecturer that makes sure the material is understood. He is extremely accessible outside of class. Gen Chem is a very difficult course, and it really helps to have previous chem experience, but Dr. Tainter will work with you to get you the grade you need.

I took chem 1601 twice with Dr. Tainter. The first time, I thought he was intimidating and a horrible professor but I realized I was just frustrated with the material. He is actually very clear during his lectures and really helpful in office hours! Chem 1601 is a major weed-out class so you MUST do all the readings, problem sets, etc to succeed!

Tainter is a great choice for 1601. Lectures are engaging and he works at a much more reasonable pace than other professors. He is accessible outside of class, and definitely get the sense he wants you to do well. Definitely an easier class if you have AP chem background,( i didnt and office hours helps). Ill get an A- or B+ depending on final.

Lectures are very clear and understandable, although the pace is quick. Aleks online can be a B**** but you gotta get through it. Tests are tricky and class pace would be challenging for anyone who has not taken AP or does not have a solid foundation in chemistry.

Super nice guy. The class was really small because it was an 8 am, but it's worth taking Dr Tainter. Really loves chemistry, teaches at a good pace, and even gives fun facts at the beginning of class each day.

good professor. hard class but he explains well and is very helpful during office hours

Dr. Tainter is a great professor and a nice person. His lectures are very clear and he frequently pauses in his lectures to ask if anyone has any questions, and takes care to answer questions asked by people on zoom. I feel that he does want students to succeed and I never felt him coming across as condescending. His lectures are kind of fun too.

The best chemistry professor I've ever had. He's always prepared for lectures and does answer questions well. He prepares you well for the tests. Overall a great teacher despite the nature of the class.

He is passionate about the topic and truly cares for his students, even though it might seem like it at first. His is very thoughtful about giving students time to ask questions. He apparently put effort into making lectures more interesting and understandable. Glad to have taken his class this semester!

This is a very difficult class that requires a LOT of work on your end to succeed. However, it is not impossible. I would say most people get C's in this course. Tainter is a great guy and a solid lecturer. He's friendly during office hours, just come prepared with questions.

Dr. Tainter is my favorite professor so far at Vanderbilt. His lectures are amazing and he covers every topic in great detail in a straight forward way. The class in general and tests are fairly difficult but if you put forth the effort a good grade is very attainable. Definitely taking Dr. Tainter again.

Considering Todd teaches a 8am, I would argue Tainter is the best option for gen Chem at Vandy. At the end of the day, the work you do outside of class is what will dictate your grade. With that being said, Tainter is a good lecturer that starts off each class with a fun fact - he even works in important exceptions to his PowerPoints.

he's a good lecturer and explains stuff clearly; prob the best option other than Dr. Todd. gen chem is super hard no matter who you take it from so success is just based on work done outside class. reading the textbook is useful to really understand the concepts

Professor Tainter does a really good job of explaining chemistry, so he is definitely a good option for students who have not taken AP chem. He moves fairly quickly through the material, but he gives lots of practice problems, which are very helpful. His lectures are also helpful.

Chem is a tough class no matter who the professor is. However, Dr. Tainter does a great job to make it as easy as possible (its still very hard). He's helpful during office hours, and is a super friendly guy. Very organized but fast-paced lectures. If you have to take chem, take it with Dr. Tainter.

Dr. Tainter is very knowledgeable and his lectures are well thought out and organized. He has powerpoint slides that you can print out that serve as guided notes with blanks and example problems. This is very helpful during lecture and makes the material very clear. His lectures are easy to follow and I really felt I understood the material.

Great at explaining things. Really nice too.

People say Todd is the best but I really think its Tainter. I'd compare my lecture notes with other students and Tainter's were the most in depth and comprehensive. He gives very difficult topaht questions after lecture each day that are honestly harder than exam questions a lot of the time. He prepared us so well for exams! Tainter is the man!

Gen chem is hard no matter the professor, but Tainter has Powerpoints for every lecture and does a fantastic job explaining concepts. I really feel like I got a much deeper understanding of each topic we did. Fast paced class and extra credit on Top Hat. Prepares you really well for the tests, be prepared for an extremely difficult final

Tainter is a very good professor. His class is primarily lectures, TopHat questions and discussion quizzes which are very difficult. Exams are brutal but with constant work and practice you should be fine

Dr. Tainter is your best choice (up there with Dr. Todd) for Gen Chem. TopHat is very helpful to make sure you're learning concepts and Dr. Tainter is always available for help in office hours, after class, or in a separate meeting. Tests are VERY difficult without a strong chem background. Be ready to put in a lot of work and time to succeed.

