Literally the goat. Super engaging and caring about each student. Remembers everyone's name by week two. Heavily based on OWL assignments and lectures are on OWL, which helps to practice for exams.

Professor Taffet brings great enthusiasm to every one of his lectures. He is very accessible, will answer your emails quickly, and has incredibly flexible office hours. However, there is a lack of emphasis on important information in his lectures, making his lectures slightly irrelevant to the OWLs and exams.

Extremely easy, the practice exams were exactly like the actual exams. He literally replies to emails 1 minute after you send it, even on weekends, even on breaks. He is very passionate about teaching, and will gladly take time out of his day and lecture to make sure you understand. Lectures are admittedly fast-paced, but clear and worthwhile.

Professor Taffet's enthusiasm about chemistry is why I'm taking him again for 112. He is always encouraging and motivating. This class requires a lot of studying because not everything is covered in lecture: the OWLs are indispensable and read all of the chapters. Fast lectures, but he clarifies everything you're struggling with in office hours.

Prof. Taffet is a standout professor who cares about his students more than any other professor I have met. His love for chemistry is palpable and he truly teaches with a passion and even some humour. He is extremely caring to his students and is extremely accessible and responds very quickly.

Professor Taffet is amazing! His enthusiasm for chemistry makes learning really fun. He cares about building a strong foundation, so DON'T SKIP YOUR OWLS and STUDY FOR EXAMS. Full of energy, sometimes he talks too fast but he's very accessible outside of class and more than willing to go over material with students. Truly an AMAZING professor!

Have him for 112 . He is awesome. Attendance is mandatory however halfway thru semester he offers bonus questions in lecture that if you get right make up for missed lectures. Offers optional extra credit quizzes as well. HW all due on the last day of class, but there are lots of OWLs. Exams are exactly like practice. So easily accessibly

He really cares about his students, there is not a moment where he will not be available, he holds long office hours, schedules times to help and he responds to emails within minutes, he's patient when explaining the topics. During lecture he can get really excited and use difficult words. He is extremely smart and passionate about what he teaches.

He does really care about your understanding of content. I don't really understand all the bad reviews on here regarding difficulty. This class really isn't hard at all if you put in the work (staying on top of homework) and study practice exams he provide. The only thing I don't like about him is that he isn't accommodating of personal issues.

He is super knowledgeable and teaches the class as if you are too. Lectures are super dense but he is always available for office hours. He's available in person or on zoom nearly 24/7 and deeply cares about the success of each and every student.

This guy might be a lizard person. But he's more genuinely caring than any human professor I've had, and it shows. He talks so fast that lectures aren't worth much, but he is available nearly all the time for office hours either in person or online. He will greet every student by their name and do everything in his power to ensure your success.

He cares about your success. This class is really easy if you just put in the work to understand the material. Practice exams mirror the real exams, sometimes he might throw some curveballs in there, but it's expected. A lot of homework, it takes time, so don't wait last minute and do ALL of it, because it helps you understand everything.

Taffet is such a great person. He's super caring about his students and will instantly answer any emails and is super accessible outside of class if you need help. His lectures go by really fast and he talks fast as well but i'd say his exams are very fair for the most part.

He responds to emails really fast. cares greatly of his students. I personally did not learn much from his lectures, I learned from the homework instead and that was great. I do recommend showing up to his classes for the majority of the time and doing the homework a lot. Classes sometimes have bonus question

I don't understand some of these responses articulating that Prof Taffet is unsympathetic; although I struggled to understand his lectures and Exam 3 was SO TOUGH T^T he was brimming with kindness. Don't expect free handouts (though the bonuses kinda are). It's chemistry, and you get what you get. Just be willing to learn, and you'll be all set.

Personally, I liked 10% grading weight on attendance instead of quizzes. If you're the type of person who attends lecture, take his class. He provides lots of extra-credit (in class Q's, some owl hw, quiz, PLTL). I don't understand why he sent academic alert even though I did good on exam 1, but he cares students and tries to help everyone learn.

Professor Taffet teaches a tough course but makes jokes/adds in pop culture references/sings/etc to keep the class's attention. Attend office hours while doing Owl homework, and ask him to explain what problems mean conceptually! This is the ticket to a good grade! Very understanding professor. Super sweet, but the material is pretty hard.

