The class isn't necessarily easy, bc it's physics, but he makes physics way more fun than I thought it could be. His humor is awkward and hilarious--the only reason to go to class, since his lectures are posted online. Highly recommend visiting office hrs regularly. Don't wait until the day before a test to go bc there will be a line out the door.
He's very funny and great to ask for help from :) Apart from Phys 6A, all the Phys 6B & 6C notes and lectures are posted online, allowing you to learn at your own pace. I found it easier to watch these 5-20 min videos than to attend lecture, since he goes on tangents and does too many examples. As long as you grind practice exams, you'll do great!
He was fair most of the time! Midterm was very easy and always tries to cut down on material in order to save time and make the students' lives easier. His final was very hard unfortunately but just study a lot and you'll get well above average. Do the practice problems he posts and go to office hours. I wouldn't take him again but he was alright.
Unfair tester, totally screwed over the class with the final in 6B and 6C apparently. Just take Ernest Freund, he actually knows how to give a fair exam!
Great person, terrible professor. Just demos in his lecture, he even said that his "lectures are complimentary to the book". No amount of studying could prepare for the final, there were at least 8 questions on it that we've never seen before. It was purely to bring down the class average. Said there was going to be 30 questions but there were 38.
Take the PHYS6 series with Freund! He makes it very clear that in order to do well you need to understand his quizzes and practice exams; if you do these problems repeatedly with a general understanding, you are literally guaranteed at least B+. He's really nice and cares about his students as well. Definitely take over Geller!
I adore Geller! there are a lot of topics to cover but he tries to trim down as much material as he can. The final is a heavy portion of the grade and hard. But the midterms are usually easier as he gives practice midterms. Homework problems don't help/aren't on exams but saves your grade as its are worth as much as the final.
He's a funny guy and really cares about his students. Don't be afraid to approach him. Office hours rlly helped me understand the topics and took my grade from a B in 6A to an A in 6B. Lectures are hard to follow sometimes but he has to simplify tough concepts so it's understandable. Overall great prof! Have to put in some effort for an A though.
Professor Geller is a really passionate professor and has a love for physics, but the final exam was really frustrating. He had a full practice exam with none of the same topics as the real exam and didn't provide practice problems for the topics on the test. I studied a lot for the final but ended up putting an emphasis on the wrong things.
Very enjoyable experience, one of my favorite professors at UCSB. Funny lectures, sometimes goes on tangents and falls behind, but doesn't put it at the expense of students. You're tested on what he tells you in lecture. Nothing else. Homework is nothing like exams, practice exams are carbon-copies of the tests. Go to office hours if you're stuck!
The physics is tough, but Geller shows true interest in his field is fair with the curve. I personally thought the tests were hard but the online Achieve homework is CLUTCH when it comes to grading. It is a good proportion of our total grade and makes up for the -in my opinion- hard tests. Only issue is that lectures are broad compared to Hw.
Freund super super funny, definitely has super bad ADHD tho. Phys is just hard but if you study youll do fine.
I had Freund for 6A/B and he was great for both! 6A is definitely harder, but in terms of both courses, as long as you know how to do his practice tests and quizzes (and I mean really know how to do those questions) you will do great on the exams :)
Prof Geller is a good professor. A bit disorganized but cares about students. Tests were not organized well and it wasn't super clear what was going to be on the test. CLAS definitely helped
Freund is so nice and helpful, especially if you ask him questions. His lectures might be a little disorganized, but he ultimately does a good job of explaining things and has good practice problems available. You definitely have to go to lecture tho to keep up. Overall, he's really nice and knowledgable –– def recommend!
Honestly, Geller has been one of my favorite teachers so far. Overall he is a super cool teacher and I don't find his physics series to be extremely difficult. As long as you stay on top of the achieve homework you will do well. Plus, his lectures have been pretty enjoyable, despite being at 8am.
So this is a hybrid class because covid messed everything up. His lectures are terrible. Conceptual examples, no further examples or questions. You have to teach yourself. The homework is heavy but it helps with practice. Fingers crossed I pass this class, but the person teaching me this material is myself.
He gives extremely easy conceptual based questions in class during lectures, the hw is hard and there are at least 5 things due every week, then comes the tests covering only math problems that he never taught in class That we have to teach ourselves !! We frustrating class felt prepared for exams and it was never enough
At first I wasn't sure what to think of Prof. Geller - His lectures were super fast paced and at times a bit disorganized, but over the 10 weeks of the course, I developed a lot of respect for him, and came to actually really enjoy his lectures. It's definitely a tough class, I won't lie, but he is encouraging and supportive with his students
Fruend is a really nice guy and his demos are pretty fun and exciting. Lectures can be a bit everywhere at times and unorganized. You will basically have to put in work outside the class and teach yourself. Understand how to do practice exams thoroughly as his final was similar. Averages were very low but VERY GENEROUS CURVE THANK U FRUEND!
this is a horrible professor just because his final exam is so difficult. The average score of the final exam just 57%, but this is just an introductory Course of physic. I am studying economic, I choose this course just want to satisfy my ge requirement. so, I cannot understand why he make this introductory course final so difficult.
Lecturing style isn't the clearest, but his practice tests are basically identical to his exams so it's not hard to do well in the class anyway.
DONT take him! Extremely disorganized and makes learning physics so much harder than it has to be. He uses no notes or ppts (used previous students' notes to teach off of when ppl complained) and just starts writing randomly on the board. If you skip class you'll have no idea what's going on. Hw is really hard and irrelevant to tests. Take Geller!
I see a lot of people giving rave reviews and then 3/5 stars. He deserves a 5/5 rating on rmp based on those people's comments and my personal experience. He was on top of any issues that arose technologically as well as responding surprisingly quickly to my emails when I had questions on class concepts. I enjoyed this class because he taught it.
