Professor

Nathan Tung

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3.9
Overall Ratings
Based on 148 Users
Easiness 3.0 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Workload 3.5 / 5 How light the workload is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Clarity 3.9 / 5 How clear the professor is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Helpfulness 3.8 / 5 How helpful the professor is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

Reviews (148)

10 of 12
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Jan. 25, 2023
Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A

If you are someone who needs solid practice problems before taking an exam, do not take this class with Professor Tung! He throws you out to the wolves for every exam. The only thing he does during lecture is demos and equation derivation. He uses Kudu, a site where you take every exam and do every homework assignment on. The only saving grace is the extra credit, where he adds 3% of your grade at the end of the quarter. But genuinely, I wanted to die because of this class, and going into every exam I just accepted my fate because I knew that nothing he taught was going to be on it. And, I was right.

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Jan. 10, 2023
Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A

If you're looking for a professor who does his best to engage students with the material, is clear and thorough with delivering course content, provides extra credit opportunities, and is accommodating, take Tung's class. It was a great introduction to Physics (I never took it in highschool), and his quirky sense of humor doesn't hurt either. I want to clarify that his class was not "an easy A"- I had to do and redo homework, go to office hours, and really practice to have a chance at doing well. If you do the homework and don't skip lectures, 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.
Nov. 24, 2022
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: A-

Dr. Nathan Tung is by far one of the best professors at UCLA. He is engaging, full of life and very kind and understanding. Though I had him online for 1A his interactive videos and demos made it worth it to attend live lecture.

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PHYSICS 5A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Nov. 1, 2022
Quarter: Fall 2021
Grade: N/A

idk why this man is praised as a god. if u have never taken physics before this will be an incredibly hard class good luck m8

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Oct. 31, 2022
Quarter: Summer 2022
Grade: A-

Disclaimer: I took physics 1A before taking this class, as well as mechanics from honors physics in high school, so take my judgment on the relative easiness of the class with a grain of salt if you don't have that background.

Overall, I think Tung was a really reasonable professor, and he's really good at explaining physics in a terms that make sense to someone who hasn't studied physics in depth before -- like, he understands that it's 5A and we're all just life science majors trying to fulfill a requirement and takes that into account in his teaching. His lectures were pretty engaging too, he always added in things that weren't just him going through slides (went through equations, showed videos of experiments or sometimes did them in the classroom).

About grading: very reasonable, I think. We had readings and practice problems for each unit on Kudu (a program which I literally hate, but only because I find the user interface to be just The Worst), and we only had to do 65% of the practice problems and the rest that we completed after that were extra credit. There were worksheets in discussion but attendance wasn't taken so you could do them on your own if you wanted. Midterm and final were alright, different than the stuff in class but still applied the same concepts in the same way.

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Sept. 11, 2022
Quarter: Summer 2022
Grade: A+

Oh where to start? I saw this professors seemingly great reviews on bruinwalk and was very excited to have him for c sesh physics… boy was I wrong. That class was such a mess! His lectures were really a waste of time, and unorganized. He taught nothing of substance and provides no resources. Let me be the first to say I’m fine with bad professors so long as they give the necessary resources to succeed. This man is neither a good professor nor does he give any extra resources to his students. And on the topic of students… this man is so narcissistic and apathetic towards his students. He repeatedly referred to us as his “audience.” I doubt he learned a single kids name. When he was approached with questions he usually was rather unhelpful and condescending.

The biggest blunder of this course, though, were his tests. You see Tung’s tests are multiple choice and he really doesn’t allow for partial credit on much, meaning a lot of your grade comes down to a few questions. They are also on this godforsaken website called kudu, which we had major tech problems with. He was absent for our midterm, ultimately messed up calculating grades, and as a result canceled midterm scores and made our 12 question final exam the only test grade of the entire class.

Above all this, he really was a bad teacher. He confused people more than he helped them the more he went on, and often approached problems in the most conceptually difficult ways to grasp. I was lucky to have had experience in physics, otherwise I feel this class would have been more of a challenge. I found myself often explaining problems to peers, as the professors explanations and instruction was too rudimentary to cover the homework/ quizzes. Just don’t bother with him - not worth it at all.

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PHYSICS 1A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 22, 2022
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: A-

The best professor at UCLA so far in my experience! As someone who miserably failed AP Physics back in high school, I dreaded having to take this class. However, Tung was able to teach us everything so clearly and his resources are great. He also knows how to use technology well, making it very neat and convenient. The workload could be a bit heavy, but it's definitely something you want to complete since they are a great study tool for the exams. Overall the class is super organized and Tung is super reasonable with everything. I truly learned a lot and actually started liking physics after this class.

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March 17, 2020
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: NR

Nathan is a fantastic lecturer. He is funny and engaging and when he explains things it feels like a science documentary (in a good way). Homework was on mastering physics and he worked with us to make it a manageable amount which we all really appreciated. Tests are average difficulty as far as the physics series goes here and he puts a lot of effort into getting us prepared through review sessions. I recommend taking 1C with him.

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March 14, 2020
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: A

Hands down the best professor I've had through the Physics 1 series. Tung is an engaging, interesting, and humorous lecturer. I genuinely enjoyed and made an effort to show up to his class.

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Jan. 17, 2020
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A-

Still easier than Bondarenko to be honest. Tung's lectures were really interesting and charismatic, and his demos were pretty fun. He always kind of ignored my questions though when I raised my hand even though he spent half the lectures answering other people. Didn't really get what the deal with that was. I'd say find someone easier if you can but Tung's not a bad choice if you do all the homework and study, etc.

