A great lecturer for 7A. Take my word with a grain of salt, I had taken AP Physics C before so these concepts were review, but he definitely is great at explaining things. Homework is fair and helpful, and tests can include challenging problems but they're always within reach.
I don't have anything against this professor. Her lectures were fine, but boring. The section for the class was not designed too well. Sometimes I would get lost during lectures. The expectations on how to do well are made obvious by the weekly homework assignments and practice test problems. Shouldn't be too hard if you just put in the effort.
Pretty chill, just a standard physics course. Everything is clear about what you will be tested on and the homework is plenty to prepare.
The midterm and final were pretty reasonable and the workload was fine. The curved grading scale was really nice. You might have to put in a lot more effort if you've never taken physics before.
I strongly disliked the class structure. The homework was tedious: weekly assignments and a pre-lecture assignment before every class. Also, the class goes by too slow for people who have done mechanics, and too fast for everyone else. The professor is fine and the grading is very generous. I took this class P/NP and aimed for 57.5%. 87.5% is an A.
Lecture videos were okay. She is probably the worst communicator I have ever tried to work with at UCSB. TPS responds quicker.
Great teacher, but the class material is difficult. Go to her office hours and PRACTICE!!
Great at explaining concepts and gives useful example problem at the end of every lecture. Posts lecture slides before class. Has a prelecture assignment every lecture and homework due every sunday. Exams are hard, but it's physics lol. Grading is lenient, if you get a 52.5% in the class you pass.
Professor Koutroulakis is a very engaging lecturer. He definitely takes his time with concepts rather than giving you the best tips for solving problems, but if you take advantage of the sections and online textbook, you will be fine. His grading process is essentially pre-curved, which I think made most students score better than they expected.
Dr. Koutroulakis is fantastic all-around. Even though this class was easy as I took AP Physics before, he explained complex concepts in a simple way and often uses live demonstrations to illustrate concepts, which makes the material interesting to learn. The discussions are a great way to practice and clarify concepts. Highly recommend his class.
This class would probably have been rough had I not taken AP Physics, but that's just because it's physics. George is a great lecturer, and teaches with a lot of purpose. Tests are basically more textbook problems and are reasonable. I actually like the no-curve: it takes away the toxic competitive stuff and focuses us on just understanding.
Take this review with a grain of salt because I took AP physics C. This is a difficult class, but Koutrakulous makes it easier with incredible explanations. He is just a very high-quality lecturer. To excel on tests you NEED to do many practice problems or have prior physics experience.
Take my diffculty review with a grain of salt because I did take AP physics C. Professor Koutroulakis is one of the best teachers I ever had. He made diffcult concepts simple while giving intresting and fun examples. Homeworks are helpful to the exam. The exams were stright forward and simlar to all problems you'd do in class/for homework.
It is incredible how well he can explain difficult topics in such a simple way. Very fun lectures and a very caring guy who clearly wants to see his students succeed. Doing the non mandatory homework will help an incredible amount on the tests.
Phys 6CL was not bad, and the experiments were pretty interesting. Some of the prelabs are kind of long, so get ready for that. My TA was a really lenient grader, which was nice.
Paula is not awful for the intro classes like 7A and 7B, but when the material gets much more conceptual and hard (such as 7C) her lectures just become rambly and impossible to understand. I emailed her at least 4 times within the last two weeks of class, and she didn't respond to a single one. Take Daddy Koutralakis instead he's much sexier.
Mediocre lecturer, talked a little too much about theory and derivation than actually doing the problems. Tests were very difficult and always had to be curved by 20-30%.
6BL wasn't too bad, but it's definitely dependent on how lenient your TA is. The last lab was definitely a little difficult, but if you ask your TA for help, they'll probably help if you're struggling.
She is a good professor and her class isn't too hard. If you try you basically can get at least an A- for sure (she gives curves and extra credit). However she has not replied to ANY of the three emails i sent her haha if you have anything just go to her office hours.
Lectures are ok but there is a ton of content and not enough time to give thorough examples so watching example problems on YouTube helps a ton. Homework takes 4-8 hours to complete if you actually want to understand it, the midterm was easy but the final was incredibly hard.
The TA's aren't very good at explaining the lab procedure and answering questions, and then take off points for things we already checked with them about.
Great physics professor, though physics in general can be hard to learn or understand. Tests have MCQs, and are usually easier than the weekly homework. Clear feedback. Though, she uses Pearson (the devil) so prepare to spend $85.
Physics lab was frustrating, because whatever you submitted, the TAs would always find a way to mark at least 15% of your grade off. Sig figs are always wrong, and make you lose points too. The only good thing is that this lab is only once every two weeks. Has nothing to do with Physics lecture, and seemed useless in general.
Physics 7B is hard, but Koutroulakis is a good professor. His exams were hard, and I never felt prepared for them. I think he does the best he can; the course just sucks. I hate his discussion sections, though. A 2 hour discussion section is wild and unnecessary for this class. I don't know anyone who actually likes to go to section.
