239 The best aspect of this course was the hands-on experiments that didn’t come with any pre-lab or post-lab assignments. Students completed al their experiments in class and did not have to do any work outside of the classroom. The worst aspects of the course included the unclear lab guidelines, ineffective teaching assistants, and lengthy labs that students often had a difficult time completing. The course would improve if the students were provided with clearer lab instructions, effective teaching assistants and more structured lab experiments, in order to prevent the experiments from being rushed and not well-correlated with the subject matter. Prospective students should be prepared to use statistics and Microsoft Excel in the lab. Those who want to be successful should read the labs beforehand and pace themselves to complete them in the al otted three hours.

Students found the professor’s lectures to be one of the best aspects of the class. Lectures were easy to understand and very interesting. The professor himself was very amiable and engaging, and easy to approach with questions. Students found the lack of practice exams disappointing and that the homework workload was not always balanced, especially as the semester progressed. Suggestions for improvement included cutting back on some of the homework problems as they became more complex and time consuming to solve. Students also wanted practice exams to help them better prepare for exams. Any prospective students should have a solid background in physics and be prepared to budget a fair amount of time for the homework questions.

Students praised this course for having a helpful and knowledgeable instructor who introduced them to new concepts in physics. Perceived issues with the course included a belief by many students that the course’s homework was excessively difficult and that some of the questions didn’t reflect what students had learned in class. Students’ suggestions for improvement largely centered on the course’s homework; multiple students wanted more feedback provided on the homework so that they could understand how to furnish the answer to the questions. In addition, one student asked for the homework assignments to include page numbers to the relevant pages. Prospective students should know that students found the course had a manageable workload and that having a good grasp of math was helpful when taking the course.