Physics I:mechanics/relativity · Physics
I learned a super interesting lens to use while approaching classic mechanics problems.
Generally, all of the topics studied in the course were already covered in high school, but the mathematical formality, with which we investigated them, definitely deepened my understanding.
Midterms are Hard, Final exam relativity will kill you.
Weekly problem sets (7-9 problems), 2 midterms and a final.
weekly problem sets of 5 problems. answers are in the back for you to check. 2 midterms of 3-4 problems and a final.
As I mentioned above, Professor Cole is just so spectacular. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Spring 2021 Course: PHYSUN1601_001_2021_1-PHYSICSI:MECHANICS/RELATIVITY : PHYSUN1601_001_2021_1 - PHYSICS I:MECHANICS/RELATIVITY Instructor: Brian Cole
Intro to calc physics with lots of derivations/proofs
She knows her stuff, doesnt mean you will. Homework problems are impossibly hard. Exams are really really reaaaaaly hard. If you want to fail, and do so after working your butt off, take this class. I highly recommend shifting to 1401. You wont regret it.
Millis doesn't know how to teach. Period. He made things I understood in high school utterly incomprehensible. Most of the lectures were spent deriving useless formulae that were specific to the problem at hand. He'd go over problems in class and come up with wildly complex 'general' solutions that contained only variables he'd define along the way. So what this means is that you'll be spending most of your time in class copying down random equations that will make no sense to you when you look over your notes again. Homework is difficult. Many people did the problem sets in groups, but I foolishly chose to do them on my own, so I spent an average of maybe 3-4 hours per week on them. The problems are similar to what will end up on the midterms and the final, so make sure you understand how to do them. P-sets are given out on Thursday lectures, and are due the following Thursday, and chances are you and your friends will be cramming/finishing uncompleted problems from the week before. Most people end up with near perfect scores on the problem sets (which account for 20% of your grade), so you need to be getting 95+% on them to stay ahead of the curve. The good thing, though, is that Millis is a generous grader. I did above average on the two midterms (each accounting for 20%), got a 95 on the problem sets (20%), probably bombed the final (40%) seeing as I left out an entire que…
Literally traumatized me. He is funny, but he is not a good prof. Take whoever else is avaliable