Worst professor I've ever had at UCSB. Could not teach for his life and impossible final.

Although the class material was straightforward, this professor is extremely rude and bad at teaching. When my classmates would ask questions he would usually come up with a disrespectful/snarky response rather than actually try to help them understand the material.

Dr. Freedman is an incredibly unpleasant person. I almost quit graduate school, weeks in, because of an email he sent berating me for an honest mistake. I would, and have since, avoided him at all costs.

Puts down students who ask questions. Makes you buy his own textbook, which you actually have to do because the tests are open book and that's the only book he allows. Worst professor I've ever had at ucsb.

He makes this course so much harder than it needs to be. For what should be an introductory physics class, you are better off with someone else. I recommend reading from the textbook in lieu of his lectures. Tests are pretty difficult, make sure you really understand the topics conceptually.

Do not take class with him. If you are a physics major, avoid him. He is rude, and looks down on his students.

Avoid Freedman at all costs. Midterm and the Final alone are close to impossible to the point where you question whether anything above a 70% is feasible, and these combine for 75% of your grade. There are 4 homeworks per week, each taking a long time. Freedman acts as if this is your only class and constantly condescends and berates students.

DO NOT take physics with him. He simply cannot teach! His lectures and textbook are utterly useless. He has the tendency to act and respond rudely towards students for no apparent reason besides to humiliate and demean them who have otherwise legitimate questions regarding the course--which is perhaps why no ever went to his office hours.

i wish everyone currently enrolled in professor freedman's class a very pleasant good luck on your midterm

Assigns ridiculous amounts of homework (assignments 4 times per week), which is worth nothing to the overall grade. Midterm and final were very tough and worth the bulk (75%) of the grade. Assigns a ton of extra credit though, and doing all of it can boost your grade by several percentage points. Avoid at all costs.

The other reviews are all correct that there is a lot of homework and Dr Freedman can come off as rude. The midterm and final make up a combined 75% of the grade, and are both very difficult. With that being said the material itself isn't too hard if you stay on top of it, and a good grade is easily achievable with hard work.

His course is very very interesting, but you have to watch lecture videos before classes. Insane amount of HW (60 dues total). Relatively easy midterm but the final was worth 50 or 75 percent of grade and was ridiculously hard. He wrote the textbook we have to read. This course is extremely demanding and be prepared for hw. But he offers so much EC

Don't take this class if you would like to 1) have a life 2) enjoy physics 3) maintain a good gpa. This class was the bane of my existence. Dr. Freedman gives out a ridiculous amount of homework and reading, and it counts for NOTHING. The entire grade is composed of mostly the midterm and final, which are impossible. Avoid at all costs.

final was unreasonably hard

Hours of hw each week on mastering physics that differs greatly from the questions on the midterm and final, which together make up 75% of your grade. It is obvious that Freedman has no care for his students. Does not take student feedback into account whatsoever. Do all the EC offered and you can earn a good grade.

Gives a TON of extra credit (about 7%). The final was graded very leniently with plenty of opportunities for partial credit, probably to make up for its difficulty. Don't expect the exams to be similar to the practice exams. He presents situations you've never seen before, so you really have to drill the concepts rather than memorizing procedures.

The exams are extremely difficult, that being said the TAs are pretty generous with partial credit, and I always scored better than I thought. He is really good at explaining things and his lectures and office hours are very helpful. He can be condescending, but as long as you read the syllabus and emails, you will be fine. I thought he was great.

Decent lecturer, will answer most questions DURING LECTURE. That's about it for positives. Acts extremely condescending on Nectir. Won't answer most questions outside of lecture time. Tests are ridiculous. Definitely not the worst prof on earth, but not all that much better. HW load is crazy. AVOID IF YOU HAVE NO PRIOR PHYSICS EXPERIENCE.

THE worst professor at ucsb. He likes to trick students and won't even respond to your emails. The homework was nothing like the midterm or final which is worth 75% of your grade. I can't believe he is actually paid to teach. Avoid him.

Just dont take this class. If you need to take physics, take physics 20 instead. The final (can be) up to 75% of your grade.

Professor Freedman shows a lack of interest in his students' learning. He is frequently rude on Nectir. The class has an enormous amount of homework, reading, worksheets, and lectures assigned weekly. Worksheets are "extra credit" but they are almost useless. Midterm and final scores determine the majority of your grade which are very hard.

Final and midterm were much harder than hw. I would just read the textbook and do all hw (as many practice problems as you can). Video lectures and synch meetings didn't help. Freedman seems nice until you ask him a question. Treats his students like they are dumb and a waste of time if they don't understand things right away.

Horrible if you don't have a solid understanding of physics from taking it before. A lott of homework most nights. Exams are difficult because they are all in symbols (no numbers). Class has a skewed grading scale, but is not graded on a curve.

prof freedman is a nice guy and a good lecturer, but he assigns massive amounts of homework that are based more on math than on physics and the workload leaves no time to study the basic principles of physics outside of his brief lectures. even better, homework is only 25% of your grade, although I spend 8 hours a week on it outside of class. :(