PHYSICS 131
Mathematical Methods of Physics
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: courses 1A, 1B, and 1C (or 1AH, 1BH, and 1CH), Mathematics 32B, 33A, 33B. Vectors and fields in space, linear transformations, matrices, and operators; Fourier series and integrals. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Math Methods was a good class. The lectures were organized and clear. The notes were posted online and available before the lectures, which made the preparation easy. Professor Bruinsma was very accessible both during the lectures and outside the class. He even held study sessions every Wednesday with free pizza. The homework assignments were fairly long; but, this was a math class, so doing a bunch of problems seems appropriate. We used Boas's "Mathematical Methods." This book is much more readable than Arfken's, which is commonly used for this class. So this was a plus.The TA solved most of the difficult problem during the discussion sessions, so getting the HW done wasn't really an issue. There were two midterms, and the average scores were in the 70-80% range. The final exam was on the harder side, but reasonable. The review sessions were the crucial, as he addressed the exams in detail. The pace of the class was strong. We covered chapters: 1-8, 10, 13, and 15; also, parts of 11 and 12. My overall impression is that this was a class by a physicist for physicists -- it was tough but meaningful. So, if you like physics and math, take him.
Math Methods was a good class. The lectures were organized and clear. The notes were posted online and available before the lectures, which made the preparation easy. Professor Bruinsma was very accessible both during the lectures and outside the class. He even held study sessions every Wednesday with free pizza. The homework assignments were fairly long; but, this was a math class, so doing a bunch of problems seems appropriate. We used Boas's "Mathematical Methods." This book is much more readable than Arfken's, which is commonly used for this class. So this was a plus.The TA solved most of the difficult problem during the discussion sessions, so getting the HW done wasn't really an issue. There were two midterms, and the average scores were in the 70-80% range. The final exam was on the harder side, but reasonable. The review sessions were the crucial, as he addressed the exams in detail. The pace of the class was strong. We covered chapters: 1-8, 10, 13, and 15; also, parts of 11 and 12. My overall impression is that this was a class by a physicist for physicists -- it was tough but meaningful. So, if you like physics and math, take him.
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Most Helpful Review
If you want to do well in his class, you simply have to understand what he teaches. All his midterms and final are based on his notes and homework, and they are easy questions but covering difficult concepts. So if you don't understand him(lectures,notes,hw), there is no way you can do well on the tests. Everything he teaches is theoretical, there is barely anything to memorize in the class. Go to his office hours if you don't understand something, he will explain it in detail. He is available everyday after class, and a very nice person to talk with.
If you want to do well in his class, you simply have to understand what he teaches. All his midterms and final are based on his notes and homework, and they are easy questions but covering difficult concepts. So if you don't understand him(lectures,notes,hw), there is no way you can do well on the tests. Everything he teaches is theoretical, there is barely anything to memorize in the class. Go to his office hours if you don't understand something, he will explain it in detail. He is available everyday after class, and a very nice person to talk with.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - Unfortunately a bad class. The topics in this class are absolutely fundamental for physics (it is the basis (pun intended) for every mathematical operation in the realm of physics). She is quite a yeller, thick accent, comes off fairly abrasive. I couldn't handle it and dropped. Seems like people who stuck it out came out well. Received very good grades on the homework but it just didn't translate to the exams. She drops one of the two midterms which can be really great and they should be fairly straight forward if you know your stuff through and through. If you can self study you will do well but if you actually need the professor to teach you, I would wait out a different professor instead.
Fall 2022 - Unfortunately a bad class. The topics in this class are absolutely fundamental for physics (it is the basis (pun intended) for every mathematical operation in the realm of physics). She is quite a yeller, thick accent, comes off fairly abrasive. I couldn't handle it and dropped. Seems like people who stuck it out came out well. Received very good grades on the homework but it just didn't translate to the exams. She drops one of the two midterms which can be really great and they should be fairly straight forward if you know your stuff through and through. If you can self study you will do well but if you actually need the professor to teach you, I would wait out a different professor instead.
Most Helpful Review
Taking Holczer was a pretty bad idea. To be fair, we mostly all got A's, and 131 seems like a hard class to teach due to the awful textbook. I didn't learn anything, and that's probably going to come back to haunt me in later physics classes. His lectures were terrible because I couldn't understand his accent or handwriting and he wrote all over the board with no discernible order. Our TAs taught us everything. If you just want an A, by all means take him, but if you are a physics major or like physics take anyone else.
Taking Holczer was a pretty bad idea. To be fair, we mostly all got A's, and 131 seems like a hard class to teach due to the awful textbook. I didn't learn anything, and that's probably going to come back to haunt me in later physics classes. His lectures were terrible because I couldn't understand his accent or handwriting and he wrote all over the board with no discernible order. Our TAs taught us everything. If you just want an A, by all means take him, but if you are a physics major or like physics take anyone else.
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Most Helpful Review
Professor Knopoff was a very enthusiastic teacher... he's the type of person i would expect to be a physics major... one who finds beauty in the physics and not in the terse calculations behind it... the material was difficult.. but he had a very friendly approach... also, Tatiana is one of the best TA's i've ever had... she was seriously lifeboat for the whole class... Professor Knopoff is also great to listen to after the class is over... i highly recommend sitting through one of his after class lectures :)
Professor Knopoff was a very enthusiastic teacher... he's the type of person i would expect to be a physics major... one who finds beauty in the physics and not in the terse calculations behind it... the material was difficult.. but he had a very friendly approach... also, Tatiana is one of the best TA's i've ever had... she was seriously lifeboat for the whole class... Professor Knopoff is also great to listen to after the class is over... i highly recommend sitting through one of his after class lectures :)
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