Nathan C Tung
Department of Physics
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3.1
Overall Rating
Based on 28 Users
Easiness 2.4 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 2.9 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.5 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 2.9 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Tolerates Tardiness
  • Tough Tests
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
52.9%
44.1%
35.3%
26.4%
17.6%
8.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

31.7%
26.4%
21.1%
15.8%
10.6%
5.3%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

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Reviews (21)

2 of 3
2 of 3
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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: C-
Dec. 27, 2019

As a 3rd year taking this class, I've never failed any course in my life until taking this class. To the people who said the class was easy, yes the class itself (concepts, ideas) are pretty easy, but the exams are the problem. Tung did not do a good job of emphasizing what was important takeaways for the course. The midterms and final were obviously physics related, but going to lecture, doing mastering physics, or reading the book will not help you. For Tungs exams, you either get it or you don't. I had several friends take the same course, and they all say the same thing-- they had no idea how to study for mt2 or the final because of how open ended Tungs approach to asking questions are. He stated himself multiple times that mastering physics will not help us answer his exam questions. I think as a person Tung is passionate, and wants us to learn which I appreciate, but his approach is all wrong. I originally failed this class, but he likely realized too many people failed his class and gave me a passing grade. Would not recommend taking this professor.

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: B
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Nov. 30, 2019

Professor Tung did not prepare us enough for the tests in this class and the materials covered in class were much too easy compared to the material tested. The first midterm was a complete shock to me as I had reviewed over the class material religiously and still could not do HALF of the test. The second midterm was a bit better due to the review session but it was still quite difficult to me, and a lot of the wording was just confusing for no reason. Lectures were generally not very engaging besides several experiments, and all the notes were done on the chalkboard. It was EXTREMELY difficult to see any of the notes past the fifth row from the front of the lecture hall and the material we did in class was usually pretty easy, like explanations of simple conceptual ideas or formulas. Professor Tung also did not give out any extra credit, even after the entire class was very upset over the first midterm. The only helpful thing from this class was the final exam review. I would strongly advise against taking this professor unless you already have a solid foundation in Physics knowledge.

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2 2 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 24, 2019

I feel like many of the negative reviews are unwarranted. After the low scores on the first midterm, Tung did change things. Like others said, he hosted his own review sessions which were extremely helpful and told everything we needed to know for the exams.

I do agree that the Mastering Physics homework was useless. But, he provided “Nathan’s Notes” which supplemented the textbook and covered almost everything he talked about in lecture. These notes were super useful to me and prepared me well for the final.

The class is heavily concept based, so the examples provided in class weren’t exactly “examples” as we’d expected. However, he pulled most exam material directly from lecture. The second midterm and final were fair, in my opinion, given that he covered everything in class and review sessions.

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3 4 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: NP
Dec. 25, 2019

This was professor Tung’s first quarter at UCLA and he was by far the worst professor I have ever had. He would spend all of lecture reviewing formulas and expect students to answer elaborate problems on exams. Not to mention, he provided no preparation for the exams and was absolutely a mess.

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4 7 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: DR
Dec. 11, 2019

Honestly, dont listen to those bad reviews, those are the people that just rely on the lectures and dont take the time out of their day to commit and use other resources. While it is the professor's first quarter teaching the class, i believe he is doing well in it because i was able to score decently in both the first and second midterm. A huge part was due to his lectures and whatever i did not understand, i went home read the book, did practice problems, or i went onto khan academy. This guy teaches you on concepts, not pure numbers and formulas you have to memorize. Honestly, he is a good professor, those people complaining want everything given to them including an easy A.

Helpful?

4 9 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2024
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
June 26, 2024

Professor Tung's physics class stressed more theoretical physics over quantitative. The first midterm was mostly conceptual, which led to a very low grade distribution, but the second midterm was much easier as a result. The class itself is interesting, as he often does demos and is a good lecturer. The material is interesting as well, but sometimes the conceptual nature of the class became too much. The final however was more quantitative which probably helped many students. Lectures are not mandatory, but if you attend and do the Kudu's, they count towards extra credit. All of the extra credit totals to around 3% which is very generous.

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Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
June 27, 2021

Dr. Tung is an incredible professor. He lectures clearly, taking the time to cover every detail that will come up on later assignments without being overbearing, while keeping a focus on understanding rather than just memorizing formulas. He answers questions very well in lecture and in OH, and his pre-exam reviews are amazingly helpful (it can help determine what you need to study). The exams are fair, but can sometimes be tricky (especially the first one). Make sure to review Nathan's Notes.
While the labs can sometimes be tedious, they do help with the rest of the course and pad the grade. Also, the discussions are really helpful for really cementing what you learn in lecture, so don't skip.

