PHYS 1060

Bloomfield is fairly engaging, although by the end when he was talking more about E&M stuff it got a little less clear (at least, I just didn't understand it as well). It's quite easy to do well, although it's not super easy to do quite well.

Lou is a passionate professor that tries to keep class interesting with his demonstrations. The problem sets are kind of fun to do! I recommend doing them in groups so you can strategically distribute your incorrect tries. The exams are easy just do as many practice tests as possible. Overall great intro course!

Despite what many students say, this class is not an easy A. The tests are very challenging and the averages on the tests range from high 60s to low 70s. Louis is an amazing professor and if you read the textbook and talk to him in office hours/simply make an effort to understand the material, you can succeed in the class. However, I would not recommend this class to anyone who is not willing to put in study time.

AVOID this class! Bloomfield is a cool guy, but he is terrible at presenting information in class. The Problem Sets are impossible and have absolutely nothing to do with what is presented in class. Each question is about a paragraph in length, and each answer choice is about equal in length. The Tests are not easy either. Avoid this class if you can

Unlike 1050/the "easier" of the two How Things Work courses, 1060 is not really a free A. The first month or so is a very simplistic coverage of mechanics and review from 1050, but afterwards Bloomfield moves into E&M and other topics that are more complicated and sometimes difficult to think through if you don't enjoy physics. Problem sets are doable but will actually require understanding the chapter topics well, although the lowest one is dropped if you complete the course evaluation at the end of the semester. Both midterms and the final are multiple choice, with exams from previous years posted online for studying. Each exam covers the same core topics as (and sometimes reuses questions from) older exams, so reviewing those is very helpful.

Overall, identical format to 1050 but with different, more difficult material. Bloomfield is very knowledgeable and genuinely cares about his students, and I hear that lecture supposedly has some pretty interesting demonstrations from time to time. Great course for people who genuinely enjoyed 1050 or have some interest in physics, but there are better GPA booster classes out there if that's what you're looking for.

DON'T TAKE THIS TO BOOST YOUR GPA! The only work in this class is about 10 problem sets which usually have around 12 questions and the two midterms plus final. Lou is a great person and I adore him! During class, he seemed so genuine in his passion about the demos he was showing us and the content he lectured about. The thing is though that this class ended up being WAY harder than I thought. People say to take this if you aren't a science person, which I'm not, but I still did horribly in this class. Part of it is a me issue for sure. I got As on all of the problem sets, Bs on the midterms, and a C on the final! Even though he puts up past tests for everything, I still got those grades and I'm a 4.0 kind of person (as most UVA people are used to being). So many people said this would be a GPA booster, but it really isn't unless you're actually into physics. It's like easy enough content, but the questions on the midterms and finals ended up being way trickier than expected.