Why do the waves hit the beach every five seconds? This course teaches students the relevant fluid dynamics and allows them to apply it to natural phenomena of California: seismic waves, tsunamis, maximum tree heights, fluid flow around fish.

Prerequisites: Physics 5 or 25.

4

Units

Letter

Grading

1, 2

Passtime

None

Level Limit

Letters and science

College
These majors only phys phycs
ZEE A
Anthony Zee
2.5
19 reviews
AI predicted, based on past grading trends of the course and instructor, class info, and 127 other factors
PHELP1440
F
13:00 PM - 13:50 PM
0 / 33

Fall 2024 . Blaes O M
ILP 3310
M W
12:30 PM - 13:45 PM
Fall 2025 . Oh S P
ILP 4103
M W
12:30 PM - 13:45 PM
See All
PHYS 120 Zee A Fall 2023 Total: 21
PHYS 120 Zee A Fall 2022 Total: 21
See All
19
2.5
PHYS120 . Zee A 5 Years Ago

Getting a good grade is pretty easy. Also there is extra credit to boost your letter grade one level up. (So like A to A+). Some stuffs he taught seemed easy but hard to realize when you should use it. Lecture notes are not eligible but if you listen to lecture it would be fine. He s an old man trying to catch up with tech so its understandable.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
PHYS120 . Zee A 5 Years Ago

Amazed by his stretch of mind and sharp intuition. Included common techniques(Landau common) in hw/exams. Just so brilliant. Hints are VERY on point, seriously. Wants students be independent. Wish I can think like him and makes physical sense out of random problems. Could be harsh on language. Just ask aggressively until un-confused. He likes that.

1 helpful 0 unhelpful
PHYS120 . Zee A 5 Years Ago

Says every question is "trivial" or "elementary" because he doesn't want to give an actual answer. Learned nothing. Easy class

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
PHYS120 . Zee A 6 Years Ago

Doesn't have a course website to force people to attend his poor lectures. Homeworks are often a few questions taken from textbooks and are simply not well conceived to challenge understanding of material. Midterm was too easy and final was too hard. Lectures are very boring and course is repetitive and not very rigorous. Waste of time.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
PHYS150 . Zee A 5 Years Ago

If you dont mind his somewhat tough stance towards the students, he is one of the best professors in physics. Very insightful and intuitive, like his nutshell series.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
PHYS150 . Zee A 5 Years Ago

I have taken many physics classes, but Zee's class gives me a feeling that he is actually trying to help me become a physicist. This class: fly by night physics, has all four core physics classes, mechanics, EM, quantum, and thermo, as prerequisite. He offers a way of thinking that combs through all four subjects elegantly.

1 helpful 0 unhelpful
See all 19 reviews
PHYS 115C
0 / 60 Enrolled
Quantum Mechanics
Cenke XU 3.4
M W
11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
PHYS 115A
0 / 90 Enrolled
Quantum Mechanics
Chenhao Jin 2.6
M W
14:00 PM - 15:15 PM
PHYS 119A
0 / 100 Enrolled
Thermal and Statistical Physics
David Caratelli 4.8
M W
15:30 PM - 16:45 PM
PHYS 123A
0 / 35 Enrolled
Condensed Matter Physics
Dirk Bouwmeester 2.7
M W
12:30 PM - 13:45 PM
PHYS 127AL
0 / 48 Enrolled
Analog Electronics
Hugh Lippincott 3.7
T R
11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
PHYS 128AL
0 / 24 Enrolled
Advanced Experimental Physics
Xiao Luo 3.0
M W
13:00 PM - 17:50 PM