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
June 25, 2021

I took this class while it was online, and the extra credit he provides can honestly boost your grade by a whole letter. I do not know if he will offer this when it is back in person, so do not count on it. The tests were also 24 hours long, so do not count on that either. Otherwise, I thought Tung's lectures were some of the best online lectures I have had during the pandemic. He uses Youtube to stream them, so there is not as much interaction, but he has office hours if you need that. Personally, I did not go to office hours, but I have heard they were helpful for students. He is also really understanding, so if you have any concerns, just reach out to him. The labs online were pretty easy, so if it back in person, do not count on that. Discussion section was also useful, and I would recommend going. Mastering physics, the homework for this class, could be time consuming, but it was what he offered as extra credit along with participation in class through TopHat. The tests are not super difficult, but they could be more challenging if given in a shorter time constraint. Overall, I would recommend Tung for 5C.

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 10, 2021

The lecture portion of the class was decent. Weekly worksheets and only needing to complete 60-65% of the MasteringPhysics homework for full credit (rest was extra credit). Tophat was a waste of money though. We only used it for like 5 classes in total this quarter. Exams aren't too bad, but most of them are mostly rearranging equations and not plug and chug. Lab was a hassle. All of the labs required extra time outside of class to finish since they were all very long.

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: B+
Jan. 29, 2020

Tung is very knowledgeable about physics. You can tell that he is very fascinated on the subject and he does his best to demonstrate how cool physics is by using a lot of demonstrations in class. The problem with using a lot of demonstrations is that he just taught a lot of concepts and then wasted 10 minutes at the end of class to do those demonstrations. This means that he never did any practice problems during class. Also the Mastering Physics wasn't mandatory, but the practice problems still wasn't similar to what was on the exams, so it did not help much.

During the first midterm, almost no one did well because we only knew how to answer the conceptual questions. During the second midterm, he did a better job of showing us what will be on the exam, but you would only be able to truly know how to do those problems if you went to the REVIEW SESSION. or else everyone would've definitely failed. same thing goes for the final exam.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: C-
Dec. 27, 2019

As a 3rd year taking this class, I've never failed any course in my life until taking this class. To the people who said the class was easy, yes the class itself (concepts, ideas) are pretty easy, but the exams are the problem. Tung did not do a good job of emphasizing what was important takeaways for the course. The midterms and final were obviously physics related, but going to lecture, doing mastering physics, or reading the book will not help you. For Tungs exams, you either get it or you don't. I had several friends take the same course, and they all say the same thing-- they had no idea how to study for mt2 or the final because of how open ended Tungs approach to asking questions are. He stated himself multiple times that mastering physics will not help us answer his exam questions. I think as a person Tung is passionate, and wants us to learn which I appreciate, but his approach is all wrong. I originally failed this class, but he likely realized too many people failed his class and gave me a passing grade. Would not recommend taking this professor.

Helpful?

2 2 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: B
Nov. 30, 2019

Professor Tung did not prepare us enough for the tests in this class and the materials covered in class were much too easy compared to the material tested. The first midterm was a complete shock to me as I had reviewed over the class material religiously and still could not do HALF of the test. The second midterm was a bit better due to the review session but it was still quite difficult to me, and a lot of the wording was just confusing for no reason. Lectures were generally not very engaging besides several experiments, and all the notes were done on the chalkboard. It was EXTREMELY difficult to see any of the notes past the fifth row from the front of the lecture hall and the material we did in class was usually pretty easy, like explanations of simple conceptual ideas or formulas. Professor Tung also did not give out any extra credit, even after the entire class was very upset over the first midterm. The only helpful thing from this class was the final exam review. I would strongly advise against taking this professor unless you already have a solid foundation in Physics knowledge.

Helpful?

2 2 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 24, 2019

I feel like many of the negative reviews are unwarranted. After the low scores on the first midterm, Tung did change things. Like others said, he hosted his own review sessions which were extremely helpful and told everything we needed to know for the exams.

I do agree that the Mastering Physics homework was useless. But, he provided “Nathan’s Notes” which supplemented the textbook and covered almost everything he talked about in lecture. These notes were super useful to me and prepared me well for the final.

