Physics for Life Sciences Majors: Mechanics and Energy

Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; laboratory, two hours. Requisites: Life Sciences 30A, 30B, or Mathematics 3A, 3B, 3C (3C may be taken concurrently). Statics and dynamics of forces, motion, energy, including thermal energy, with applications to biological and biochemical systems. P/NP or letter grading.

Review Summary

Clarity
8.3 / 10
Organization
8.3 / 10
Time
15-20 hrs/week
Overall
8.3 / 10

Reviews

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2022 In-Person
    Grade: A

    Good class. Tung is really nice. Lectures were good as well.

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2022 In-Person
    Grade: N/A

    very accommodating and understanding professor but hard class overall especially if never taken physics in high school or previously

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2022 In-Person
    Grade: A

    I've heard that Tung often gets mixed reviews but while I can understand it, my guess is that those that struggle are seeing this content for the first time and not putting in extra effort to catch up. Content is covered at a fast pace if you've never seen it, but the content is almost entire covered by AP Physics 1 for those who've taken it -- I did and I found that paying attention in class or doing extra practice problems was hardly necessary. Discussions just involve a worksheet and in-person attendance optional + useless since the worksheets are very quick (I did them during lecture). The class is fairly well-organized and almost entirely over Kudu -- my only gripe with the class. This site is fraught with bugs and it was a few weeks into the quarter before the site was even usable. The midterms and final
    were not a walk in the park (although final this quarter was online due to the TA strike so that was pretty free) but familiarize yourself with the equations and you'll be fine.

    Compared to other professors for 5A (Rombes especially *cough, cough*), Tung is a pretty good option I'd say.

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2022 In-Person
    Grade: C

    Professor Tung is a really great professor. He's really funny and his in-class presentations are really cool and connect to what was talked about during that lecture. He makes physics really fun.

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2021 Online
    Grade: A

    exams are very difficult and cocneptual but kudu is helpful

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2021 Online
    Grade: A

    very nice professor and also very approachable

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2022 In-Person
    Grade: A

    Really enjoyed Tung's demonstrations, he makes lectures engaging and interesting

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2022 In-Person
    Grade: A

    Tung is a great lecturer and provides all the tools you need to succeed in this class. He is somewhat obsessed with Kudu but provides a decent amount of extra credit just for doing the homework. The exams can be tough but fair, definitely watch his exam review office hours and try to keep up with the lectures with good notes. The supplemental videos on kudu are actually pretty good at solidifying any conceptual confusion you have.

    Quarter Taken: Summer 2022 In-Person
    Grade: A

    The pace of the class was very good. Tung explained concepts well.

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2023 In-Person
    Grade: A

    The lectures are very generalized so you can just get an overall idea of the concept. It's important to do a lot of practice problems provided by your TA, the midterm review, and openstacks questions if possible.

Course

Instructor
Nathan Tung
Previously taught
24S 24W 23F 22F 22Su 21F 21Su 21W 20F 20Su 20S

Grading Information

  • No group projects

  • Attendance required

  • 2 midterms

  • Finals week final

  • 53% recommend the textbook

Previous Grades

Grade distributions not available.