Professor

Michael Gutperle

AD
3.9
Overall Ratings
Based on 61 Users
Easiness 2.5 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Workload 2.8 / 5 How light the workload is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Clarity 3.7 / 5 How clear the professor is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Helpfulness 4.2 / 5 How helpful the professor is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

Reviews (61)

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April 2, 2020
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: A

Overall, I really enjoyed Gutperle's class. The workload was definitely manageable (only one homework assignment per week, which was usually ten problems), and the tests were difficult but also usually pretty fair since they are definitely doable if you have a strong grasp of the content. Gutperle does have the tendency to show us a bunch of proofs during class and then tell us that we don't really need to understand any of it, so I think having some more example problems would've been good. He does have us do conceptual Kudu problems during class which are really helpful for understanding thing conceptually, but those aren't really too similar to the homework problems, so having a little more guidance on the computational problems would be nice. Discussion isn't mandatory (I stopped attending after week 3 since I realized that I could just practice the discussion problems on my own, since they're posted), and in general, he's a good professor who clearly knows what he's doing and has some really fun demonstrations as well.

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March 25, 2020
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: B+

Very nice guy and professor. I liked him overall but his lectures became confusing as he rushed to cram material.

His online notes are a mess so you must attend lecture and even then it's hard to follow his train of thought.

His first test was reasonable the second midterm and final were a little questionable but I don't think he ended up curving the class. He seems to despise grade-focused people (pre-med students as he repeatedly jokes about in class).

Very friendly in office hours.

Only accommodations made for the coronavirus were a changed grade scheme that made the final worth less.

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March 25, 2020
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: B+

Prof Gutperle is a really cool guy but I don't personally love his teaching style.
Pros: really friendly office hours, really quirky and funny person, easy to talk to, posts lecture notes and lots of online resources, answers quickly on Questionsly (with the help of TAs), his review notes are THE BEST, lots of demonstrations
Cons: lectures move at a confusing pace where it's a bit hard to tell the important stuff from just what he deems interesting, tests are kind of hard (that final was awful), review sessions are not super structured, doesn't really explain why or how equations are derived/generally not a super engaging lecture style in my opinion
I am still glad I took this class with him even though I learned more from using his review notes and going to his office hours (also reading the textbook and doing some kudu questions) than actually attending lecture so the flexibility was kind of nice.

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PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 27, 2021
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A

Coming in I had no physics background. Overall, this class online with this professor is as easy it's going to get. 3 tries per question to get full points is awesome. His lectures are great, but the homework can be a bit long. Keep in mind all physics professors probably use Mastering to assign homework, so it wouldn't matter what professor you get regarding homework. Midterms were easy as midterm 1 and 2 had averages ~90. The final was a lot harder than both the midterms, yet the average was still 88%. For physics1A at least, there is not going to be any easier professor for this course.

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PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 28, 2021
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A

Just don’t get behind on lectures, read the book, study before exams and you’ll be fine.

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PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 24, 2021
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: B-

So I got a B- in this class but I don't think it's an accurate representation of this professor's teaching ability. It's my own fault that I didn't do so well, because I got embarrassingly behind in lecture (online but recorded) and it just snowballed from there. I also have zero physics background, while a lot of people in this class have taken physics/ AP physics in high school, and so this was a lot of review for them. For reference, I did rather poorly on the final, but the mean was an 88, so do with that what you will.
In terms of teaching style and personality, Gutperle is a very kind and approachable professor, and he has fun while teaching. He's really funny and tries to make things interesting for students. Each lecture, he gives us an 8-minute break during which he plays music and answers questions in the chat.
His lectures are a little disorganized, and so it can be hard to follow sometimes, so I found that reading the weekly readings were key to doing well.
There are 2 midterms and a final, which are around 12 questions each which 3 tries per question. 35% of the exam grade is correctness (through this thing called kudu) and 65% is your work which you submit through Gradescope.
Overall, Gutperle is a great guy, and it's very possible to do well in his class, but you have to stay on track and do the weekly homework and readings. (Having a background in physics certainly helps, although you don't need it).

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PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
July 1, 2021
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A

As a person, Professor Gutperle is very fun and engaging. As for the course itself, it was very time-consuming. Homework was usually 10 to 12 problems on Mastering, and could take you several hours to complete. For online, the midterms were pretty straightforward. Some niche physical systems were introduced during them, but you should know how to analyze and do them if you pay attention and do the homework. The final itself was very difficult compared to the midterms. Thankfully, partial credit is given based on your submitted written work. In-person will likely be even more rigorous, but Professor Gutperle is probably your best shot at getting a high grade. My advice for doing well is to go through the readings every weekend before the lectures, work in groups during the homework, and do the optional practice problems he gives for exams.

