"I suspect" that Zax may care less about his students than he cares for a broken beaker. He should subject his procedures for running the class to some error analysis. The CO2 didn't work. The fats lab doesn't seem to be working either. Lectures could be half as long if he didn't use so many words!

Very wordy and confusing tests. Avoid him if you want to keep your GPA!

Zax has no idea what he's talking about. spends all his time explaining what he won't be teaching, tell awful jokes.

Yuck. I do not recommend Zax. He seems like he's a really nice guy, and I think that I could approach him with questions fairly easily but its the only lecture that I've skipped more than twice. Boring and pretty much useless lectures. No review sessions, prelims are horrible and you are very unprepared, even if you study what he teaches.

Zax reminds me of a kid that has no friends and he likes to rant about Nobel Prize winners. If you didn't take AP Chem in high school good luck!

Not a great lecturer. Doesn't cover material that appears on the prelim. The prelims aren't terrible (the final however, was fairly difficult). Textbook is great though and is basically the only thing you need to do alright. Overall, course is pretty easy, but Zax is not organized and you probably won't do any worse if you skip every lecture.

Helpful when I went to office hours, but the lectures were almost completely pointless, and the exams were basically tests in making stuff up and hoping it made sense. Half the class stopped going to lectures by the end.

For the most part, Zax's exams are measurements of God-given Chemistry brilliance, and studying is pointless. The textbook was a savior for this class, as lectures were pointless and the overall class attendance reflected this. It seemed like Zax would rather be doing research than lecturing.

not a very goos lecturer. all you can do is read the text and sit in on some of the 207 lectures. also, no practice prelims for this course, so try stealing some problem sets from your 207 buddies for practice. prelims and final very hard

Zax isn't too bad. Lecture is essentially the book but more confusing. Labs are easy, tests are a curve ball, though not impossible. It's clear that Zax doesn't want to be there, but he knows you don't either so everything is ok! Overall I'd rather take this course than 207 (which is much harder and you have to do lab write ups).

After taking CHEM 209 I felt I'm fooled... The lectures are not that bad, but unfortunately Prof.Z does not like including what he said in the exams. Wish you good luck if you really really want to take his course.

My suggestion if you are required to take this course? Wait until it gets taken over by a new professor. Being one of the few people who actually attended lecture and came in with a really good background, the prelims were still pretty tough thanks to Zax's mean-lowering exam questions that seem to have nothing to do with what we're learning

Needs to work on clarity, and making labs more relevant. Also needs to understand that no one takes chemistry by choice, everyone is there because its required.

Does not care about students. Tricky exams with many application questions.

Unwilling to help students during office hours. Dodges questions and acts condescendingly toward students. His tests have very low means. If you haven't taken AP Chemistry in high school, then you will have a lot of trouble passing this course.

If you like lectures that go on random tangents that have nothing to do with the tests, Professor Zax is the teacher for you! Worst at Cornell thus far. If you have no chemistry experience, you will likely have a very difficult time.

Zax is an amazing individual. His ability to confuse is perhaps second to none. His ability to crush the soul is also unparalleled. Since he can't be avoided, he must be endured...

Definitely not the best teacher, prelim means were always low, but didn't have to do much work to get above the mean on everything. Zax acts like he doesn't want to be there during class and his demonstrations NEVER worked. Didn't get much chemistry knowledge from him, but overall the class is boring, but not too hard.

Worst professor I've ever had. Managed to confuse the entire lecture hall almost every class.

Terribly teacher. Arrogant, annoying, and overall, useless. I learned nothing from this man.

This class was brutal. There are so many assignments due for a four credit class and there really needs to be more lecture time. Zax also was very confusing and his exams were completely off topic sometimes.

Finds a way to 'explain' concepts in the single most confusing way. Lectures tend to wander, but can provide useful examples; sometimes will give away a test answer. He's a bit of egoist, but play into it and he'll be nicer to you.

This man is awful. Don't ask questions in lecture unless you want him to pulverize you in front of every person in class. Don't go to office hours, he'll just do the same thing in private. In exams, he seems to delight in watching tears run slowly down students faces (true story). Labs and exams have zero to do with lecture. Even my TA hated him.

His office hours and not great and he is a bit arrogant. Overall the rumors are over blown, he isn't the absolute worse.

Honestly, Zax is one of the crappiest professors I've ever come in contact with. He's arrogant, demeaning, and expects you to fully understand ridiculously complex subjects that only the kids who got fives on the AP exam have a slight understanding of. This class sucks, don't even waste your time going to lecture. You rely so much on the book.

Terrible professor. He is even rude to other professors and TAs. It's so unfortunate that almost every science major has to take this course

Ugh... Zax. He's just a really difficult test-giver. Doesn't seem friendly although I've never actually tired going to his office hours specifically. Enjoyed his lectures for the most part. It's not his fault chem 2070 is designed to weed people out. Be prepared to work hard.

Totally unapproachable and tough, but the stigma around Zax and 2070 is a bit overblown. I got an A in the class without taking AP Chem and while I worked for it, it's not necessary to go to office hours every week. Prelims are tough, but it's chemistry, so the means are gonna be low and the curve will help you.

David Zax just has a chip on his shoulders. It seems that he is not only rude to students that approach him for help, but he is also horrible to the Department's grad students and other faculty members. Unfortunately, CHEM 2070 is a "weed out" class and a common requirement for many majors; so, it's either this or summer schoolchoose summer school

All of the hype about Zax is completely exaggerated. He's nowhere near as cruel or intimidating as previous ratings state. That being said, his lectures are way too complicated, and his exams are tough (but not unfair). If you're an incoming freshman worried about this class, don't fear. The material is manageable if you read the textbook.

I thought I used to like chemistry. His lectures are incredibly unclear unless you already solidly know the material. His tests are tough, no doubt about that. Lectures seemed to be unrelated to homework or labs--studying the homework and textbooks are the key to passing. Was fairly condescending in class. Would not recommend.