Filled with energy, he does everything he can to help you. He'll meet with you at 9 pm on a Thursday and then 8 am on a Sunday. His in-class problems have QR codes that you scan on your phone, so you don't need to bring an iClicker. He then thoroughly annotates solutions to these problems, which is really helpful when doing the homework.

Like a lot of the reviews say, he has a ton of energy. Every class has a bunch of problems that break up very thorough slides. The problems are aligned perfectly with the assignments, and the due dates aren't until the end of the semester. He always wants to help in office hours, which you can schedule for whenever works for you.

His lectures have a bunch of practice problems that help prepare you for the test.

He's got lots of interesting takes on complex material and really useful shortcuts on the math.

He's really nice. Some of the sections on OWL were super hard, so I reached out for help. He would spend as many hours as necessary to make everything clear!

So much homework, but he's there for you every step of the way. He'll even meet with you on weekends to go over the homework and practice test. He's a lifesaver.

It's pretty amazing to witness how much content and passion he packs into every lecture. I really respect how much energy and effort he puts into teaching us.

This class was a whirlwind, but Dr. Taffet kept everything together. So many topics get covered in this class, so OWL after OWL due date will feel pretty intimidating at first. But Dr. Taffet's availability makes things so much better.

I actually had fun taking this class, and that's a credit to Dr. Taffet's teaching style. He's the most enthusiastic professor I've ever met.

He makes awesome information sheets, which make the math-heavy parts of the class simpler.

He is so incredibly passionate on the topic and teaches extremely well. He always has a smile on his face!

I am someone who HATED chemistry. I was also super bad at it as it never really made sense in my mind. Taffet explains his lectures very well and uses humor to keep you engaged. He takes breaks during class to take questions and make sure you understand what we're going over. He's also never taken more than a couple hours to answer my emails.

Taffet is definitely knowledgeable in Chemistry and lectures well but can be overstimulating for some with his energy. Would recommend and attending office hours will get you a good grade for sure.

Happy to solve problems, there are often extra credit questions, and if you have reviewed thoroughly and completed the homework and practice exam, the exam will be very easy.

Professor Taffet lectures on the problem-solving techniques you need to complete the OWLs efficiently, presents in-class exercises taken straight from the OWL that he goes through in depth, and builds exams based on the OWL homework. As a result, it is straightforward to succeed in his class.

Take Elliot Taffet, I don't care who says otherwise take this man. The GREATEST thing about this man is that THE FINAL IS THE PRACTICE TEST VERBATIM. I'm talking question and answer is exactly the same. I believe I was out within ten minutes. Also, he will actually learn your name, first and last, before you ever meet him.

I have never met a professor more dedicated to both their students and their craft. Dr. Taffet is extremely dedicated to each and every one of his students and no joke, he wants you to succeed above and beyond, maybe more than you want to succeed tbh. PLEASE take the class with him you'll get an easy A

He's a bit of an odd man but in an endearing way. I went to lectures purely for attendance points because I'd be lying if I said I understood him more than 25% of the time. However, you can tell he cares deeply for his student. Go to his office hours, he lets you in on a lot if you show your dedication! He purposely makes exam 2 the hardest.

Elliot Taffet- who by that way has accumulated (soon to be) 2 distinguished teaching awards in his short UMass Career, cares more about teaching than any professor I have ever taken. If you are dedicated even if not naturally gifted Dr. Taffet will go the extra TEN miles to help you understand. Highest recommendation without reservation.

The ability prof Taffet has to explain information is like no other. I enjoyed his class immensely even though it was difficult at times. Exams are not hard but would highly recommend studying for them. If you are ever confused GO TO OFFICE HOURS. You can tell he loves what he is doing behind the passion he shows.

Elliot is that dude. Easily one of the best and memorable professors I've had so far. Chem is usually a hard subject for me, but I found myself doing way better than I ever thought I would. I will be honest and say that it's kind of hard to follow along with him during lecture but if you put in the work you'll be fine. Definitely reach out too.

Elliot is a great professor. He explained things really thoroughly and had lots of practice questions. For our final, he gave us questions from previous exams. Can be confusing/fast-paced at times, but has many office hours to help. There are 6(?) unexcused absences, but going to all the lectures gives you extra credit. Would recommend

Professor Taffet is one of the best professors I have ever had. I always thought I was not good at chem until I took CHEM 112 with him. You can tell he loves what he does and loves helping students. I would definitely recommend taking this class. The material is hard but if you go to office hours he will explain it very well! GO to class!!