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1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
July 5, 2021
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: S

A very caring professor!
I had almost no physics background when taking the class.
He assigns weekly online homework from Mastering.
You can drop lowest homework. If everyone was struggling with a specific question, he may give credit for that particular question for everyone (I remember there was a diagram where we had to put the vectors in a certain order/length, but Mastering was glitching a bit and he decided to let go of that question).
Homework can be long, so try to do in advance.

For the test, review the homework and do a lot of practice problems. He had the test on Kudu and you have up to three checks (tries) to see if the answer you got is correct, he recommends to use 4 significant figs.
Make sure to show work, in my session 65% of grade came from showing work and 35% for the correct numerical answer.
Focus both on the textbook and lectures (agreed with another reviewer that his lectures are great). Try to not fall behind.

I was doing very well in the class, until I got sick on the week of the 2nd midterm. (I couldn't study at all because I needed a 3-4 hour emergency surgery to remove 5 teeth because of a really bad infection. This lead me to being under heavy pain meds for an entire week).

However, he was very kind to drop a midterm (he allows it only under exceptional circumstance). My grade did spiral downward however, he was extremely helpful to me in office hours.
Even though I was recovering from surgery (I couldn't even speak for 3 weeks!) and did very horrendous on the final, I still managed to pass his class, again despite having almost no physics background and my surgery.

Please take him and don't be afraid of him in office hours!

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Aug. 29, 2019
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A

In my opinion, Gutperle is the best of all the 1B professors. Certainly, he is the easiest. Gutperle is a genius whose mind runs 1000mph so he can be hard to follow at times - but, he makes up for it with some really amazing demos!

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March 26, 2020
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: C

Professor Gutperle is amazing! I did not do that well on the midterms because my physics background is not strong and I slacked off a lot in his class. However, I improved on the final and Professor Gutperle gave me another chance.

His grading scheme for my class was 20% for each midterm, 3% in class Kudu questions, 12% HW (lowest one dropped), and 45% for the final. Attendance is important because he expects you to do Kudu questions but they are mostly for completion. Also, HW is on Mastering Physics.

He is very nice and approachable! He posts the lecture notes on CCLE before lecture so you have enough time to preview the lectures. Also his notes are very detailed. To do well in his class, he says to read the book, read his notes, practice the discussion questions, and do the homework problems. If you have trouble with concepts, I would recommend watching videos and asking either the TA or Gutperle questions. Also, his demonstrations in class are really cool and made me more interested in physics. He plays classic rock music during the break, which is nice too.

Helpful?

1 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1B
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: A
April 2, 2020

Overall, I really enjoyed Gutperle's class. The workload was definitely manageable (only one homework assignment per week, which was usually ten problems), and the tests were difficult but also usually pretty fair since they are definitely doable if you have a strong grasp of the content. Gutperle does have the tendency to show us a bunch of proofs during class and then tell us that we don't really need to understand any of it, so I think having some more example problems would've been good. He does have us do conceptual Kudu problems during class which are really helpful for understanding thing conceptually, but those aren't really too similar to the homework problems, so having a little more guidance on the computational problems would be nice. Discussion isn't mandatory (I stopped attending after week 3 since I realized that I could just practice the discussion problems on my own, since they're posted), and in general, he's a good professor who clearly knows what he's doing and has some really fun demonstrations as well.

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1B
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: B+
March 25, 2020

Very nice guy and professor. I liked him overall but his lectures became confusing as he rushed to cram material.

His online notes are a mess so you must attend lecture and even then it's hard to follow his train of thought.

His first test was reasonable the second midterm and final were a little questionable but I don't think he ended up curving the class. He seems to despise grade-focused people (pre-med students as he repeatedly jokes about in class).

Very friendly in office hours.

Only accommodations made for the coronavirus were a changed grade scheme that made the final worth less.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1B
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: B+
March 25, 2020

Prof Gutperle is a really cool guy but I don't personally love his teaching style.
Pros: really friendly office hours, really quirky and funny person, easy to talk to, posts lecture notes and lots of online resources, answers quickly on Questionsly (with the help of TAs), his review notes are THE BEST, lots of demonstrations
Cons: lectures move at a confusing pace where it's a bit hard to tell the important stuff from just what he deems interesting, tests are kind of hard (that final was awful), review sessions are not super structured, doesn't really explain why or how equations are derived/generally not a super engaging lecture style in my opinion
I am still glad I took this class with him even though I learned more from using his review notes and going to his office hours (also reading the textbook and doing some kudu questions) than actually attending lecture so the flexibility was kind of nice.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A
June 27, 2021