Gen Chem will likely be difficult regardless of your professor, and if you struggle with chem or don't have much experience, you should probably not enroll in a class that only meets twice a week. I found Tainters lectures to be very engaging and thought they prepared me extremely well for the exams, and I will be taking his class again for 1602.

Favorite Chem Professor, I love how he gives us notes to write one so we are not writing everything. He writes the discussion and top hat so thats a plus too.

Professor Tainter is an awesome choice for Gen Chem. I never read the textbookonly attended lectures + office hours, and I always felt prepared for exams. Chem took a ton of practice problems, but that's how it is for any teacher. His lectures often had examples of exceptions that other professors didn't cover and would often show up on exams.

Gen Chem is hard regardless but Tainter really makes it more breathable. His lectures are SUPER well-structured. Make sure you understand the materials as you go along and you'll be fine. He does a good job picking out the materials that will be on the tests. His office hours doesn't really help but you'll be ok doing problems on your own.

He's a pretty solid lecturer and you don't really need to read the textbook. Tests though are kind of messed up because they put weirdly specific questions on the true/false & < >. Overall a nice guy and solid choice but be ready to work hard.

I took Professor Tainter’s class for both Chem 1601 and 1602. Both semesters he has been amazing! He provides the slides to you before class so you can take notes with him which really helped me understand the material better. Instead of scrambling to write everything down I could really process what he was saying and do all of it with him.

I had both tainter and todd.his lecture-style notes were more suited to my learning and I think that's the biggest difference between them. If you learn better from example problems tainter is your guy (he makes the discussion q's) but if you learn better thru textbook summary, do todd! depends on ur learning style not who's "easier"! gl with chem!

literal DILF.

Same thing as Chem 1601 if you liked him for that you'll like him for this

Tainter is an excellent professor who gives very clear lectures that cut out fluff so you can focus on the important stuff. Powerpoint notes can be downloaded and reviewed for ease of studying. Good sense of humor and very approachable. Teaches by the exam, which is helpful. Highly recommend. Difficulty rating is based on the class, not the prof.

The teacher is great. He's a very respectable guy and teaches well. He cares about his students and can be pretty funny at times. Class is very hard but that's expected with a chem class.

Professor Tainter is a good option for Gen Chem if you took AP Chem in high school. If you didn't, he might confuse you a bit, so just refer back to the textbook for help. He gives fun facts before every lecture and is overall a super nice guy.

he was an amazing professor for gen chem. the class itself was very hard even if you have a chem background. he's very chill and welcoming, so you could ask him just about any question you have. He gives fun facts before every class which is also cool.

Prof Tainter is a very funny and kind chem professor. He teaches gen chem very well and will always be open to answering any questions you may have. Gen chem, in general, is extremely difficult here at Vanderbilt, but he makes it a little less daunting.

Gen Chem is a hard class regardless of the professor but Dr. Tainter prepared his students the best. He moves quickly and sometimes gives too much information, however I never had to read the textbook once during the class because he gives you everything you need to know for the test. He is very understanding and accessible outside of class.

Dr. Tainter is (in my opinion) the best gen chem professor offered at Vanderbilt. I actually enjoyed going to his lectures, however, do not solely depend on his lectures to get a decent grade like I did. I messed up big time by doing that but I recognize it as my own fault- I will be taking him for 1602 and I am excited honestly.

If you're signing up for Gen Chem at Vanderbilt, prepare to be in for a wild, extremely difficult academically, and draining ride. Dr.Tainter was very helpful in offering tips for studying, exams, etc. He also is a good lecturer, and genuinely cares about his students that are trying their best (aka attending office hours)

Dr. Tainter is actually amazing. Like hands down the absolute best choice you can take for Chem. The tests are literally the same no matter who you have so trust me take him! He's the kind of professor you could do bad on an exam and still be like I fully blame myself and not him in anyway. He is so nice and made freshman year chem so much better.

Gen. chem sucks, but Dr. Tainter makes it as bearable as he can. Lectures are well-planned and cover relevant material. He offers plenty of practice problems to help you learn concepts. Definitely go to class because the tests are not fun, but he does offer review sessions and old exams to look at. Great professor in a rough course.

