PHYSICS 5C
Physics for Life Sciences Majors: Electricity, Magnetism, and Modern Physics
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; laboratory, two hours. Requisite: course 5A. Electrostatics in vacuum and in water. Electricity, circuits, magnetism, quantum, atomic and nuclear physics, radioactivity, with applications to biological and biochemical systems. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - I have never written a review of an instructor if it’s not for extra credit before, but I made an exception for this professor due to his singular lack of respect and the dysfunctional learning environment in this course. He does not provide any recordings or written records of his lectures, which results in everyone coming to class sick or missing important material. His tests, according to him, are best studied for using lecture material, which is why it’s so peculiar that he does not provide any notes on the website or zoom recordings if you are unable to be present for an emergency or illness. He also does not provide any practice problems in the style of his tests (no numbers on a physics exam, which I have never encountered before and is not anything like the homework for this course), and does not provide us with formula sheets even though all other 5C classes I know of get to have one. He expects students to have an understanding of levels of calculus not required for this course and thinks it's funny when we do not even though this is supposed to be an algebra based class. I have taken AP calc AB and BC as well as the LS 30 series and cannot begin to understand some of the math he does casually, skipping many steps along the way. Graduate students in the tutoring zooms have told us that we shouldn’t have to know the math he is teaching us on more than one occasion. Only one person is brave enough to ask questions in class, because he will routinely respond with little jokes and one word answers, so none of the rest of us want to try. I am not a professor, but this seems like a terrible way to engage students in a difficult subject and does not make me want to learn more about anything he teaches. He also regularly discusses the shortcomings of the 5 series like lack of depth and calculus even though we are doing physics for life science majors and he clearly has a background in a different level/type of physics and does not care enough to adjust his style of teaching or topics covered to the job at hand. The average grade on both midterms we took were in the 45-55% range and he claims he’s not curving which would result in the entirety of the class failing. In any other job, if I was 50% effective at my task and callous about it, I would expect to be fired. He has said that he is grading on the sense of how well he thinks we understand the material, which is all well and good except for that I am a senior hoping to graduate next quarter and would like a more quantitative assessment that is not dependent on someone’s mood. Half of my time studying is spent decoding his notes, which are all proofs and derivations, the steps to which he does not explain adequately. The only person I feel has supported us in this course is our singular TA, who is commonly upset with Corbin’s communication style and decisions. Corbin has also made many inappropriate remarks and jokes about mental health, wearing masks, alcohol and drug use, and violence. I know we’re all adults, but I don’t really feel the need to have this present. He regularly claims that the inability to pass this class will result in our inability to succeed in graduate programs, even those not involving physics or hard math, which seems inequitable and unfair. Do not take 5C with this professor.
Winter 2024 - I have never written a review of an instructor if it’s not for extra credit before, but I made an exception for this professor due to his singular lack of respect and the dysfunctional learning environment in this course. He does not provide any recordings or written records of his lectures, which results in everyone coming to class sick or missing important material. His tests, according to him, are best studied for using lecture material, which is why it’s so peculiar that he does not provide any notes on the website or zoom recordings if you are unable to be present for an emergency or illness. He also does not provide any practice problems in the style of his tests (no numbers on a physics exam, which I have never encountered before and is not anything like the homework for this course), and does not provide us with formula sheets even though all other 5C classes I know of get to have one. He expects students to have an understanding of levels of calculus not required for this course and thinks it's funny when we do not even though this is supposed to be an algebra based class. I have taken AP calc AB and BC as well as the LS 30 series and cannot begin to understand some of the math he does casually, skipping many steps along the way. Graduate students in the tutoring zooms have told us that we shouldn’t have to know the math he is teaching us on more than one occasion. Only one person is brave enough to ask questions in class, because he will routinely respond with little jokes and one word answers, so none of the rest of us want to try. I am not a professor, but this seems like a terrible way to engage students in a difficult subject and does not make me want to learn more about anything he teaches. He also regularly discusses the shortcomings of the 5 series like lack of depth and calculus even though we are doing physics for life science majors and he clearly has a background in a different level/type of physics and does not care enough to adjust his style of teaching or topics covered to the job at hand. The average grade on both midterms we took were in the 45-55% range and he claims he’s not curving which would result in the entirety of the class failing. In any other job, if I was 50% effective at my task and callous about it, I would expect to be fired. He has said that he is grading on the sense of how well he thinks we understand the material, which is all well and good except for that I am a senior hoping to graduate next quarter and would like a more quantitative assessment that is not dependent on someone’s mood. Half of my time studying is spent decoding his notes, which are all proofs and derivations, the steps to which he does not explain adequately. The only person I feel has supported us in this course is our singular TA, who is commonly upset with Corbin’s communication style and decisions. Corbin has also made many inappropriate remarks and jokes about mental health, wearing masks, alcohol and drug use, and violence. I know we’re all adults, but I don’t really feel the need to have this present. He regularly claims that the inability to pass this class will result in our inability to succeed in graduate programs, even those not involving physics or hard math, which seems inequitable and unfair. Do not take 5C with this professor.