PHYSICS 1C
Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Electrodynamics, Optics, and Special Relativity
Description: Lecture/demonstration, four hours; discussion, one hour. Enforced requisites: course 1A, 1B, Mathematics 32A, 32B. Enforced corequisite: Mathematics 33A. Magnetic fields, Ampere's law, Faraday's law, inductance, and alternating current circuits. Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, light, geometrical optics, interference and diffraction. Special relativity. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - Profesor Larkin is VERY smart, but his lectures are structured completely around conceptual ideas, yet his exams are all problem-solving. It makes no sense how we are actually supposed to learn and practice the problem-solving. He maybe walked through a total of 10 problems the entire quarter. The homework also was not helpful and made us work through problems for hours that were not even included in the lectures. He was quite rude over email. The exams are difficult for no reason and include deep analysis and revision on variables we didn't cover in class, and he just expects you to know how to set them up. The TA's reviewed problems that didn't even appear on the exam. This is one of the hardest classes I have ever taken. There are much easier physics professors out there. Save yourself.
Fall 2022 - Profesor Larkin is VERY smart, but his lectures are structured completely around conceptual ideas, yet his exams are all problem-solving. It makes no sense how we are actually supposed to learn and practice the problem-solving. He maybe walked through a total of 10 problems the entire quarter. The homework also was not helpful and made us work through problems for hours that were not even included in the lectures. He was quite rude over email. The exams are difficult for no reason and include deep analysis and revision on variables we didn't cover in class, and he just expects you to know how to set them up. The TA's reviewed problems that didn't even appear on the exam. This is one of the hardest classes I have ever taken. There are much easier physics professors out there. Save yourself.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - FOR 5C Fall 2025******** I am someone who went to office hours and actually took time to study. -yes his slides decks are screenshots (from a textbook we don’t use or ChatGPT) and often contain errors -yes the average on our first midterm was a 61% -yes he gave us a problem on the first midterm that involved calculus and the high was a 92 and he only gave us 8 point curve (the average was so low) But, what no one ever will mention is how he actually takes student feedback and changes. Our second midterm had no calculus and was fairly straightforward if you bothered to study or even attend a few of his office hours. The average was a 85% that’s pretty high for a physics class. Also, our final was so easy and so much partial credit was awarded the average was 89%. Again high for a physics class. He gave us 2 points for midterm 2 for filling out survey and 4 points on quizzes for filling out the kudu survey. And the quizzes were ss from kudu or discussion problems (identical copies) super easy if you did the homework. It was not long at all like master physics. So yes in the beginning he was not being fair with his exam and challenge problem involving calculus, but he changed and even offered us that our final could replace our lowest midterm score (which saved everyone’s grade). On our final we had a problem involving a 5a concept but it was literally identical to the one on the practice final he gave us. You just were solving for a different component but the same steps. I feel like people were extremely rude to this professor just because of the first midterm but it was not warranted at all especially after he changed his tests to help us succeed. He is a really nice guy and sometimes goes on long tangents during lecture and the slides can be hard to follow. But go to office hours and discussion and you will definitely get an A in the class.
Fall 2025 - FOR 5C Fall 2025******** I am someone who went to office hours and actually took time to study. -yes his slides decks are screenshots (from a textbook we don’t use or ChatGPT) and often contain errors -yes the average on our first midterm was a 61% -yes he gave us a problem on the first midterm that involved calculus and the high was a 92 and he only gave us 8 point curve (the average was so low) But, what no one ever will mention is how he actually takes student feedback and changes. Our second midterm had no calculus and was fairly straightforward if you bothered to study or even attend a few of his office hours. The average was a 85% that’s pretty high for a physics class. Also, our final was so easy and so much partial credit was awarded the average was 89%. Again high for a physics class. He gave us 2 points for midterm 2 for filling out survey and 4 points on quizzes for filling out the kudu survey. And the quizzes were ss from kudu or discussion problems (identical copies) super easy if you did the homework. It was not long at all like master physics. So yes in the beginning he was not being fair with his exam and challenge problem involving calculus, but he changed and even offered us that our final could replace our lowest midterm score (which saved everyone’s grade). On our final we had a problem involving a 5a concept but it was literally identical to the one on the practice final he gave us. You just were solving for a different component but the same steps. I feel like people were extremely rude to this professor just because of the first midterm but it was not warranted at all especially after he changed his tests to help us succeed. He is a really nice guy and sometimes goes on long tangents during lecture and the slides can be hard to follow. But go to office hours and discussion and you will definitely get an A in the class.
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2017 - Great class, amazing and helpful teacher. The homework was from the book, and his office hours were very helpful. However, the exams were super hard. The class was time consuming simply because the concepts really had to be ingrained in your brain to do well on exams. Overall great class. 10/10 with rice
Summer 2017 - Great class, amazing and helpful teacher. The homework was from the book, and his office hours were very helpful. However, the exams were super hard. The class was time consuming simply because the concepts really had to be ingrained in your brain to do well on exams. Overall great class. 10/10 with rice
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2023 - Professor Naranjo is one of those physics professors who doesn't believe in plug-and-chug questions, there is not one number to be found in any of his tests. He definitely is one of those professors who grossly overestimates the class' background knowledge in math and physics, so lecture can be hard to follow. Although he cares about his students' learning and is actually pretty understandable during office hours, lectures are a lost cause - he is sadly not an engaging lecturer and his handwritten notes are impossible to decipher. He is quite lenient on homework - although it is not fully completion, if an earnest attempt at solving each question is made, with some reasoning behind it, you should usually get full points.
