Attn: Anyone taking/who has taken Physics 7A

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>For those of you taking Physics 7A in the spring session, which professor did you choose?</p>

<ul>
<li>Prof. Robert P. Lin will teach one section (MWF 11-12).</li>
<li>Prof. A. Lanzara will teach two sections (TTh 8-9:30 and 11-12:30).</li>
</ul>

<p>I know that Prof. Lanzara has taught the class before. I'm concerned about her ratings on RateMyProfessors.com, as several students have complained about her difficult exams.</p>

<p>Now, many students justify difficult exams by saying that the classes are graded on a curve. That's true for a lot of classes, and I don't really agree with the reasoning behind the argument. However, that is not the point here.</p>

<p>For those of you who have had her in the past, how did you feel? Are the "hard" problems similar to the homework or are they mostly "stretcher problems" -- problems that force you to think creatively (and often have never shown up in lectures and homework or are not adequately covered by them)? I've always tended to do poorly when it comes to stretchers.</p>

<p>Prof. Lin, on the other hand, has no entry in the RateMyProfs database for UC Berkeley. He might be teaching the class for the first time. I don't like to use stereotypes, but he is Asian -- and some Asian professors have been known for their comparatively difficult exams to those of peer professors. (For example, Prof. A. K. Liu's Math 1A exams have apparently received much criticism.)</p>

<p>Maybe I'm worrying too much, but hey, a finalist for the University Medal last year received his only "B" grade at Cal in Physics 7A. He was a CS major, meaning lots of math, science, and tech courses.</p>

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<p>Would be appreciated if someone could answer, as I need to decide soon.</p>

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<p>You should definately sign up for a math class with John Neu. He is not Asian.</p>

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<p>People tend to underperform when they don't feel challenged. Physics 7A isn't Music 27, but it isn't the most difficult course ever either, and some of the brightest students don't do so well. </p>

<p>If you are going to major in anything that requires Physics 7A, you are in for quite a few difficult exams.</p>

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<p>Typically exams have one of these questions, to separate the As from the Bs.</p>

<p>Of course. Did you have Prof. Lanzara though? Are you confirming that her exams had stretchers?</p>

<p>I would be highly suspicious of RateMyProfs database.</p>

<p>Why so? I agree with most of the ratings for professors I currently have.</p>

<p>You should definately sign up for a math class with John Neu. He is not Asian.</p>

<p>I AP'ed out of Math 1AB (thank God) and am taking 54 next semester. However, some of my friends are in 1A and that's how I heard about Prof. Liu.</p>

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<p>In anonymous websites for ranking teachers, the rank the teacher gets is often directly related to the student earned in his/her class, not necessarily the teacher's abilities.</p>

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<p>There is actually quite a large variation between Physics 7A profs.</p>

<p>Take a look at this:
<a href="http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/%7Ephy7a/#examstatssolutions%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~phy7a/#examstatssolutions&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Profs. Stahler and Boggs teach one section each of Phys 7A this semester.</p>

<p>On Stahler's exam, the results were heavily skewed to the right.
On Bogg's exam, the results more resemble that of a normal distribution. I've heard rumors that he uses the same exams for his Honors 7A classes.</p>

<p>You can say that the curve "balances things out." However, why the extra effort? If you know how to do every problem on an exam it's highly unlikely that you'll score below a B+ (if not get an A), as computational errors generally get docked much fewer points than incorrect problem setups. And when professors refrain from putting stretchers on exams, it's "easier" to get a better grade; just check all calculations.</p>

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<p>Anyone else have anything to say?</p>