PHYSICS 5B
Physics for Life Sciences Majors: Thermodynamics, Fluids, Waves, Light, and Optics
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; laboratory, two hours. Requisite: course 5A. Thermal properties of matter, free energy, fluids, ideal gas, diffusion, oscillations, waves, sounds, light, and optics, with applications to biological and biochemical systems. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - Bauer was a good professor- his lectures were well-developed and covered all the necessary topics. If you understood his lectures, did the practice problems (problem bank posted on BruinLearn), and did the homework, you would be more than prepared for his exams. One thing I will say, however, is that Bauer either makes 2 hard midterms (averages 75) and a relatively fair final (average 85) or two easy midterms (average >90) and one hard final (average <75). Either way, I don't think it matters too much as long as you do your best to stay above the curve. Bauer was very clear at the beginning of the class that the average grade in his class will be B, so regardless of how hard/easy the exams are, you should just try your best to stay above the average. I think that Physics 5B is harder than 5A because there is A LOT of content. However, Bauer does his best to answer questions and teach the material in a memorizable way. He also gives a formula sheet, which helps. I'd definitely recommend taking 5B with him as he's clear with his expectations and a fair professor overall.
Fall 2024 - Bauer was a good professor- his lectures were well-developed and covered all the necessary topics. If you understood his lectures, did the practice problems (problem bank posted on BruinLearn), and did the homework, you would be more than prepared for his exams. One thing I will say, however, is that Bauer either makes 2 hard midterms (averages 75) and a relatively fair final (average 85) or two easy midterms (average >90) and one hard final (average <75). Either way, I don't think it matters too much as long as you do your best to stay above the curve. Bauer was very clear at the beginning of the class that the average grade in his class will be B, so regardless of how hard/easy the exams are, you should just try your best to stay above the average. I think that Physics 5B is harder than 5A because there is A LOT of content. However, Bauer does his best to answer questions and teach the material in a memorizable way. He also gives a formula sheet, which helps. I'd definitely recommend taking 5B with him as he's clear with his expectations and a fair professor overall.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - I'm going to be honest with y'all. Taking Bauer during fall quarter absolutely sucked. I heard from all my friends who took him in the past that he was a pretty chill dude so I was excited to take the class. However, I guess after doing spring and summer online and having kids receive a shit ton of As that made him become a bit jaded and make the class a bit more annoying to complete. Initially, the class seems like your average physics class with discussions (10%), labs (15%), and homework (10%), and quizzes (40%). However, he attempted to mix up the class a paper that counted as a midterm (2.5%) and a final paper that was worth (12.5%). For the first paper, I'll give him a pass because it didn't really matter since it was worth so little and was supposed to be a litmus test for what he was looking for in the final paper. But the problem was that he didn't even give proper feedback to the first paper so we couldn't even learn from our mistakes coupled with the fact that we had a final and final paper in the class due just made the whole process so stressful. Not even to mention he originally had the basis of an A increased that a solid A was a 95 as well. I just feel overall he really seemed like he wanted to reduce the number of As in the class but I just felt like the addition of the papers as well as his stubbornness regarding grading as well just left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm sure in person he's a decent person to take but as for online I say just avoid him all together unless you absolutely have to.
Fall 2020 - I'm going to be honest with y'all. Taking Bauer during fall quarter absolutely sucked. I heard from all my friends who took him in the past that he was a pretty chill dude so I was excited to take the class. However, I guess after doing spring and summer online and having kids receive a shit ton of As that made him become a bit jaded and make the class a bit more annoying to complete. Initially, the class seems like your average physics class with discussions (10%), labs (15%), and homework (10%), and quizzes (40%). However, he attempted to mix up the class a paper that counted as a midterm (2.5%) and a final paper that was worth (12.5%). For the first paper, I'll give him a pass because it didn't really matter since it was worth so little and was supposed to be a litmus test for what he was looking for in the final paper. But the problem was that he didn't even give proper feedback to the first paper so we couldn't even learn from our mistakes coupled with the fact that we had a final and final paper in the class due just made the whole process so stressful. Not even to mention he originally had the basis of an A increased that a solid A was a 95 as well. I just feel overall he really seemed like he wanted to reduce the number of As in the class but I just felt like the addition of the papers as well as his stubbornness regarding grading as well just left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm sure in person he's a decent person to take but as for online I say just avoid him all together unless you absolutely have to.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2019 - Bondarenko is the most prepared and dedicated professor I have ever had. He uses a combination of powerpoint slides and handwritten notes. I never took a physics class prior to taking the 5 series, but he teaches from the very basics and builds onto that. He tends to follow the textbook closely, so it is not necessary to read the textbook. In regards to studying for exams, it is crucial to understand the problems that he goes over during the review sessions. The problems on the exam tend to resemble those of the review sessions but with slight modifications. The midterms are time-constrained, which resulted in rather low averages, but the final exam was fair. The only tough part is being able to draw connections when solving the problem because he asks for the answer in terms of certain variables. He is generous in allowing one notecard per exam. Homework is assigned through Mastering Physics, which you will need to purchase. He allows many attempts with no penalties. There are clicker questions, but they are graded based on participation and not accuracy. Discussion is optional, but usually the TAs will go over certain homework problems that Bondarenko handpicks. Also, he tends to teach a little bit slower than the other physics professors, so you may find it difficult to do the labs when he has not taught that topic yet. Finally, his grading scale is like a rank system, and he claims that it is only more generous than a normal grading scale. Overall, Bondarenko is an excellent professor, and I do not regret taking him for both 5A and 5B. He is such a patient professor, and it is really obvious that he genuinely cares about his students. Take him, you won't regret it.
Winter 2019 - Bondarenko is the most prepared and dedicated professor I have ever had. He uses a combination of powerpoint slides and handwritten notes. I never took a physics class prior to taking the 5 series, but he teaches from the very basics and builds onto that. He tends to follow the textbook closely, so it is not necessary to read the textbook. In regards to studying for exams, it is crucial to understand the problems that he goes over during the review sessions. The problems on the exam tend to resemble those of the review sessions but with slight modifications. The midterms are time-constrained, which resulted in rather low averages, but the final exam was fair. The only tough part is being able to draw connections when solving the problem because he asks for the answer in terms of certain variables. He is generous in allowing one notecard per exam. Homework is assigned through Mastering Physics, which you will need to purchase. He allows many attempts with no penalties. There are clicker questions, but they are graded based on participation and not accuracy. Discussion is optional, but usually the TAs will go over certain homework problems that Bondarenko handpicks. Also, he tends to teach a little bit slower than the other physics professors, so you may find it difficult to do the labs when he has not taught that topic yet. Finally, his grading scale is like a rank system, and he claims that it is only more generous than a normal grading scale. Overall, Bondarenko is an excellent professor, and I do not regret taking him for both 5A and 5B. He is such a patient professor, and it is really obvious that he genuinely cares about his students. Take him, you won't regret it.
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