<p>So I had to take physics 117 (double major in business and ME, advisor recommended taking this to get started on my engineering major) and apparently Solin is the only one who teaches it. Can anyone comment on his style/difficulty/etc. and maybe some useful pointers to survive this class? thanks...</p>
<p>I would recommend you take Physics 197 instead.</p>
<p>Solin is lousy. You’ll regret taking 117.</p>
<p>It’s similar to AP Physics if you took it in high school. Recommended if you have a prior background in physics, otherwise it might be a bit harder to do well in. I’m disappointed they’re phasing out 117-18, makes it harder for me to sell my books…</p>
<p>Seriously. Take 197.</p>
<p>Ditto to the 197. Less work, more learning, better professors.</p>
<p>Uhhh, are you sure about 197 having less work? It’s a TON of work.</p>
<p>(It may have more work, but you are rewarded for it with the 35% homework grade. And most people learn the material better. There’s an obvious reason 117 is being phased out).</p>
<p>Assuming I’m stuck in 117 (currently 9th on the waitlist to get into 197, 58 enrolled), is it possible to get a good grade (say, A-) if I work really hard?</p>
<p>"To ensure that at least half the seats in Physics 197 are made available to incoming freshmen from all schools, the physics department manually enrolls students in the course from a waitlist, giving priority to incoming freshmen. In fall 2011, there will be at least 130 seats in Physics 197 available to incoming engineers. Please note that waitlist numbers are not necessarily good indicators of whether you will get into the course.</p>
<p>If you are interested in taking Physics 197/198, place yourself on the waitlist during your registration period. You will be notified at your campus e-mail address prior to the start of classes if a seat in Physics 197 is available. If a seat is not available, the physics department will assist you in registering for Physics 117A."</p>
<p>Yeah. Put yourself on the waitlist for 197 and in all likelihood, you’ll get in. Classes like calculus, physics and chemistry are always a mess at the beginning of the semester, but when they get sorted out you almost always get your first choice.</p>
<p>good news, I’m in 197. hynes is the instructor. any experience with her (I think its a girl)?
also, to fufill a requirement for Olin I am taking intro to psychology (L33 Psych 100B 01) with the 3 professor combination of carpenter/head/sommers. again, what can I expect? easy enough (the profs seem easy on ratemyprofessor)? </p>
<p>Finally, all of my classes are for credit right now, is that ok or should 1 be pass/fail?</p>
<p>Don’t make any pass/fail - you’re probably not allowed to anyway (any classes taken for your major, ie physics, HAVE to be for credit). </p>
<p>Typically, the only classes that can be p/f are your h/ss classes, but if you’re taking 100b for Olin then it probably has to be for credit anyway.</p>
<p>100b is really easy. Go to class. Do the readings. You’ll get an A.
Sommers is really great. Don’t know the other two, but the psych dept professors tend to be good.
There was only 1/3 that I didn’t like when I took 100b, but that was a teaching style thing (there were several people who liked her). That and my mom is a psych prof (and I had seen the material a billion times), so I was a bit bored.</p>
<p>ok thanks. I also have to fufill a history requirement so I’m taking intro to world history (L22 History 164) and have parsons, has anyone had him before?</p>
<p>Never had Parsons, but his reviews look good.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=90901[/url]”>Timothy Parsons at Washington University in St. Louis | Rate My Professors;
<p>Johnson, could you just confirm your statement about intro to psych 100b being easy? I talked to someone today who said it is really really hard to do well and that the tests are very difficult multiple choice.</p>
<p>When hundreds of people take a class, they’ll all have different opinions of the difficulty – fwiw.</p>
<p>As marcdvl said, everyone will have different opinions of the class. This is of course just my experience with the class (and most people I’ve talked to regarding the class hold the same opinion).</p>
<p>From the friends I took the class with (I can name at least 20), the only people who did not get an A were people who skived off class quite often/ didn’t do the readings.</p>
<p>Psych 100b will have barely a quarter of the workload that phys 197 will, by the way.</p>
<p>Regarding the tests: yes, they are multiple choice. But very easy if you have done the readings/gone to class. The profs aren’t trying to trick you.
The only /hard/ multiple choice tests I’ve taken at WashU (in my limited number of classes of course) was for Bio 3058. That class is miserable.</p>
<p>I took 164 with Parsons and thought the class was great. He does a good job of making history feel relevant.</p>
<p>good to hear. I’ve heard he is a good teacher but gives a ton of reading, is this true?</p>