PHYS 2415

The TA is amazing! He taught me everything from this class and I did really well on the tests. The professor, on the other hand, while he is a sweet guy, is completely out of tune with the students. The iClicker policy is rather demeaning and takes any education out of the class. So much effort is put on "clicker" participation points that I wasn't even allowed to ask a question about the homework during class, but was told to go to TA hours. I hope they change this policy, because this is college not kindergarten.

the class is pretty difficult and everyone does pretty badly on the tests, the averages are 70s and curved to b's. thornton is a nice guy and is interested in the topic though.

Good class but a difficult one

Thornton is one of the better physics professors at UVA but with that being said there really aren't any outstanding physics professors

Layout is identical to 1415. Homework and clicker grades are freebies that you should aim to get close to 100 on. Tests are fairly difficult. While Thornton is likely in the upper tier of UVA's overall poor intro physics professors, lectures can still be unstructured and unclear at times. Try to learn from the textbook + going over lecture slides, and attend office hours, where Thornton is very helpful, as needed.

If you're looking at this it's probably because you're required to take this class. Thornton knows his shit, probably the best out of the possible teachers you can take this class with

I mean not to bash physics at UVA but it definitely isn't our strongest suite so if you have to do it I would highly recommend the online version. It helps take away the really annoying pieces of the class and lets you try to learn on your own time.