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - I took this class during the corona quarter as well so please keep that in mind. Here's a breakdown of the class: 10% HW 15% Lab 20% MT1 20% MT2 35% Final Jiang's lectures were pretty dry (perhaps because I wasn't that interested in the material), but I think he explains things pretty well. He recorded his zoom lectures so I ended up watching them on CCLE at a faster speed. He kind of has an accent if that bothers any of you at all, but it didn't make that much of a difference for me. He did open note midterms on MasteringPhysics with 4 multi-part questions. Each part had 3 tries and if you did the homework he assigned and maybe the problems at the end of each chapter, you were pretty much set to get a 100. The homework he assigned each week was usually 7 or 8 mastering problems which were pretty easy if you a) went to lecture or b) read the book. I personally didn't take the final because of everything that happened at the end of this quarter, and he was kind enough to let us take an optional final. I looked at the final and it wasn't too bad as long as you paid attention in class and did the practice final he sent , but I was thoroughly checked out by the end of spring so it looked hard to me. Anyway, Jiang is a really sweet professor
Spring 2020 - I took this class during the corona quarter as well so please keep that in mind. Here's a breakdown of the class: 10% HW 15% Lab 20% MT1 20% MT2 35% Final Jiang's lectures were pretty dry (perhaps because I wasn't that interested in the material), but I think he explains things pretty well. He recorded his zoom lectures so I ended up watching them on CCLE at a faster speed. He kind of has an accent if that bothers any of you at all, but it didn't make that much of a difference for me. He did open note midterms on MasteringPhysics with 4 multi-part questions. Each part had 3 tries and if you did the homework he assigned and maybe the problems at the end of each chapter, you were pretty much set to get a 100. The homework he assigned each week was usually 7 or 8 mastering problems which were pretty easy if you a) went to lecture or b) read the book. I personally didn't take the final because of everything that happened at the end of this quarter, and he was kind enough to let us take an optional final. I looked at the final and it wasn't too bad as long as you paid attention in class and did the practice final he sent , but I was thoroughly checked out by the end of spring so it looked hard to me. Anyway, Jiang is a really sweet professor
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2020 - Class Structure was very VERY kind: - 40% problem sets (no Mastering Physics) - 15% lab - 10% discussion participation - 10% midterm 1 - 10% midterm 2 - 15% final I liked this class. Professor Mills was extremely accommodating and poured so many hours into this class: 2 hours of office hours 2-3 times a week, attending every discussion, staying after class to answer questions. There was always support offered and available to students, and Professor Mills was very receptive to feedback. She offered us revisions after every major exam (final included), and had a huge emphasis on the teaching/learning aspect of the course: in her eyes, as long as the resources and opportunities she offered were contributing to our improved physics understanding, she would continue to make them available to us. There were some organizational issues with the class, but that can be attributed to the fact that this was Professor Mills' first time teaching Physics 5C. With that came the responsibility of creating completely new course materials (problem sets and exams) as we went along in the quarter, and in my opinion, she executed fairly well and always ensured the situation was fair to students. Now that these materials have been created, I imagine that future iterations of the course will be even more successful. I do recommend Professor Mills for Physics 5C!
Summer 2020 - Class Structure was very VERY kind: - 40% problem sets (no Mastering Physics) - 15% lab - 10% discussion participation - 10% midterm 1 - 10% midterm 2 - 15% final I liked this class. Professor Mills was extremely accommodating and poured so many hours into this class: 2 hours of office hours 2-3 times a week, attending every discussion, staying after class to answer questions. There was always support offered and available to students, and Professor Mills was very receptive to feedback. She offered us revisions after every major exam (final included), and had a huge emphasis on the teaching/learning aspect of the course: in her eyes, as long as the resources and opportunities she offered were contributing to our improved physics understanding, she would continue to make them available to us. There were some organizational issues with the class, but that can be attributed to the fact that this was Professor Mills' first time teaching Physics 5C. With that came the responsibility of creating completely new course materials (problem sets and exams) as we went along in the quarter, and in my opinion, she executed fairly well and always ensured the situation was fair to students. Now that these materials have been created, I imagine that future iterations of the course will be even more successful. I do recommend Professor Mills for Physics 5C!
