John Watkins

PHYS1A · PHYICS1A · 1A · PHYSICS31A · PHYSIC1A · 21 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 76/100
RMP rating: 3.9/5
Take again: 75%
Difficulty: 3.0

The decision

Strong pick for Physics 1A if and ask for help; do not expect spoon-fed lectures.

Best fit · Effort For RewardCaring PhysicistNASA StorytellerCurve and Makeup PointsSelf-Study HeavyTest Heavy

Highly caring and accessible; often helps after class and offers grade makeups or curves.
Physics ; lectures can be dry, abstract, or error-prone.
; some terms , and labs.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

62/100

Many As appear with , and open-book terms, but and concept work.

; no online reviews.

Is the course easy?

Standard

48/100

Physics 1A remains conceptually tough, though several students say he makes it less hard than other instructors.

; no online reviews.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

42/100

and you will not pass; others report optional attendance.

; no online reviews.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

78/100

About 75 percent would take him again, mostly for care, humor, and passion despite mixed lecture clarity.

; no online reviews.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Lenient

72/100

Curve, partial credit makeups, and .

Format shift

; no online reviews.

Workload

Moderate

50/100

Expect , and a final in a typical term.

Format shift

; no online reviews.

Teaching experience

Good

72/100

Students praise passion, NASA stories, and help after class, while critics note dry or .

Format shift

; no online reviews.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

72/100

Grades lean on a few tests plus labs and quizzes; some call the course test-heavy with few graded items.

Format shift

; no online reviews.

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

21 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person physics with labs, midterms, finals, and a professor known for .

Main concern

You often must teach yourself via homework, textbook, or YouTube when lectures feel abstract.

What students said

“LITERALLY THE !!”
1A

“Get ready to be your own teacher. Brilliant guy, but not the greatest professor in terms of teaching you things.”
1A

“Also grades on a curve.”
PHYSICS31A

Remote format

Online

0 reviews

Low confidence

No stored summary is available for this format.

Main concern

No main concern is stored for this format.

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

to harder closed-style tests that differ from homework.

Open Book SometimesCumulative FinalWeekly QuizzesIn-Person Midterms

Assessment risk

Standard

60/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and makeups to challenging closed-style exams with weekly quizzes.

Open Book SometimesCumulative FinalWeekly QuizzesNot Always Like Homework

“ .”
1A

“ . .”
PHYSIC1A

“ ”
1A

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“Great professor, physics is tough in general but he makes it less hard which is why I gave the 2. He's the sweetest man you'll meet and cares for his students.”
Voice snapshots generated from 21 , and exam patterns. Credibility rating: High.

❤️ Student Care

85/100

“He cares A LOT for his students and wants everybody to pass with good grades.”

📚

48/100

“Get ready to be your own teacher. Brilliant guy, but not the greatest professor in terms of teaching you things.”

⚖️ Curve and Makeups

72/100

“There are 3 test and if you do bad, ask and he will give some credit back. Also grades on a curve.”

👍 Recommendation

78/100

“ ! U WILL LOVE HIM :)”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

his lectures are very dry and it might be hard to stay focused
He is passionate about the subject and his stories about his time at NASA were very interesting
Everything is conceptual in his lectures and he often makes mistakes doing problems on the board

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

Self studying and unless you're a physics wizard
if you understand the homework
Not happy with your grade? ask for ways to make up the

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

I love this man. He's an amazing teacher and gives you as much help as you need.
Truly passionate about teaching and cares about his students dearly
He's a pretty cool guy. He'll help you if you ask him for it

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

80/100

Evidence confidence

21 in-person reviews from 2014-2020 with , and .

Inside 21 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 59

4 out of 56

3 out of 54

2 out of 52

1 out of 50

Course coverage

1A13 reviews

PHYS1A3 reviews

PHYSICS31A3 reviews

PHYICS1A1 review

PHYSIC1A1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

14 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 3 · A 8

B range

B 2

C range

No reported values

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Not sure yet 1

John Watkins

Strong pick for Physics 1A if x x x and ask for help; do not expect spoon-fed lectures.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

FairEffort

Standard

Varies

WorthIt

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

❤️ Student Care

📚 x x

⚖️ Curve and Makeups

👍 Recommendation

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

❤️ About Character

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

Strong pick for Physics 1A if and ask for help; do not expect spoon-fed lectures.

📚