MIT Subject Evaluations

8.21: Classical Mechanics II
IAP 1999 Summary

Lecturer: Professor Peter Fisher

Enrollment: 20
Number of students commenting: 19

8.21 is a more theoretical continuation of 8.033; it is offered only during IAP, and is typically taken by physics majors in their sophomore year. The 19 respondents in the IAP 1999 class seemed to find the material interesting, and want to learn more of it; however, they did not appreciate the technical errors in the course.

Many class members found the content of the course fascinating; one commented that a month was not enough time to do the material justice, some wanted to see more depth, and a few others wanted to see more covered. Others commented that it was merely good. Students liked the examples that were present, and wanted to see more. Many class members complained that the problem sets required too many corrections; this made the problem sets more difficult for them. Class notes and problem set solutions were available over the Web; a few class members had difficulty reading these, however.

Professor Peter Fisher, the lecturer, was seen as a good lecturer by some of his students, and others felt that he had improved from 8.033. However, some felt that he did not answer questions clearly. Additionally, many class members commented that he continually made mistakes on the blackboard during derivations; they felt that this distracted from the course. A few people felt he spent too much time at the beginning of each class period reviewing the previous lecture. Finally, two students wondered "why is an experimentalist teaching a theory course?"

A few quotes from class members:

"Fisher likes to ask the assembled students in lecture if they understand what's going on. He then says 'shake your heads'. He also frequently says 'someone who doesn't understand, ask a question.' Not surprisingly, no one yet has asked a question."

"The subject was very abstract and comprehensive. I think that it was very informative and gave insight into classical mechanics and classical field theory."