Professor Tainter is a solid chem professor. His lectures cover everything, but he goes a little fast. However, he's always willing to answer questions and clarify anything he went over too quickly. We usually finished content early enough that we could review in class for the exams. A great choice for gen chem!!

Tainter is a good lecturer and teaches well. This class requires a lot of work, and reading the textbook is highly recommended. Go to class and try on the TopHat questions because doing so helps you learn and potentially get 3% extra credit. The Aktiv assignments are long, so starting early is best. Ingrain topics because the tests try to trick you

Gen chem is going to be unnecessarily hard no matter what, but definitely take this professor. His lectures are the clearest and he provides the most information. While he goes fast and gives a little too much detail sometimes, students in Professor Tainter's class seemed to have a better understanding of what was generally happening.

Dr. Tainter is by far the best teacher to take for Gen Chem. He's caring, knowledgeable, and his lectures are clear and engaging. He'll answer questions and wants his students to succeed. Although it's an inherently difficult course, he makes it manageable. If you take him, you're set up to do well, and have a good chance in a really tough class.

Dr. Tainter is an AMAZING Chem lecturer. Gen Chem is going to be rigorous for a lot of people, but he cares about understanding the information and being able to succeed. He's very organized and can explain things extremely well in-class and outside of class in office hours. Definitely one of the best Gen Chem professors!

Dr. Tainter is genuinely so sweet and cares about his student's success, especially those who actively make an effort to succeed (office hours key). Gen Chem is tough no matter who you have, but Tainter makes it bearable/engaging with fun facts before class. He goes fast, especially on math/prac prob, so read & come to class prepared ahead of time.

Dr. Tainter is a solid choice for gen chem. Dr. Todd writes the exams, so being in her class will probably be the most ideal. However, if you struggle to wake up for her 8 am time slot, Tainter is a great choice as well. He's good at explaining more conceptual topics, and his class is overall very enjoyable. Office hours are awkward but helpful.

Dr. Tainter is very caring, and I wish I had taken him for Chem1601. He has fill in notes but the content is def. relevant. Course structure is very similar to 1601. He always answered questions I had and is a great prof. to have. I say aim to get him or Todd for both semesters.

Dr. Tainter is genuinely the best professor and overall person I have met at Vanderbilt. He is not going to sugarcode anything or pat you on the back but he will be realistic and help you answer your questions during office hours. He is willing to give you the effort if you put in the effort. He is him... overall love him.

Tainter makes taking General Chemistry fun. He puts in the extra effort to make sure we are engaging with the material and more importantly, that we find the information fun! Additionally, the way he organizes his lectures makes it far easier to study, with clear topics on the lectures that each take up one slide.

Gen chem is a difficult class no matter who you take but his powerpoint lectures were easy to follow, he was always prepared and knowledgeable and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

Teaches tough material at an understandable pace. Stops to allow for questions and is very well spoken. Highly recommended.

Hard class in general, but not Tainter's fault. In general, things seemed best for Todd's class (extra worksheets, access to LA's) but Tainter was a close second. Clear slides and a good lecturer, willing to answer questions and used class time well. Still, did most of my learning outside class. If you can't bear the 8am, take Tainter.

Tainter provides good notes templates for lecture and is generally very clear when explaining concepts. A hard, fast-paced course in general, especially without AP chem experience, but going to his lecture was very helpful for me; I relied a lot more on just going over his slides rather than reading the textbook and ended up doing fairly well.

Dr. Tainter is the best gen chem lecturer in my opinion and he often has the highest test averages which can be attributed to his lecture style. He is pretty accessible outside of class and is very open to answering questions during lecture. For CHEM 1601 in general, exams are tricky and sig fig/units are annoying but doing Aktiv helped a lot.

Chem 1601 is a tricky class in general, but Professor Tainter is one of the best lecturers here. While he moves fast, his slides make it easy to prepare for exams, and he is very willing to answer questions during class. He has fill-in notes, so it works best to use an iPad and annotate the blank slides he provides instead of typing or using paper.

Taking Tainter's CHEM section next semester too. The CHEM 1601 curriculum is standardized for all professors, but Tainer's lecture slides and textbook tables made it much easier to prepare for exams. Todd and Tainter probable have the best slides of any professors, which is super important for test prep.

Chem 1601 is obviously a very notorious class at Vandy and no matter what professor you have, it's gonna be rough. However, professor Tainter tries to make it as approachable and easy as possible. His slides are very thorough, he's always willing to answer any questions, and his office hours are super helpful. Would 100% recommend.

