PHYSICS 1A
Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Mechanics
Description: Lecture/demonstration, four hours; discussion, one hour. Enforced requisites: Mathematics 31A, 31B. Enforced corequisite: Mathematics 32A. Motion, Newton laws, work, energy, linear and angular momentum, rotation, equilibrium, gravitation. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2018 - Hamilton is a standard professor - he goes over concepts/theory in class along with some examples. I liked how he did in-class questions through a software called Kudu - this allowed us to interact with each other and not fall asleep at 9 am haha. However, I found that his lectures lacked example problems, and also he did not give us any sample exam problems before the midterm/final. As such, we kind of went into the exams without knowing exactly what to study. Also, some of the hw questions he assigned were kind of irrelevant to the material. Overall, Hamilton is okay as a professor - I'm kind of neutral about recommending or not recommending him.
Fall 2018 - Hamilton is a standard professor - he goes over concepts/theory in class along with some examples. I liked how he did in-class questions through a software called Kudu - this allowed us to interact with each other and not fall asleep at 9 am haha. However, I found that his lectures lacked example problems, and also he did not give us any sample exam problems before the midterm/final. As such, we kind of went into the exams without knowing exactly what to study. Also, some of the hw questions he assigned were kind of irrelevant to the material. Overall, Hamilton is okay as a professor - I'm kind of neutral about recommending or not recommending him.
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Most Helpful Review
I took Astronomy 5 (not physics) with Hansen in Fall 2015. I highly recommend the course, as it is a relatively easy and extremely interesting GE. Weekly homework assignments do a convenient service to you by keeping you up to date on the course material, as so long as you put reasonable effort into them, you'll do an effective job of getting the material to "stick" for the tests. Nice that this 30% HW grade contributes to that. The key is to put your all into every homework assignment - getting 100% of the questions right every week is essential to securing a solid A in the class. When in doubt on a question, don't leave it up to the grader to see where you're coming from like I did. Ask your TA on those before you turn it in to make sure you're getting the controversial/questionable ones right. Missing a couple questions on HW here and there turns out to have as much effect as missing a test question, so that's a crucial mistake to avoid. Prof Hansen's lectures are very dry and very boring - the subject material is exciting, thought-provoking, and engaging, but I found the professor to be quite the mumbler. There really isn't much point in going to lecture, as the PowerPoint slides are really the only useful tool that will come from the lecture (and those are available online). It is clear that Hansen is very intelligent and fond of Astronomy, but his lecturing is just too dry to be worthwhile. Weekly homework assignments are worth 30%, one midterm worth 30%, and the final is worth 40%. I studied the night before the midterm pretty hard and as a result found it to be pretty doable. With some luck and time spent poring over that 57 question Multiple Choice test, I ended up with a 98 on it. The average score was about 85, however. The final was noticeably more difficult, as after what I felt to be also a very strong amount of studying I ended up with a solid B. The average was an 80 and the high grade was a 92, so this one was definitely tougher. To do well on the exams, go over both lecture notes and the textbook. Start with lecture notes and get the gist of the concepts, then find all of those concepts in the book and read a little bit about them and why they're important. Many of the textbook's details will prove to be pretty important on the tests. There doesn't appear to be any curving in the class, so it frankly doesn't seem quite as easy as is suggested by those who call it a blue backpack class. The homework is a nice buffer for your grade, but you better be getting nearly all of it right, as well a getting at the very least an A- on the tests if you want to nab a solid A. I did end up with a solid A in the class but I doubt I made the cutoff by much, even with high scores on the homework and midterm. Overall, this is an excellent class to take. My favorite part was the interesting material, since the idea of Life in the Universe is really fun to explore and it results in a class that is less dependent on quantitative concepts. Be prepared to put some reasonable effort in if you want an A, but there's no doubt that it's definitely within reach.
I took Astronomy 5 (not physics) with Hansen in Fall 2015. I highly recommend the course, as it is a relatively easy and extremely interesting GE. Weekly homework assignments do a convenient service to you by keeping you up to date on the course material, as so long as you put reasonable effort into them, you'll do an effective job of getting the material to "stick" for the tests. Nice that this 30% HW grade contributes to that. The key is to put your all into every homework assignment - getting 100% of the questions right every week is essential to securing a solid A in the class. When in doubt on a question, don't leave it up to the grader to see where you're coming from like I did. Ask your TA on those before you turn it in to make sure you're getting the controversial/questionable ones right. Missing a couple questions on HW here and there turns out to have as much effect as missing a test question, so that's a crucial mistake to avoid. Prof Hansen's lectures are very dry and very boring - the subject material is exciting, thought-provoking, and engaging, but I found the professor to be quite the mumbler. There really isn't much point in going to lecture, as the PowerPoint slides are really the only useful tool that will come from the lecture (and those are available online). It is clear that Hansen is very intelligent and fond of Astronomy, but his lecturing is just too dry to be worthwhile. Weekly homework assignments are worth 30%, one midterm worth 30%, and the final is worth 40%. I studied the night before the midterm pretty hard and as a result found it to be pretty doable. With some luck and time spent poring over that 57 question Multiple Choice test, I ended up with a 98 on it. The average score was about 85, however. The final was noticeably more difficult, as after what I felt to be also a very strong amount of studying I ended up with a solid B. The average was an 80 and the high grade was a 92, so this one was definitely tougher. To do well on the exams, go over both lecture notes and the textbook. Start with lecture notes and get the gist of the concepts, then find all of those concepts in the book and read a little bit about them and why they're important. Many of the textbook's details will prove to be pretty important on the tests. There doesn't appear to be any curving in the class, so it frankly doesn't seem quite as easy as is suggested by those who call it a blue backpack class. The homework is a nice buffer for your grade, but you better be getting nearly all of it right, as well a getting at the very least an A- on the tests if you want to nab a solid A. I did end up with a solid A in the class but I doubt I made the cutoff by much, even with high scores on the homework and midterm. Overall, this is an excellent class to take. My favorite part was the interesting material, since the idea of Life in the Universe is really fun to explore and it results in a class that is less dependent on quantitative concepts. Be prepared to put some reasonable effort in if you want an A, but there's no doubt that it's definitely within reach.
