A calculus-based physics course for biological science majors covering electricity, magnetism, light, and modern physics.
Several reviewers report that exams are significantly harder than lectures or homework, featuring ambiguous questions and topics not covered in class. The course is described as disorganized, with lectures that are useless, incoherent, or difficult to follow.
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
PHYSICS 201, 207, 247,E M A 201, or (PHYSICS 103 and MATH 217 or 221). Not open to students with credit forPHYSICS 202 or 248.
“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Sridhara Dasu is praised for clear lectures, deep knowledge, and genuine care for student success. Reviewers highlight his engaging demonstrations and willingness to work with students, though they note the course content remains challenging and requires significant effort.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2020: 3.49 GPA, 66.3% A/AB (n=258 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
Abdollah Mohammadi is engaging and caring, using demos and organized slides to introduce concepts. Students appreciate his passion and responsiveness, though they often must study independently to grasp the material fully.
Critics find lectures incoherent and exams disproportionately difficult compared to homework. Reviewers cite disorganization, ambiguous final questions, and answer keys that fail to clarify the material.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.99 GPA, 39.5% A/AB (n=291 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.05 GPA, 41.6% A/AB (n=190 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.06 GPA, 43.2% A/AB (n=287 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
Mark Rzchowski is described as organized and nice, with one student noting he helped improve their grade, though others found his explanations lacking. Historical reviews also mention downward grading curves. Current instructor Abdollah Mohammadi has no specific review evidence provided.
ABDOLLAH MOHAMMADI is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
CARY FOREST is recorded teaching in Fall 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
JEFFREY SCHMIDT is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
LUKE LANGSJOEN is recorded teaching in Fall 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
MARK RZCHOWSKI is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
PETER TIMBIE is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
SRIDHARA DASU is recorded teaching in Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIS 306 | Classroom Instruction | 24 / 24 | 0 |
| LAB 606 | Classroom Instruction | 24 / 24 | 0 |
| DIS 310 | Classroom Instruction | 22 / 24 | 0 |
| LAB 610 | Classroom Instruction | 22 / 24 | 0 |
| DIS 311 | Classroom Instruction | 23 / 24 | 0 |
| LAB 611 | Classroom Instruction | 23 / 24 | 0 |
| DIS 312 | Classroom Instruction | 23 / 24 | 0 |
| LAB 612 | Classroom Instruction | 23 / 24 | 0 |
| DIS 314 | Classroom Instruction | 24 / 24 | 0 |
| LAB 614 | Classroom Instruction | 24 / 24 | 0 |
| DIS 307 | Classroom Instruction | 23 / 24 | 1 |
| LAB 607 | Classroom Instruction | 23 / 24 | 1 |
| LEC 002 | Classroom Instruction | 184 / 192 | 1 |
| LAB 615 | Classroom Instruction | 24 / 24 | 0 |
| DIS 315 | Classroom Instruction | 24 / 24 | 0 |
| LAB 609 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 24 | 0 |
| DIS 309 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 24 | 0 |
| LAB 613 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| DIS 313 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 0 | 0 |
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
Students describe current instructors Abdollah Mohammadi and Sridhara Dasu as caring, knowledgeable, and engaging, with clear lectures and helpful demos. However, significant disagreement exists regarding exam difficulty and course organization, with some finding the material manageable and others finding it absurdly difficult and poorly aligned with instruction.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.99 GPA, 39.5% A/AB (n=291 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.05 GPA, 41.6% A/AB (n=190 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.06 GPA, 43.2% A/AB (n=287 letter grades).
Several reviewers report that exams are significantly harder than lectures or homework, featuring ambiguous questions and topics not covered in class. The course is described as disorganized, with lectures that are useless, incoherent, or difficult to follow.
Useful aspects include Mohammadi's humor, passion, and responsive nature, as well as the value of in-class demonstrations. Frustrating aspects include mandatory attendance requirements, incoherent lectures, and a disconnect between the conceptual focus of lectures and the application-heavy nature of exams.
– average GPA
Approximate 80% prediction interval
The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.
The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.
8 earlier forecasts · 0.07 GPA average error.
Through Fall 2026
Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels
GPA
Higher than % of other courses in this group.
Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range
letter grades
More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.
Typical course in this group: letter grades.
1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.
Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
General Physics
Recorded 2026-09-07[
{
"run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
"semester": "1272",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"offering_id": "1272:754:015605",
"course_id": "PHYSICS 208",
"course_uid": "course_97eb7bb938ff9affa3643b19",
"term_id": "1272",
"source_course_id": "015605",
"source_subject_id": "754",
"title": "General Physics",
"credits_min": 5,
"credits_max": 5,
"typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
}
]Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
{
"model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
"model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
"task_version": "14",
"output_id": "ba0ba34840ffccb5f23410159f2e6771a8867b2684b491689e7c778efe54edad",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}