Helpful?

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PHYSICS 5A
Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A
Jan. 25, 2023

If you are someone who needs solid practice problems before taking an exam, do not take this class with Professor Tung! He throws you out to the wolves for every exam. The only thing he does during lecture is demos and equation derivation. He uses Kudu, a site where you take every exam and do every homework assignment on. The only saving grace is the extra credit, where he adds 3% of your grade at the end of the quarter. But genuinely, I wanted to die because of this class, and going into every exam I just accepted my fate because I knew that nothing he taught was going to be on it. And, I was right.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 5A
Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A
Jan. 10, 2023

If you're looking for a professor who does his best to engage students with the material, is clear and thorough with delivering course content, provides extra credit opportunities, and is accommodating, take Tung's class. It was a great introduction to Physics (I never took it in highschool), and his quirky sense of humor doesn't hurt either. I want to clarify that his class was not "an easy A"- I had to do and redo homework, go to office hours, and really practice to have a chance at doing well. If you do the homework and don't skip lectures, you'll be fine.

Helpful?

0 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: Winter 2022
Grade: A-
Nov. 24, 2022

Dr. Nathan Tung is by far one of the best professors at UCLA. He is engaging, full of life and very kind and understanding. Though I had him online for 1A his interactive videos and demos made it worth it to attend live lecture.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 5A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Fall 2021
Grade: N/A
Nov. 1, 2022

idk why this man is praised as a god. if u have never taken physics before this will be an incredibly hard class good luck m8

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 5A
Quarter: Summer 2022
Grade: A-
Oct. 31, 2022

Disclaimer: I took physics 1A before taking this class, as well as mechanics from honors physics in high school, so take my judgment on the relative easiness of the class with a grain of salt if you don't have that background.

Overall, I think Tung was a really reasonable professor, and he's really good at explaining physics in a terms that make sense to someone who hasn't studied physics in depth before -- like, he understands that it's 5A and we're all just life science majors trying to fulfill a requirement and takes that into account in his teaching. His lectures were pretty engaging too, he always added in things that weren't just him going through slides (went through equations, showed videos of experiments or sometimes did them in the classroom).

About grading: very reasonable, I think. We had readings and practice problems for each unit on Kudu (a program which I literally hate, but only because I find the user interface to be just The Worst), and we only had to do 65% of the practice problems and the rest that we completed after that were extra credit. There were worksheets in discussion but attendance wasn't taken so you could do them on your own if you wanted. Midterm and final were alright, different than the stuff in class but still applied the same concepts in the same way.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 5A
Quarter: Summer 2022
Grade: A+
Sept. 11, 2022

Oh where to start? I saw this professors seemingly great reviews on bruinwalk and was very excited to have him for c sesh physics… boy was I wrong. That class was such a mess! His lectures were really a waste of time, and unorganized. He taught nothing of substance and provides no resources. Let me be the first to say I’m fine with bad professors so long as they give the necessary resources to succeed. This man is neither a good professor nor does he give any extra resources to his students. And on the topic of students… this man is so narcissistic and apathetic towards his students. He repeatedly referred to us as his “audience.” I doubt he learned a single kids name. When he was approached with questions he usually was rather unhelpful and condescending.

The biggest blunder of this course, though, were his tests. You see Tung’s tests are multiple choice and he really doesn’t allow for partial credit on much, meaning a lot of your grade comes down to a few questions. They are also on this godforsaken website called kudu, which we had major tech problems with. He was absent for our midterm, ultimately messed up calculating grades, and as a result canceled midterm scores and made our 12 question final exam the only test grade of the entire class.

Above all this, he really was a bad teacher. He confused people more than he helped them the more he went on, and often approached problems in the most conceptually difficult ways to grasp. I was lucky to have had experience in physics, otherwise I feel this class would have been more of a challenge. I found myself often explaining problems to peers, as the professors explanations and instruction was too rudimentary to cover the homework/ quizzes. Just don’t bother with him - not worth it at all.

Helpful?

0 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: Winter 2022
Grade: A-
June 22, 2022

The best professor at UCLA so far in my experience! As someone who miserably failed AP Physics back in high school, I dreaded having to take this class. However, Tung was able to teach us everything so clearly and his resources are great. He also knows how to use technology well, making it very neat and convenient. The workload could be a bit heavy, but it's definitely something you want to complete since they are a great study tool for the exams. Overall the class is super organized and Tung is super reasonable with everything. I truly learned a lot and actually started liking physics after this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1C
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: NR
March 17, 2020

Nathan is a fantastic lecturer. He is funny and engaging and when he explains things it feels like a science documentary (in a good way). Homework was on mastering physics and he worked with us to make it a manageable amount which we all really appreciated. Tests are average difficulty as far as the physics series goes here and he puts a lot of effort into getting us prepared through review sessions. I recommend taking 1C with him.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 1C
Quarter: Winter 2020
Grade: A
March 14, 2020

Hands down the best professor I've had through the Physics 1 series. Tung is an engaging, interesting, and humorous lecturer. I genuinely enjoyed and made an effort to show up to his class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PHYSICS 5C
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A-
Jan. 17, 2020

Still easier than Bondarenko to be honest. Tung's lectures were really interesting and charismatic, and his demos were pretty fun. He always kind of ignored my questions though when I raised my hand even though he spent half the lectures answering other people. Didn't really get what the deal with that was. I'd say find someone easier if you can but Tung's not a bad choice if you do all the homework and study, etc.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
10 of 12
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