Hi! I'm a high school student selecting courses for next year, and I was wondering which teacher is best for Physics 1B03. Also, is it better to take it semester 1 or semester 2? I'm choosing between Hughes, Yavin (Only first semester), Nedjat (Only Second Semester) and Sutherland (Only second semester). The reason I might want to take it in first semester is so I can take physics 1BB3. But if I take it in second, can I take Physics 1BB3 in second year?

Yavin is hilarious and really chill. He knows his stuff and makes lectures REALLY interesting (plus he posts his complete slides so you usually don't have to do much note-taking, so you can just pay attention to what he's talking about). He has a bit of an accent but it's nothing incomprehensible. The thing with Yavin is that you have to be a lot more on-task that on the ball. If you're disciplined enough to work hard on your own even if he's really chill about things, you'll be fine.

I can't speak for the other three, though.

it wont really matter between yavin and hughes. both are considered good lecturers. and yes u can take 1bb3 physics in 2nd year.

Thanks! Yavin only teaches first semester but I read somewhere that 1st semester Physics was much harder than second semester Physics. Is this true? Also I heard the Hughes doesn't actually have notes. Does this mean if I have Hughes I will have to do most of the learning myself?

Whatever you do don't get Nejat. Ive heard really good things about hughes though. my friend who took the course RAVED about her.

100% YAVIN.

Hughes is good, but she's a lot more dry. Yavin has a great sense of humor and really keeps your attention! He will also dig up some cool physics-related videos and whatnot that make the class a lot more interesting.

In terms of availability and approachability, I can't speak for Hughes, but Yavin sets up additional office hours when he feels like there is more demand for them. He's also held exam review sessions on his OWN time to answer all our questions. Super friendly and down-to-earth prof, he's more your super-smart hilarious older brother than big mean prof.

Does this mean if I have Hughes I will have to do most of the learning myself?

are you serious? you should not be in college.

Originally Posted by hilton

are you serious? you should not be in college.

Come on...that's not fair. I was just wondering if it was easy to follow along in her class because I read on this forum she doesn't really use notes in class. I'm an independent learner, but I usually pick things up very quickly in class, meaning I don't study as much in classes where the teacher has really good notes. That's all. Obviously I know that in university, I'll have to work hard.

Also are tests different depending on teacher? Like does Yavin have different tests than Hughes, or are they the same? Thanks for all your help guys!

Originally Posted by ban1o

Also are tests different depending on teacher? Like does Yavin have different tests than Hughes, or are they the same? Thanks for all your help guys!

No. everyone in the same term has the same tests despite different instructors. I think Hughes is a very good prof but her teaching style might not be liked by some people since she does not have notes, and you really have to pay attention in class to understand everything.

Snide comments aside, in university going to lecture for most people (at least in my experience and of most people I know) isn't where you will do most of your learning/understanding. Most of the time, going to lecture is to help get a basic understanding of the topic, and of course notes. In the case of physics 1b03, you will be going mostly for iclickers since the notes are essentially from book and Knight does a pretty good job of 1b03 and 1ba3 /1bb3.

For almost any physics course, your best bet is to spend time trying to understand the material and apply it to questions you haven't done before. Doing the same kind of problem over and over again will not help much. If you have trouble understanding go to the TA's if possible, and the instructor after. Asking upper years and fellow classmates is always a good idea too. Personally meeting up with friends and doing/going over problems together is a great way to understand material better. Also if you end up having problems next year another option is to go to PHI (Physics Help Initiative), it is in the Burke Science Building (BSB) basement (B124 or something) and almost all day there will be upper year physics students sitting there waiting to help people with any questions they have.

And onto your main question, it depends on you mostly. I like Nejat and Yavin overall, and Hughes was good for 1B03 since she has taught the course so many times though for 1BA3 she was likely personally.

Cheers and have a great summer!

Thank you for your Help Everyone!

Honestly, it really depends on you. Hughes is very popular but I didn't like her teaching whatsoever - your lessons are basically the textbook and she'll do some practice problems in class. I had Nejat for 1L03 and I liked him better. He can be intimidating since he walks around the class and picks people out (you can't hide) but his notes were pretty clear and repeated important points a lot.

I vouch for Nejat, he cares about his students doing well and it was very easy to get 100% on his I clickers because he gives you participation marks and the I-clickers are worth 5% of your total grade (Even though I got a bunch of them wrong, I still ended up with 5/5). I thought he was a really funny guy also and he really knows his stuff about the course, but you really have to think conceptually a lot for the tests no matter who the teacher is

Three in a row for Nejat, haha. At some points he kinda rushed in the lecture, but at the same time it's more my fault that I didn't keep up with the work due to focusing on other classes, etc. I recommend him, though. He's smart and he's probably the most approachable and caring teacher I know. Went to his office all the time last term and he gave me lots of advice.