MIT Subject Evaluations

8.012: Physics I
Fall 1998 Summary

Lecturer: Professor Daniel Kleppner
Recitation Instructor: Professor Tomas Arias
Recitation Instructor: Professor William Bertozzi
Recitation Instructor: Professor Takashi Imai
Lab Instructor: Professor Henry Kendall

Enrollment: 100
Number of students commenting: 42

8.012, Physics I, is an elementary mechanics course satisfying the first half of the physics requirement. It is taught on a more theoretical level than 8.01 and includes a laboratory component. This is the review for Fall 1998.

Professor Daniel Kleppner, the lecturer for this class, received mixed reviews from his students. Some found him knowledgeable and a good lecturer and many liked his demonstrations, although a few found them unhelpful. Some students commented that his lectures were well-done and relevant in the beginning; however, this did not continue as time progressed. Rather, some felt the class went too fast, making those who take notes unable to catch up. Additionally, his lectures followed the book (which he co-wrote) very closely. Also, a few class members felt that his lectures were dry, not relevant to the problem sets, and did not involve the class. The derivations were seen as confusing; students felt the class got bogged down in mathematics and made too many algebra mistakes.

Most class members greatly enjoyed the content of the course, finding it hard but quite interesting. Many wanted to see the class move quicker in the beginning to leave more time for rotation and noninertial systems. The textbook was viewed as excellent, although difficult to follow.

One of the primary wishes of the class was to see more examples in lecture. In addition, students wanted more practice questions to work on in class documents on the Web that are easier to work with; pdf format was suggested as an alternative to postscript.

Overall, students seemed to have mixed feelings about the lecturer, and the course in general. Certainly, it was seen as both difficult and fascinating; those using it to fulfill their physics requirement are doing so because of their interest in the material.

Recitation instructor Professor Tomas Arias received nothing but praise from his students. Many commented that he was excellent, available, and clear. Students appreciated his practical, no-nonsense style and his examples; he was fun and helpful.

Most students in Professor William Bertozzi's recitation found him excellent and thought that he explained everything very well. However, one class member found him intimidating, and felt that he mocked students. Another, wanted to see him use standard methods of answering questions rather than presenting his own methods of problem solving.

Professor Takashi Imai received mixed to good reviews from his recitation students. Some found him clear, organized, easy to follow, and willing to explain things. They commended him for overcoming the language barrier. While a few students liked his presentation, one commented that he was not good at answering questions. Others thought that he was caught up in his outside research and expected the students to know everything.

Few comments were received on the lab instructor, Professor Henry Kendall; those who did comment saw him as interested, enthusiastic, and "awesome."

A few sample quotes from class members:

"Excellent material. My major is not heavily physics-related and I struggled with the class but I still found the material interesting."

"Lectures were well-done and relevant in the beginning, but quickly strayed into esoteric and oftentimes dull and lengthy proof. Doing problems beyond the chapter examples would be helpful."

"PS could contain more structured questions which bear relevance to actual real situations."