PHYS 1050

If you’re looking for a free A, you might want to look elsewhere. If you’re looking for an enjoyable and interesting class and are a good student, you’ll not only get a lot out of this class but it will also be difficult to get much worse than an A. I took this class to fulfill a science requirement. Given that I had heard good things about Professor Neu and had taken Physics classes in high school, it seemed like the perfect class to take. First off, Professor Neu’s teaching style might be unmatched within the university. He always taught with enthusiasm, interacting with students and explaining topics thoroughly. Furthermore, he frequently used exciting demonstrations to prove theories, which were probably the highlight of the class. The workload is definitely manageable and didn’t cause much of an issue, as it’s mostly reading, a few math problems, and open-note quizzes. Except for Physics Idol, which is very fair and straightforward, the assessments, especially the midterms, were somewhat difficult. I greatly underestimated the difficulty of the first midterm and paid the price for it, but the second midterm and final went much better for me after I knew what to expect.

Chris Neu is one of my favorite professors that I have had here at UVA. I took this class my first semester of college and It was a great refresher from high school physics. As an architecture major, I am not at all a math person. Physics was the worst class in my high school career, but Chris took me back to the basics and re-established the foundations of physics. The weekly homework are decently difficult and the exams are also towards the harder side. BUT, the final directly reflected its practice exam. The lectures in this course are very engaging and entertaining and the work it takes is completely worth it. You won't have a more interesting and (relatively easy) college physics class. Especially not here at UVA. If you have to satisfy a physics requirement, I cannot recommend thus class with Prof. New any more! Take it!

Professor Neu was extremely engaging and considerate towards his students. He has a great sense of humor and keeps classes engaging with demonstrations. The midterms were difficult, but they were open note and if you're patient enough to read through the readings you should be good.

Professor Neu is very knowledgeable, nice and tries to keep the class engaging and fun. This is a very conceptual based physics which I found to be a bit difficult, the homework is easy and doesn't take long each week. The exam are open note but they are more difficult than they seem so beware....I was in for a shock after the first exam which I felt I had prepared well for. Prof Neu is very willing to find time to meet with you for office hours so take advantage of the if you are struggling! If this class doesn't come easy to you office hours will be very helpful. Maybe don't take this class if you aren't into conceptual physics (it's very different than AP physics if you've taken that).

This was definitely my favorite class of the semester. Professor Neu is awesome. He believes in application of material rather than memorizing it and then purging it. We had two midterms, both take home open note. The class was so interesting. He did multiple demonstrations each class. You could tell he is really passionate about what he teaches. Homework was not an issue, you have one assignment each week for homework and one pre-quiz each week. The class was awesome and I 100% recommend.

This course is by no means easy, and it definitely has a lot of topics that are covered. You learn a wide variety of physics which was difficult for me to follow. However, Prof. Neu was a great lecturer and kind person, and was willing to help the students. I took it to fulfill a requirement, and it ended up being a lot more difficult than I anticipated. If you are interested in physics, this is a great class to take though. If you are looking for an easy A, I would look elsewhere. I didn't have a physics background in high school and will end up with an A-, so not too bad. It is also curved based on past performance in the class, which I think is fair.

Not sure how I feel about the professor of this class. He seems really nice and knows everyone's names, which is cool. But this class is so fucking hard. Seriously, even if you think you know physics, I would not recommend. The first midterm average was a C-, and it's open note. I didn't consider dropping this class until it was too late. If you're just taking this to fulfill a discipline, please do not, the worst mistake of my life and is likely going to ruin my GPA. Just take astronomy instead, really, I promise it will be better than this class.

professor Neu is nice but the actual class is so hard. What he teaches is different from the homeworks and prequizes, and the exams are different from the homework. I got a 66 on the open note take home midterm. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?? There is just so much information. He does a lot of demonstrations and yes they are cool but he doesn't teach you what's on the exams. I was debating dropping this class but I decided to stick with it. Really bad mistake. Also I didn't take AP physics in high school and most of the other students did.