Coming in I had no physics background. Overall, this class online with this professor is as easy it's going to get. 3 tries per question to get full points is awesome. His lectures are great, but the homework can be a bit long. Keep in mind all physics professors probably use Mastering to assign homework, so it wouldn't matter what professor you get regarding homework. Midterms were easy as midterm 1 and 2 had averages ~90. The final was a lot harder than both the midterms, yet the average was still 88%. For physics1A at least, there is not going to be any easier professor for this course.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A
June 28, 2021

Just don’t get behind on lectures, read the book, study before exams and you’ll be fine.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: B-
June 24, 2021

So I got a B- in this class but I don't think it's an accurate representation of this professor's teaching ability. It's my own fault that I didn't do so well, because I got embarrassingly behind in lecture (online but recorded) and it just snowballed from there. I also have zero physics background, while a lot of people in this class have taken physics/ AP physics in high school, and so this was a lot of review for them. For reference, I did rather poorly on the final, but the mean was an 88, so do with that what you will.
In terms of teaching style and personality, Gutperle is a very kind and approachable professor, and he has fun while teaching. He's really funny and tries to make things interesting for students. Each lecture, he gives us an 8-minute break during which he plays music and answers questions in the chat.
His lectures are a little disorganized, and so it can be hard to follow sometimes, so I found that reading the weekly readings were key to doing well.
There are 2 midterms and a final, which are around 12 questions each which 3 tries per question. 35% of the exam grade is correctness (through this thing called kudu) and 65% is your work which you submit through Gradescope.
Overall, Gutperle is a great guy, and it's very possible to do well in his class, but you have to stay on track and do the weekly homework and readings. (Having a background in physics certainly helps, although you don't need it).

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A
July 1, 2021

As a person, Professor Gutperle is very fun and engaging. As for the course itself, it was very time-consuming. Homework was usually 10 to 12 problems on Mastering, and could take you several hours to complete. For online, the midterms were pretty straightforward. Some niche physical systems were introduced during them, but you should know how to analyze and do them if you pay attention and do the homework. The final itself was very difficult compared to the midterms. Thankfully, partial credit is given based on your submitted written work. In-person will likely be even more rigorous, but Professor Gutperle is probably your best shot at getting a high grade. My advice for doing well is to go through the readings every weekend before the lectures, work in groups during the homework, and do the optional practice problems he gives for exams.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: S
July 5, 2021

A very caring professor!
I had almost no physics background when taking the class.
He assigns weekly online homework from Mastering.
You can drop lowest homework. If everyone was struggling with a specific question, he may give credit for that particular question for everyone (I remember there was a diagram where we had to put the vectors in a certain order/length, but Mastering was glitching a bit and he decided to let go of that question).
Homework can be long, so try to do in advance.

For the test, review the homework and do a lot of practice problems. He had the test on Kudu and you have up to three checks (tries) to see if the answer you got is correct, he recommends to use 4 significant figs.
Make sure to show work, in my session 65% of grade came from showing work and 35% for the correct numerical answer.
Focus both on the textbook and lectures (agreed with another reviewer that his lectures are great). Try to not fall behind.

I was doing very well in the class, until I got sick on the week of the 2nd midterm. (I couldn't study at all because I needed a 3-4 hour emergency surgery to remove 5 teeth because of a really bad infection. This lead me to being under heavy pain meds for an entire week).

However, he was very kind to drop a midterm (he allows it only under exceptional circumstance). My grade did spiral downward however, he was extremely helpful to me in office hours.
Even though I was recovering from surgery (I couldn't even speak for 3 weeks!) and did very horrendous on the final, I still managed to pass his class, again despite having almost no physics background and my surgery.

Please take him and don't be afraid of him in office hours!

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1B
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A
Aug. 29, 2019

In my opinion, Gutperle is the best of all the 1B professors. Certainly, he is the easiest. Gutperle is a genius whose mind runs 1000mph so he can be hard to follow at times - but, he makes up for it with some really amazing demos!

Helpful?

1 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1B
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: C
March 26, 2020

Professor Gutperle is amazing! I did not do that well on the midterms because my physics background is not strong and I slacked off a lot in his class. However, I improved on the final and Professor Gutperle gave me another chance.

His grading scheme for my class was 20% for each midterm, 3% in class Kudu questions, 12% HW (lowest one dropped), and 45% for the final. Attendance is important because he expects you to do Kudu questions but they are mostly for completion. Also, HW is on Mastering Physics.

He is very nice and approachable! He posts the lecture notes on CCLE before lecture so you have enough time to preview the lectures. Also his notes are very detailed. To do well in his class, he says to read the book, read his notes, practice the discussion questions, and do the homework problems. If you have trouble with concepts, I would recommend watching videos and asking either the TA or Gutperle questions. Also, his demonstrations in class are really cool and made me more interested in physics. He plays classic rock music during the break, which is nice too.

Helpful?

1 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
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