Historical instructor

BENJAMIN SPIKE

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.59/5 from 29 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

PHYICS104 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
The professor lacked communication skills. I had questions, so I emailed the professor multiple times just for him not to reply once. My only way to contact was through the TA, and when it was required the professor's assistance but again, there was no response.
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PHYS103 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Explains concepts clearly and at a level appropriate for an intro physics class. The class itself can be hard at times, but I found discussions very helpful.
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PHYS103 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
good teacher who could explain things well. good at answering questions
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PHYS103 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Dr. Spike is a great professor. Physics is a hard concept to grasp (at least for me) but he made class engaging and helpful.
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PHYSICS 104
Quality 1/5Difficulty 3/5
So much busy work. While good at speaking and knowledgeable in content, lectures are extremely large. You will very rarely be able to reach him beyond office hour sand class, including when I had an extreme personal emergency, with very limited accommodations. He is also very monotone and lectures can be dry, especially when demos fail.
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PHYSICS 104
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Spike was a pretty decent professor for 104, and I preferred his lecturing style a lot in units 1 and 4, he usually goes at a slower pace and emphasizes important concepts that you need for the exam. The labs and homeworks can get a little annoying but the course is setup with a lot of learning outside of class as well.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with BENJAMIN SPIKE

PHYSICS 103

General Physics

4 credits

GENERAL PHYSICS introduces mechanics, heat, and waves at the non-calculus level with applications to various fields.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

Benjamin SpikeKael Hanson

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2021–Spring 2026
PHYSICS 199

Directed Study

1–3 credits

PHYSICS 199 is an introductory-level directed study involving a mentored research project in physics.

No offering record · Spring 2026

Benjamin Spike

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample
PHYSICS 682

Senior Honors Thesis

3 credits

PHYSICS 682 is a mentored individual research and study course for students completing Physics Honors in the Major.

No offering record · Spring 2026

Roman KuzminIlya Esterlis+5 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026PHYSICS 103General Physics
Spring 2026PHYSICS 199Directed Study
Spring 2026PHYSICS 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2025PHYSICS 104General Physics
Fall 2025PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2025PHYSICS 103General Physics
Fall 2024PHYSICS 104General Physics
Spring 2024PHYSICS 103General Physics
Fall 2023PHYSICS 104General Physics
Spring 2023PHYSICS 103General Physics
Fall 2022PHYSICS 104General Physics
Spring 2022PHYSICS 103General Physics
Fall 2021PHYSICS 104General Physics
Fall 2020PHYSICS 104General Physics
Spring 2020PHYSICS 103General Physics
Fall 2019PHYSICS 104General Physics
Spring 2019PHYSICS 103General Physics
Fall 2018PHYSICS 104General Physics

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance 
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