AI Rate Professor

Physics

David Dixon

PHY4C · PHYS4B · PHYS2B · PHY4A · 4C · PHYS4A · ENGR31 · PHYS2A · PHYS4C · PHY4B · PHY2A · 75 lifetime ratings

AI rating
28/100
RMP rating
2.6/5
Take again
34.33%
Difficulty
4.4

The decision

Avoid unless you are a strong and grind weekly for a weed-out physics experience.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerWeed-out physicsWeekly brutal quizzesLate gradingSquare root curveSelf-teach required
  • Course is extremely hard with , and .
  • deadlines, which frustrates many students.
  • A and survive praise deep learning and preparation for university physics.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

MissionImpossible

18/100

Even with a , As are rare and require exceptional effort beyond normal community-college physics.

Both ; online felt even less supported.

Is the course easy?

BrainBurner

12/100

, and homework often fails to prepare students for exams.

Difficulty is extreme across online and in-person physics sections.

Is attendance flexible?

Optional

78/100

Many , but skipping lectures still tanks your chance of passing.

Most .

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

32/100

; most advise IVC or another professor despite a few rave survivors.

Online recommendations are almost all negative; fans.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Harsh

28/100

and free response, though square-root or and occasional buffers soften raw scores.

Format shift

; online still felt harsh.

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Weekly homework, labs, and when HW is not graded.

Format shift

Both formats feel heavy; labs and .

Teaching experience

Poor

34/100

Knows physics deeply but lectures too fast, grades late, and leaves many students teaching themselves.

Format shift

Online teaching is widely called disorganized; .

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

78/100

Weekly quizzes and multiple hard exams dominate; informal labs and .

Format shift

Exam and .

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

43 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

, and notoriously difficult, with a Texas/square-root curve that still leaves many struggling.

Main concern

Weekly quizzes and and high withdrawal rates.

What students said

“5 students left by the end of the course, which tells you all you need to know.”
PHYS4A
“people were crying after the final.”
PHYS4C
“ 5% buffer to each grade”
PHYS4C

Remote format

Online

7 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online terms drew near-universal complaints about disorganized late lectures, ungraded work, and self-teaching.

Main concern

Lectures posted late or useless with .

What students said

“He literally designed this course to fail everyone.”
PHYS2A
“I dropped the class before he even graded the first lab and we were already like 2 months in.”
PHYS4B
“get ready to teach yourself everything, he's the .”
ENGR31

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessments are strict and high-pressure with difficult weekly quizzes and and occasional cheat sheets.

Weekly hard quizzesSquare root curveCheat sheet allowedConceptual MCLate graded exams

Assessment risk

Strict

32/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

Weekly 15-minute quizzes are extremely hard; exams are tough but and may allow a full-page cheat sheet.

Weekly quizzesSquare root/Texas curveFull-page cheat sheetTrick questions
“the .”
PHY4C
“For of printer paper”
PHY4C

Online

Online quizzes and exams felt disconnected from lectures and .

Test heavyPoor exam prep alignmentLate grading
“The lectures and and quizzes.”
PHYS2A
“ , and they're all conceptual”
ENGR31

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“After I survived this course, nothing scares me anymore.”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, , and rare deep-learning praise. Credibility rating: High.

🔥 Weed-Out Difficulty

12/100

“You will not pass his class unless you are Einstein reincarnated, then you MIGHT.”

🐢

20/100

“It's been 6 months, my labs still haven't been graded.”

🧠 Hardcore Learning Payoff

70/100

“Because of this class I was able to help other students ace their phys classes at Uni and get my Computer Engineering BS.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • lecture super fast and heavy
  • Dixon is a good but super fast lecturer--he knows his stuff
  • Lectures never made sense because there were maybe 2 examples during each lecture

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • and
  • Uses a
  • If you do the HW you're basically guaranteed to get a B

Theme 3

⚠️ About Student Outcomes

  • Going to .
  • Half the class withdrew and the smart ones left on day one.
  • !

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

75

Lifetime ratings

86/100

Evidence confidence

50 reviews over many years with , and weed-out themes across physics courses.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 518
4 out of 58
3 out of 513
2 out of 56
1 out of 531

Course coverage

PHYS2B10 reviews
PHY4C9 reviews
ENGR318 reviews
PHY4A5 reviews
PHYS4B5 reviews
Show 6 more courses
PHY2A3 reviews
PHYS4A3 reviews
4C2 reviews
PHYS2A2 reviews
PHYS4C2 reviews
PHY4B1 review

Reported outcomes

No letter grade reported results lead the reported letter grades.

45 reported outcomes

A range

7

A 7

B range

8

B 8

C range

9

C+ 2 · C 4 · C- 3

D range

1

D+ 1

F

1

F 1

No letter grade reported

19

Audit/No Grade 2 · Drop/Withdrawal 9 · Not sure yet 8