The class is heavily concept based, so the examples provided in class weren’t exactly “examples” as we’d expected. However, he pulled most exam material directly from lecture. The second midterm and final were fair, in my opinion, given that he covered everything in class and review sessions.

Helpful?

3 4 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: NP
Dec. 25, 2019

This was professor Tung’s first quarter at UCLA and he was by far the worst professor I have ever had. He would spend all of lecture reviewing formulas and expect students to answer elaborate problems on exams. Not to mention, he provided no preparation for the exams and was absolutely a mess.

Helpful?

4 7 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: DR
Dec. 11, 2019

Honestly, dont listen to those bad reviews, those are the people that just rely on the lectures and dont take the time out of their day to commit and use other resources. While it is the professor's first quarter teaching the class, i believe he is doing well in it because i was able to score decently in both the first and second midterm. A huge part was due to his lectures and whatever i did not understand, i went home read the book, did practice problems, or i went onto khan academy. This guy teaches you on concepts, not pure numbers and formulas you have to memorize. Honestly, he is a good professor, those people complaining want everything given to them including an easy A.

Helpful?

4 9 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Spring 2024
Grade: A
June 26, 2024

Professor Tung's physics class stressed more theoretical physics over quantitative. The first midterm was mostly conceptual, which led to a very low grade distribution, but the second midterm was much easier as a result. The class itself is interesting, as he often does demos and is a good lecturer. The material is interesting as well, but sometimes the conceptual nature of the class became too much. The final however was more quantitative which probably helped many students. Lectures are not mandatory, but if you attend and do the Kudu's, they count towards extra credit. All of the extra credit totals to around 3% which is very generous.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A
June 27, 2021

Dr. Tung is an incredible professor. He lectures clearly, taking the time to cover every detail that will come up on later assignments without being overbearing, while keeping a focus on understanding rather than just memorizing formulas. He answers questions very well in lecture and in OH, and his pre-exam reviews are amazingly helpful (it can help determine what you need to study). The exams are fair, but can sometimes be tricky (especially the first one). Make sure to review Nathan's Notes.
While the labs can sometimes be tedious, they do help with the rest of the course and pad the grade. Also, the discussions are really helpful for really cementing what you learn in lecture, so don't skip.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A
June 25, 2021

I took this class while it was online, and the extra credit he provides can honestly boost your grade by a whole letter. I do not know if he will offer this when it is back in person, so do not count on it. The tests were also 24 hours long, so do not count on that either. Otherwise, I thought Tung's lectures were some of the best online lectures I have had during the pandemic. He uses Youtube to stream them, so there is not as much interaction, but he has office hours if you need that. Personally, I did not go to office hours, but I have heard they were helpful for students. He is also really understanding, so if you have any concerns, just reach out to him. The labs online were pretty easy, so if it back in person, do not count on that. Discussion section was also useful, and I would recommend going. Mastering physics, the homework for this class, could be time consuming, but it was what he offered as extra credit along with participation in class through TopHat. The tests are not super difficult, but they could be more challenging if given in a shorter time constraint. Overall, I would recommend Tung for 5C.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: A
June 10, 2021

The lecture portion of the class was decent. Weekly worksheets and only needing to complete 60-65% of the MasteringPhysics homework for full credit (rest was extra credit). Tophat was a waste of money though. We only used it for like 5 classes in total this quarter. Exams aren't too bad, but most of them are mostly rearranging equations and not plug and chug. Lab was a hassle. All of the labs required extra time outside of class to finish since they were all very long.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: B+
Jan. 29, 2020

Tung is very knowledgeable about physics. You can tell that he is very fascinated on the subject and he does his best to demonstrate how cool physics is by using a lot of demonstrations in class. The problem with using a lot of demonstrations is that he just taught a lot of concepts and then wasted 10 minutes at the end of class to do those demonstrations. This means that he never did any practice problems during class. Also the Mastering Physics wasn't mandatory, but the practice problems still wasn't similar to what was on the exams, so it did not help much.

During the first midterm, almost no one did well because we only knew how to answer the conceptual questions. During the second midterm, he did a better job of showing us what will be on the exam, but you would only be able to truly know how to do those problems if you went to the REVIEW SESSION. or else everyone would've definitely failed. same thing goes for the final exam.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
2 of 3
3.1
Overall Rating
Based on 28 Users
Easiness 2.4 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 2.9 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.5 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 2.9 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Tolerates Tardiness
    (10)
  • Tough Tests
    (12)
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