You were awesome Whitten. Rest in peace.

Took Whitten S10 and can't complain too much. He doesn't have an accent which is definitely a plus, although his handwriting gets small throughout every lecture. He usually spends lectures proving equations which isn't necessary, but he does do some practice problems which helps a lot. Mastering Physics problems weren't too bad and he was always available to help during OH if necessary. First midterm was somewhat easy if you knew the material, but messing up on 1 problem out of 3 (like I did) will hurt quite a bit. Something like 30% got 95+/102, while a lot of others got under 30, so average was around a 70. The second was apparently a lot harder for everyone as the average was around 50/102. If you understand Gauss's Law and Electric Potential you should be fine. The final was 7 questions of which the highest 6 were graded, and it wasn't too hard but Gauss's Law and potential appear again so it's best to learn it by then. Overall I enjoyed his class and wish I could take him for 1C but it doesn't work with my schedule. I'd recommend him.

At first his lectures are hard to understand, but eventually you get used to him and understand him. His midterms are supremely easy, but the final was a bit more tricky. overall, I'd say to take him, but be ready to learn the material yourself.

At first it's difficult to withstand his somewhat tedious lectures since he mostly does derivations of formulas and writes too small for most people to read clearly. Sometimes he doesn't give himself space so he starts writing even smaller on the blackboard. By the time he goes into Electricity & Magnetism it will be easier to withstand the lectures since they get more interesting.

Homework is done using Mastering Physics. Really learn how these problems work as they will benefit you in the long run when it comes to midterms and finals.

The first midterm is really easy; a good percentage of people get A's and there are many 100%'s. The mean is around 70%-75%, which is amazing considering the number of people who do well. The second midterm is more challenging, and the mean drops to around 50-60%. The final is more challenging than either midterm.

Tips to Earn an A (or an Acceptable Grade for You):
-Understand Gauss' Law and its associated concepts (like potential). Two problems from midterm #2 are essentially Gauss' Law problems, and another one pops up on the final.
-Actually do the homework; the midterm and final problems are all really similar.
-Review lecture notes briefly and note the kinds of problems discussed in class. They will show up in some shape or form on the midterms or finals. Some people don't like going to lecture, but it's all about the exposure.
-Find old midterms. For '09 to '10, Whitten taught in Fall and Spring. Most of the midterm problems in the spring use the same setup as those in the fall. Understanding how these problems work will really boost midterm scores. Whitten keeps his finals though, so good luck finding those.

All in all, not exactly the best professor if learning is the priority, but then again it won't be hard to earn an A in the class. Note that he does NOT curve down; if a student earned a legitimate A at the end, he/she gets that A.

Horrible Professor!! His tests are too easy and because of this the curve sucks! If you make small mistakes, you go down to a C! Taking him for 1B was my biggest ever mistake. He's a good person but definitely not a good professor if you want to learn real physics and want to get a grade by knowing physics and not just by having good test-taking skills. 1/10

Whitten is an easy A. Just be careful of the second midterm and study thoroughly for the final. The average on our first midterm was around like a 96/102 while the second midterm was around 30/102 or something ridiculous like that. Concentrate on the second half of the class's material a lot more and you should do fine.

Whitten was a fair professor.
I generally hate it when professor's make an easy midterm (Whitten's first: 97 median) and try to make up for it (Whitten's second: 57 median). BUT, he said it wasn't intentional (the difference in medians) and I think people did poorly because they underestimated the second midterm.
To do well in Whitten's 1B Class, I think understanding Gauss's Law, what it is mathematically (Math 32B) and what it becomes when it's applied (enclosed charge blah blah blah), is FUNDAMENTAL TO THE COURSE. Everything else is plug and chug, which is made even easier since you have a sheet of notes for the midterm/final.
Basically, Whitten cares about his students alot. I've been to one office hour and he was helpful and friendly. He had a seminar for "advanced topics" in 1B, probably a good way for some butt-kissing for a rec or something, research w/e.
It's not so important paying attention to his lectures mainly because the material was pretty boring to be honest (towards the end of the course). He writes small and makes mistakes.
He does this thing where he stops.............starts tucking in his shirt.......and he just stares at the class. It effing hilarious. I always thought he was looking at me. He always goes, "ok ok ok ok ok", to stop himself from side-tracking. He's pretty passionate about physics too which makes him a good lecturer.
Summary: passionate, helpful, relatively easy if you do you're minimal studying.

The previous review covered a lot of the basic stuff for this class. If you try to pay attention to hard to his lectures, he can frustrate you because he makes a LOT of mistakes and writes words in the middle of his drawings. If you're going to trust your notes, you should check them with the book or ask questions to clarify/catch his mistakes in the middle of lecture.

About the tests: you get one 8.5x11 double sheet for each midterm and one for the final.
Midterm 1 - was pure plug and chug (he said himself it was too easy)
Midterm 2 - (53% median) made you think a little, but if you just understand how to apply Gauss law, it was a piece of cake.
The final had some plug and chug as well as some gauss law's problems and some circuit problems. Not too hard at all.
I'd recommend taking him for 1B.

I liked Whitten's class. He wasn't the best lecturer; people often have to ask him to write bigger, and every day he'll say stuff like "uh...no..yeah..no..uh okay yeah..no yeah." But he is really passionate about what he does and is concerned with the students as well. (he always had extended office hours before tests and held a big review session before the final) He wasn't very hard; first test average was 97 (wow), second test average was 53 but the curve seemed pretty lenient. There were only 3 problems on each midterm, each consisting of a few parts, but we didn't feel very rushed at all. Plus, each problem was 34 points, so that adds up to 102, and it's only out of 100. The final consisted of 7 problems, and we were only graded on the 6 we did best on. (awesome!) I feel lucky to have gotten an A, because I got exactly on the median on the second midterm, but I guess I did well on the final.

As with many professors, he will derive everything in his lectures so that you know where the formulas come from. But don't worry; he doesn't test you on any proofs unless its a very simple plug-in; nothing that takes much of an epiphany or anything. Be alarmed, though, that he REALLY, REALLY likes Gauss's law, and I'd say that's easily the hardest thing in 1B.

A good professor knows the material- but not very interesting to those who have taken AP Physics. The material will feel redundant. Tests are very similar to the homework-- he is VERY nit-picky on the homework- EXTREMELY picky- be sure to check it over well. Not good not bad--Lectures aren't super-vital-- doing practice problems is.