Spring 2023 - Professor Naranjo is one of those physics professors who doesn't believe in plug-and-chug questions, there is not one number to be found in any of his tests. He definitely is one of those professors who grossly overestimates the class' background knowledge in math and physics, so lecture can be hard to follow. Although he cares about his students' learning and is actually pretty understandable during office hours, lectures are a lost cause - he is sadly not an engaging lecturer and his handwritten notes are impossible to decipher. He is quite lenient on homework - although it is not fully completion, if an earnest attempt at solving each question is made, with some reasoning behind it, you should usually get full points.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2025 - TAKE THIS CLASS WITH PROF. NI. I loved her! She was super sweet, and her pace was on the slower side which was particularly helpful for the first half of 1C. She only has one midterm and one final, but the final isn't cumulative. She offered corrections for the midterm, so basically you can correct what you did wrong on the midterm and earn up to half of the lost points. Also, since the second half of 1C is a lot easier than the first half, you can do okayish on the midterm and still end with an A. My biggest tip for this class is to read the textbook before lecture and take notes from the textbook. Prof. Ni follows the textbook quite closely, and her lectures can be a little confusing without having read the textbook. It's been a while since I took the class but I think she used Mastering Physics, and you get unlimited attempts for the calculation questions. But for the MCQs, you lose points each time you get the answer wrong so just a heads up.
Spring 2025 - TAKE THIS CLASS WITH PROF. NI. I loved her! She was super sweet, and her pace was on the slower side which was particularly helpful for the first half of 1C. She only has one midterm and one final, but the final isn't cumulative. She offered corrections for the midterm, so basically you can correct what you did wrong on the midterm and earn up to half of the lost points. Also, since the second half of 1C is a lot easier than the first half, you can do okayish on the midterm and still end with an A. My biggest tip for this class is to read the textbook before lecture and take notes from the textbook. Prof. Ni follows the textbook quite closely, and her lectures can be a little confusing without having read the textbook. It's been a while since I took the class but I think she used Mastering Physics, and you get unlimited attempts for the calculation questions. But for the MCQs, you lose points each time you get the answer wrong so just a heads up.
Most Helpful Review
It’s funny how this professor is rated so highly on bruinwalk. From my experience, and from the classmates I checked with, Peroomian simply doesn’t teach. I learnt absolutely nothing from his class. He regurgitates material directly from the textbook without explaining the key concepts. The examples he goes through in class are alright, but he just copies whatever he worked out beforehand, even the mistakes… meaning to say I have never seen him thinking on his feet or doing an actual analysis of the problem in class. If I were a professor, I would do that only if I’m unfamiliar with my topic and require notes all the time. Asking him questions were a pain; he skirts the question often, and upon being pressed to give a rigorous physics explanation, he simply uses analogies, or resort to the all-encompassing generic answer that things are just the way they are (example, he tried to explain Brewster’s angle in the topic of light, but had to resort to “oh it’s just a behavior of light…”. Peroomian’s grading was weird. It was a 100% Final; as long as you attempted your midterm, your score for final was yours to keep. If you’ve done well for the midterm and screwed up the final, there’s nothing you can do to bump up your grade to an A, even if it’s borderline for final. And his final was not a walk in the park; you had to study hard for it. I had a few friends who didn’t so well for the final, and missed the A grade by just a bit in the final. They were extremely angry about the unfairness of it all. In short Peroomian was disappointing, given his rave reviews on bruinwalk. No doubt he’s a great guy, but maybe he’s just not suited for teaching e&m since he has more of an astronomy than a pure physics background. I speak only of what some of my classmates and I have experienced in Physics 1C. The class was horrible for me, and I’m glad it’s over.
It’s funny how this professor is rated so highly on bruinwalk. From my experience, and from the classmates I checked with, Peroomian simply doesn’t teach. I learnt absolutely nothing from his class. He regurgitates material directly from the textbook without explaining the key concepts. The examples he goes through in class are alright, but he just copies whatever he worked out beforehand, even the mistakes… meaning to say I have never seen him thinking on his feet or doing an actual analysis of the problem in class. If I were a professor, I would do that only if I’m unfamiliar with my topic and require notes all the time. Asking him questions were a pain; he skirts the question often, and upon being pressed to give a rigorous physics explanation, he simply uses analogies, or resort to the all-encompassing generic answer that things are just the way they are (example, he tried to explain Brewster’s angle in the topic of light, but had to resort to “oh it’s just a behavior of light…”. Peroomian’s grading was weird. It was a 100% Final; as long as you attempted your midterm, your score for final was yours to keep. If you’ve done well for the midterm and screwed up the final, there’s nothing you can do to bump up your grade to an A, even if it’s borderline for final. And his final was not a walk in the park; you had to study hard for it. I had a few friends who didn’t so well for the final, and missed the A grade by just a bit in the final. They were extremely angry about the unfairness of it all. In short Peroomian was disappointing, given his rave reviews on bruinwalk. No doubt he’s a great guy, but maybe he’s just not suited for teaching e&m since he has more of an astronomy than a pure physics background. I speak only of what some of my classmates and I have experienced in Physics 1C. The class was horrible for me, and I’m glad it’s over.
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