He was so amazing and interactive! By far one of the best chemistry courses I have ever taken. I am very bad at chemistry but still managed to succeed in this class because he is clear with material you will be tested on. Can't recommend him enough!

exam 2 was most difficult, but like he said do all your owls and you will be golden, 3% extra credit of a grade available, remembered my name first time I went to office hour

He wants everyone to do well in his class and will work with you. He cares a lot about his students and has office hours every single day. If you do all the homework you should be able to do well in the class.

His slides are filled with information and he talks very fast. He is very passionate about this course. The homework is honestly a lot. There are three midterms and a cumulative final. He provides a practice exam for each. The final consists of questions from the other three exams. He is easily accessible, especially with emails.

You can tell Taffet cares alot about his students. I never went to lecture because I took AP chem and already knew all the material. Exams very easier than easy, used alot of previous OWL problems. Final exam was identical to the practice final. But, I heard he changed it and he uses previous exams as his final. Have a solid understanding in chem.

I definitely recommend taking his class. Professor Taffet does a very good job at explaining the material in an easy to understand method and he is always willing to help you in any way. I would definitely recommend listening to him on how to approach this course as it will help you get an A.

Professor Taffet is very good at lecturing in a way that is engaging to his students and helps them learn, often coming up with creative ways to help people understand a certain concept. On top of this, he is very flexible and easy to work with if you ever have any scheduling conflicts. Absolutely would recommend.

Dr. Taffet is the boy. He's a little funky but he's the most enthusiastic and caring professor I've had. Though he talks incredibly fast, chemistry is his life, he is available pretty close to 24/7 for office hours and will stop at nothing to ensure that you understand the material. Took him for 111 and 112, and would have taken him for Orgo too.

Daddy Taffy is an absolute gem—goofy, hilarious, and effortlessly engaging. His lectures are packed with witty humor, playful sex jokes, and a lighthearted approach that keeps students entertained while actually learning. He makes even the driest topics fun, and his warm, charismatic personality creates a welcoming classroom vibe.

Taffy Bear was very caring and inspirational in his lectures. Had funny analogies and made the lectures more interesting. Also does not require and iClicker which saved me money at least for this semester. 3 exams and 1 final, but the final was easy because it was legit the same questions as on the three previous exams plus the practice.

Okay I am TERRIBLE at chem and I do not blame Taffet at all. His lectures are pretty wordy but he is amazing at explaining concepts. He responds to emails within an hour and always has office hours. He is SUPER funny (explains concepts with sex jokes) and very caring. He tries to develop 1 on 1 relationships with students which is appreciated

Taffet is a bit quirky, but once you overlook that, he's a great prof. He's accessible nearly 24/7 outside of class and clearly wants all his students to succeed. Exams were about 80% copy and paste from the practice test and homework deadlines were very generous.

Very nice guy. Cares a lot about the material and the students. I took TT classes so the lectures felt incredibly boring and long but the practice problems he gave during lecture would help me stay engaged.

Dr. Taffet is a very smart guy, one of the smartest people I've ever met. His class can be challenging, however, the exams are 80% of the practice exams. He will throw in a couple of conceptual questions. The final exam is easy. Do the owl homework and get perfect attendance if you can (will result in 115% for attendance portion of the grade).

Elliot was a great teacher for this course! I recommend going to his office hours as he is very accessible, and sometimes lectures can be dense, but he is able to explain well during office hours! Owls due at the end of the semester, attendance counts as 115% if you go to all the classes and the final is based off of practice exam questions!

He's a good professor that really wants all of his students to succeed. If you are coming in with no background knowledge of chem, he is heavily accessible with his office hours in which he will go over concepts. I personally thought that this class and his exams are easy to leverage by just grinding OWL questions (with a few conceptual Qs).

He really goes in-depth on OWL problems, distilling challenging concepts down to their most simplistic elements. In-class questions keep you constantly engaged, and they give you 15% extra credit on Attendance by just doing them all and attending every class. He also gives a ton of exam-review problems that help you integrate the concepts.