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2022 - I thought this was great class. Niemann really cares about his students and their learning, so if you put in the effort an A is very attainable. His tests weren't bad if you went to office hours and really worked to understand the material. My advice is to go over the homework questions and the practice tests and focus on how equations and concepts match up to multiple choice questions asked. As for the free response, go to Niemann's review sessions before each test, he gives you lots of hints as to what concepts he'll be testing for.
Spring 2022 - I thought this was great class. Niemann really cares about his students and their learning, so if you put in the effort an A is very attainable. His tests weren't bad if you went to office hours and really worked to understand the material. My advice is to go over the homework questions and the practice tests and focus on how equations and concepts match up to multiple choice questions asked. As for the free response, go to Niemann's review sessions before each test, he gives you lots of hints as to what concepts he'll be testing for.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - Present Time (Feb 2021): Hello My Name is Lester (Great Grandson of David Prescott Barrows 1st UC President) I REPEAT: I rescind all my respect towards professors Yao, Sayani, Johnson, Chen, Tarr, Pau, Barnese, Williams, Gutierrez...EVERY STUDENT HAS CHEATED AT UCLA EXTENSION FOR THE SAKE OF COVID19 ADVANTAGE. I AM ASHAMED TO HAVE THESE COURSES AS PART OF APPLICATIONS TO MEDICAL SCHOOL... Nice Lester of the Past: Who wants to go to Medical School or any other professional graduate-level subject in your future? Take Dr. Jacqueline Pau's class. She is a very challenging professor, so make sure you are on top of your readings, lecture notes, homework, quizzes, self and group labs. All of these requirements in her class seems to be a huge load, but in graduate-level courses and/or professional schools, the load they provide would be more than what you would expect. These things are more of future prospects in education, but the homework she provides prepares you for her exams and the MCAT. The quizzes she gives provides the conceptual framework on how the world works and to further give you a better grasp of the equations you learn per lecture. Her lecture slides are detailed (equation sense) and she connects videos from Pearson, to provide the extra buffer to understand the material. In the midst of COVID-19, Dr. Pau has excelled in learning the logistics of canvas, zoom, and other communication platforms. Remote instruction doesn't do her justice, if you have the opportunity to take her course in-person please do. She has beautiful handwriting, and she sets up tables in preparation for the exam. She enjoys physics and I respect people who have the capacity to teach the subject. I was never good at physics until I took her. I always averaged a B in physics in other schools, but with her, and hard work, I rose up to an A+. I have developed confidence in my studies in preparation for the MCAT and other derivative exams for international schools. Just remember to be patient, and formulate your questions properly so she knows how to provide the ideal help for you. Never be afraid to ask her questions. She will never spoon feed you answers, she wants you to challenge yourself because it will give you more power in the future.
Spring 2020 - Present Time (Feb 2021): Hello My Name is Lester (Great Grandson of David Prescott Barrows 1st UC President) I REPEAT: I rescind all my respect towards professors Yao, Sayani, Johnson, Chen, Tarr, Pau, Barnese, Williams, Gutierrez...EVERY STUDENT HAS CHEATED AT UCLA EXTENSION FOR THE SAKE OF COVID19 ADVANTAGE. I AM ASHAMED TO HAVE THESE COURSES AS PART OF APPLICATIONS TO MEDICAL SCHOOL... Nice Lester of the Past: Who wants to go to Medical School or any other professional graduate-level subject in your future? Take Dr. Jacqueline Pau's class. She is a very challenging professor, so make sure you are on top of your readings, lecture notes, homework, quizzes, self and group labs. All of these requirements in her class seems to be a huge load, but in graduate-level courses and/or professional schools, the load they provide would be more than what you would expect. These things are more of future prospects in education, but the homework she provides prepares you for her exams and the MCAT. The quizzes she gives provides the conceptual framework on how the world works and to further give you a better grasp of the equations you learn per lecture. Her lecture slides are detailed (equation sense) and she connects videos from Pearson, to provide the extra buffer to understand the material. In the midst of COVID-19, Dr. Pau has excelled in learning the logistics of canvas, zoom, and other communication platforms. Remote instruction doesn't do her justice, if you have the opportunity to take her course in-person please do. She has beautiful handwriting, and she sets up tables in preparation for the exam. She enjoys physics and I respect people who have the capacity to teach the subject. I was never good at physics until I took her. I always averaged a B in physics in other schools, but with her, and hard work, I rose up to an A+. I have developed confidence in my studies in preparation for the MCAT and other derivative exams for international schools. Just remember to be patient, and formulate your questions properly so she knows how to provide the ideal help for you. Never be afraid to ask her questions. She will never spoon feed you answers, she wants you to challenge yourself because it will give you more power in the future.
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