Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Electrodynamics, Optics, and Special Relativity

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.

Review Summary

Clarity
6.7 / 10
Organization
6.7 / 10
Time
5-10 hrs/week
Overall
6.7 / 10

Reviews

    Quarter Taken: Spring 2023 In-Person
    Grade: B

    Prof. Tung has a clear passion for physics—he frequently dives into the nitty-gritty of proofs and performs really cool demonstrations (like breaking a wineglass using resonant frequency). It's a great class for people who are already interested in physics and willing to put in the time to learn.

    However, I am not particularly interested in physics. As a CS major who just wants to get the class over with, Prof. Tung's teaching style is frustrating because he goes overboard on detail rather than building intuition for physics concepts. He also assumes we can pick up the material quite quickly, leaving me to rewatch his lectures since I couldn't keep up.

    Quarter Taken: Summer 2023 Online
    Grade: A

    Professor does cool demos, and the content is overall interesting. The midterms were very fair, final was a bit harder, but the class is definitely fast paced.

Course

Instructor
Nathan Tung
Previously taught
23Su 23S 20W

Grading Information

  • No group projects

  • Attendance not required

  • 2 midterms

  • Finals week final

  • 50% recommend the textbook

Previous Grades

Grade distributions not available.