Most Helpful Review
Holczer is a very nice and likable guy, but a poor teacher. I stopped going to his lectures and went to Corbin's instead or just read the book. The class was extremely easy with me just taking college prep physics in high school. Holczer has an accent which is very hard to understand (though kinda awesome) and his handwriting isn't good. We graded homework in class which was definitely a plus, none of that online hw stuff. His tests were extremely easy. They are just questions from the book. In fact one of the questions on the final was a question I had done the night before while studying. Pretty much everyone gets A's which really helped my GPA since its a 5 unit class. I'd take his class again so that I'd get all the easy tests but just go to a different teacher's lectures.
Holczer is a very nice and likable guy, but a poor teacher. I stopped going to his lectures and went to Corbin's instead or just read the book. The class was extremely easy with me just taking college prep physics in high school. Holczer has an accent which is very hard to understand (though kinda awesome) and his handwriting isn't good. We graded homework in class which was definitely a plus, none of that online hw stuff. His tests were extremely easy. They are just questions from the book. In fact one of the questions on the final was a question I had done the night before while studying. Pretty much everyone gets A's which really helped my GPA since its a 5 unit class. I'd take his class again so that I'd get all the easy tests but just go to a different teacher's lectures.
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Most Helpful Review
The class is difficult. Professor Jura is very approachable and likes to explain a variety of material to his students. His class can be difficult because he does not really teach out of the textbook and tends to teach astronomical applications. The homework really requires some thinking and can be quite tricky as well as time consuming. He will never directly answer your questions in office hours but rather urge you to think. The time rush on the midterm exams can cause some difficulty. One important point is to memorize the equations and formulas he presents or know very well how to derive them. I would try to take some time to memorize them over the quarter. Mostly his homework and exam questions involve leaving the answer in variables but that did not bother me. If you are really into physics and astronomy then I highly recommend that you take his class. However, his style can be a little bothersome but if you will invest a good amount of effort in his class then you can do well.
The class is difficult. Professor Jura is very approachable and likes to explain a variety of material to his students. His class can be difficult because he does not really teach out of the textbook and tends to teach astronomical applications. The homework really requires some thinking and can be quite tricky as well as time consuming. He will never directly answer your questions in office hours but rather urge you to think. The time rush on the midterm exams can cause some difficulty. One important point is to memorize the equations and formulas he presents or know very well how to derive them. I would try to take some time to memorize them over the quarter. Mostly his homework and exam questions involve leaving the answer in variables but that did not bother me. If you are really into physics and astronomy then I highly recommend that you take his class. However, his style can be a little bothersome but if you will invest a good amount of effort in his class then you can do well.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - Professor Kamaha is very kind and genuinely cares about her students' success. I'm sure you'll probably start reading this review thinking, "You got an A+, what do you have to talk about?" Well, the majority of the reviews under Professor Kamaha seem to be worse than she deserves, and I feel that part of it surely must be due to the nature of the content that she teaches. Physics is hard; honestly, she doesn't deserve the blatant rudeness that many of my classmates express towards her. Professor Kamaha gives you an equation sheet and calculator for her exams. Some teachers only give you one or the other, or none at all. Biggest tip for her exams: Look at the practice tests. You don't even have to solve the questions; just look at the solutions and make sure you understand how you get from the question and the answer because she very often copies her questions for her exams verbatim from the practice exams, sometimes without even changing the numbers. At the end of the day, Professor Kamaha by no means unreasonable, and she genuinely wants you to succeed. The second midterm had 2 of the 3 questions directly from the practice exams, and she also gives points when she feels that the exam average is too low. She gives some supplementary assignments that serve as extra credit if you need it, and it's actually a substantial amount for quite a few people—I encourage you to do it even if you think you don't need it! You can do well in this class if you're diligent and try your best. Mechanics is straightforward conceptually: push an object, and it moves. Just be glad it isn't Corbin... or 1B... or heaven forbid 1B AND Corbin...
Fall 2024 - Professor Kamaha is very kind and genuinely cares about her students' success. I'm sure you'll probably start reading this review thinking, "You got an A+, what do you have to talk about?" Well, the majority of the reviews under Professor Kamaha seem to be worse than she deserves, and I feel that part of it surely must be due to the nature of the content that she teaches. Physics is hard; honestly, she doesn't deserve the blatant rudeness that many of my classmates express towards her. Professor Kamaha gives you an equation sheet and calculator for her exams. Some teachers only give you one or the other, or none at all. Biggest tip for her exams: Look at the practice tests. You don't even have to solve the questions; just look at the solutions and make sure you understand how you get from the question and the answer because she very often copies her questions for her exams verbatim from the practice exams, sometimes without even changing the numbers. At the end of the day, Professor Kamaha by no means unreasonable, and she genuinely wants you to succeed. The second midterm had 2 of the 3 questions directly from the practice exams, and she also gives points when she feels that the exam average is too low. She gives some supplementary assignments that serve as extra credit if you need it, and it's actually a substantial amount for quite a few people—I encourage you to do it even if you think you don't need it! You can do well in this class if you're diligent and try your best. Mechanics is straightforward conceptually: push an object, and it moves. Just be glad it isn't Corbin... or 1B... or heaven forbid 1B AND Corbin...
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