He provides a ton of resources that help you get ahead and stay ready for the exams. Hands down one of the most intense Lecturers cuz he'll maximize those 75 minutes of class time to give you everything he has to help you understand the content. Pre-recorded lectures, quizzes, and TA exam reviews are great resources outside of class.

Honestly, the key to this class is OneNote. There's a ton of practice problems on there, clearly labeled by the OWL unit the question was pulled from on the homework. After every class, you get a Canvas announcement about what homework assignments relate to the last lecture and what to expect for next lecture. It really helps you stay on top.

If you follow the Preview, Perform, Review mantra, you're golden. Lectures have real-world examples like hydrogen bonding in DNA, and new content is broken up with plenty of practice problems. We even got a couple of extra videos on the hard stuff like ICED-to-ICE tables and names to formulas for acids. The material quickly builds on itself though.

There's no limit to the level of detail he's willing to provide, so go to office hours! And there's the instantaneous response to email on weekends! A lot of this class is about staying focused and putting in the work, but Dr. Taffet leads by example through Implicit Office Hours held every morning on Saturday, Sunday, and any day of the week!

He's got lots to say, but there'a a lot to get done in this class. I liked how the Canvas Gradebook was set up so that I could get access to exam scores the night of and figure out how I was doing with all the correct weightings. Grading is clearly structured to help students who struggle with exams but want to do well.

Comes up with nice acronyms like NOF and SRF with a clear ability to break things down along with answering questions. Super helpful during office hours, and I kinda wish I started going sooner. Repetition is key, so make sure to keep reviewing the OWLs and request a timer reset on your practice exam.

AQICs and then OneNote annotations kept me engaged and left me with a sense of how to approach homework problems. There's good correspondence between the questions we have to do for homework and the questions that we focus on in class. I started to preview the content in the textbook and then look for deeper insight from the lectures.

Taffet is extremely passionate about everything. The lectures can be heavy and go fast, but all the material he goes over is given to you and he is VERY accessible outside of class. He has amazing office hours and it is really worth going to them.

Extremely helpful review sessions before exams and always willing to answer students' questions. Awesome lecturing style that emphasizes active learning with in-class questions. Good philosophy of Preview, Perform, Review to stay on top of the material and build a solid foundation for chem.

Although Professor Taffet's lectures can be fast and dense, he truly cares about each and every individual that takes his class. He uses plenty of references and metaphors to explain chemical concepts, which sometimes work well, but other times make things a bit more confusing (entering class already familiar with the concepts helps this).

While he provides a ton of resources for this class, lectures are unique because they give you creative and more accessible ways of understanding the material. They also help you build a conceptual foundation for the exams, which require you to have a firm grasp of the connections between the different units.

Probably more challenging due to the rigor of the in-class questions (they're all at the OWL Mastery level of difficulty) but definitely worth it for the thorough and in-depth explanations. Midterms require you to understand the connections between the different topics, but the exam reviews are helpful for this. Plenty of office hours!

A lot of lecture time is spent on practice problems, and that's a good thing. The solutions are annotated and explained for however long it takes for students to understand (he always pauses to answer student questions), and the in-class questions are very similar to what shows up on the homework and exams.

I definitely had to ask a lot of questions throughout the semester, especially conceptual ones, but Dr. Taffet always has a clear and detailed explanation while giving you as much time as you need to process what he's saying in office hours. Lectures tend to be as heavy as the exams, so they're good prep.

You can tell he genuinely cares about his students and the material, which is rare. Definitely study with OneNote and make sure to take the practice quiz on OWL. Tests get harder throughout the semester (except the final was relatively chill). Don't miss class!

He actually cares if you pass the class or not

He is very articulate.

Dr. Taffet is one of the best professors at UMass. He is so caring and really wants students to succeed. His lectures can feel fast-paced, but since he has office hours every day (even weekends) your questions can be answered so easily. Exams are difficult but if you study what he tells you to and fully understand the concepts you will be fine.

Dr. Taffet is one of the best professors. He is always accessible outside of class. He tries his best to make chemistry class as engaging and interesting as possible. He's very intelligent and lectures at a fast pace, but if you go to him with questions, he's always able to answer them. He cares about every single student.

Phenomenal professor. Lectures can be a bit hard to follow at times but if you apply yourself, they're completely manageable.

He's lowkey goated as a prof you just gotta pay attention and be decent at chem.