He is truly a fantastic professor. His lectures are easy to understand, and he breaks down complex topics into simple ideas. If you attend lectures, earnestly do Aktiv and discussion, and read Tophat, you will excel. The chem department is highly organized at Vandy, and all the professors provide great support. 100% recommend Tainter.

1601 is notoriously a difficult class, but Tainter makes it reasonable. Lectures were engaging and prepped you well for exams. He explained material extremely clearly, and though I did not take advantage of office hours as much as I should have, friends who did said he was super helpful. If you can take him for 1601 I would definitely recommend.

Dr. Tainter is great, but the class just isn't that good. He is very nice and helpful, but this lab is just so much work for 1-credit. Long reports, hard final. An engaging professor in an unengaging lab course.

Tainter is my FAVORITE professor. I took him for 1601 and picked him again for 1602 (like many others); his averages were always slightly higher than others. He makes himself available for office hours weekly. Gen chem tests are very fair IMO, and if you just do a lot of practice problems and go to EVERY SINGLE LECTURE, you will do great!

Tainter is probably the best of the 1602 profs - he teaches the material very well but doesn't ask questions that are impossible. Gen chem 2 is a hard class with a lot of material, so you definitely have to spend outside time going over Aktivs and using other resources (organic chemistry tutor is great) to learn the material for tests.

1602 is hard but Tainter makes it bearable. He has good slides and posts the completed notes after class. He explains clearly and works through examples well. He allows questions and tries to help the class understand as best he can. I would definitely choose him again if I were to take this class again. His office hours are helpful as well!

1601/1602 are awful, but Tainter was helpful. His lectures are more “follow along” style. He responds to emails quickly and is willing to work with you.

Dr. Tainter was great—he is consistently kind and funny in class, and he truly wants you to learn the material. He really draws the focus away from exam scores and just teaches you chemistry. His in class reviews were super helpful and overall I enjoyed his lecture.

Words cannot describe how much I love Dr. Tainter! He is one of the best professors at this school, and his notes are amazing. He has mentioned to me multiple times how the greatest joy of his being a professor is seeing his students grow and succeed. Vandy is so so lucky to have him! If you take him, you will love him too :)

Best gen chem prof you could have at Vandy. Lectures were informative and interactive, and his notes are top-tier. Occasionally I got the impression that he's a little unsure of himself; he's probably naturally more shy/reserved, but he really does know his stuff and does a great job at lecturing. Take his section if you can.

IMO the best gen chem prof for visual learners. He has AMAZING lecture notes, and students in different sections always comment on how organized and thorough they are. Unlike other profs, he's never cranky and always very kind during lecture. The tophat textbook fills in any gaps in your understanding if you miss lecture.

If you actually do the work, gen chem is not that bad, tainter is the best with excellent lectures where he introduces and explains all the concepts you will need to know while still working and explaining examples which prepare you very well for the exams, he is very receptive to questions and takes his time with every student

Best chem professor at vandy. Attendance is not mandatory but if you miss a class, you miss in-class questions that count as extra credit, which could boost ur grade if needed. Homework was very straight forward and he gave you plenty of time to do it. Lecture slides were simple and he explains them well. His lectures+reading textbook=good grades

Best use of class time. Goes over slides in class. Made an office hours appointments once and he was kind of rude but his lectures were helpful.

Very nice, cares about students learning. It's a hard class regardless and his lectures can definitely move fast, but among your options, he is likely the best general chemistry professor at Vanderbilt. Good luck getting him!

GOAT great lectures that touched nearly every concept in great detail. His notes are fill-in, so you can download them to your tablet and take notes as he lectures. In class TopHat for extra credit. Office hours are good, he'll explain homework concepts to you. I felt really prepared for exams, and he was really kind during office hours.

Dr. Tainter is a great professor if you already have a background in chem, as his lectures are fast-paced and can sometimes skip over explaining high school-level chem concepts. If you don't, you're better off with Dr. Todd. I took AP Chem, so he was a great choice for me. Gen chem is not a bad course, just make sure to lock in from the start.

It's a standardized course, so all the homework/tests are the same across all of the gen chem classes. That said, Dr. Tainter is a pretty good lecturer (although it becomes pretty fast-paced, especially towards the end of the semester). Having AP Chem experience will help a lot. Taking Chem 2 so we'll see how that goes...