Efrain Lopez

ASTRO300 · PHYS431 · PHY421 · PHY310 · PHYS411421431 · ASTR300 · PHYS411421 · PHYS411 · PHYS350 · PHYS421 · PHYS360 · 91 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 37/100
RMP rating: 3.1/5
Take again: 44.44%
Difficulty: 3.3

The decision

if you want a serious physics challenge and can study far beyond the provided materials.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerVery tough examsTest-heavy gradingCaring but inconsistentPractice mismatchPhysics majors only

Lopez is often described as knowledgeable, caring, and sometimes engaging, especially by students who want to learn physics deeply.
The dominant complaint is that exams are difficult, heavily weighted, and .
Online reviews are especially negative, while and severe grading frustration.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

31/100

An A usually requires serious independent practice because , and often tougher than practice materials.

Online reviews make the A path look especially difficult, while practice deeply and attend.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

30/100

Physics content is inherently demanding, and many students say lectures or study guides do not fully prepare them for exams.

Both formats are challenging, but online reviews report the strongest disconnect between teaching materials and exams.

Is attendance flexible?

Depends

43/100

Students who want deep learning may value him, but many warn against him because .

, while in-person reviews are polarized with both strong praise and strong warnings.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

22/100

Students repeatedly report tough grading, no curves, costly small errors, and .

Format shift

Online reviews emphasize no curve and unfair exams, while but include more fair-exam defenders.

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Workload includes frequent homework, quizzes, labs, practice problems, reports, and .

Format shift

Online reviews focus on exam strain, while , and participation.

Teaching experience

Average

56/100

Teaching quality is polarized because some while others call lectures unhelpful or disconnected from exams.

Format shift

Online teaching is rated much worse, while and severe criticism.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

88/100

Many reviews say exams dominate the grade, often around 70% to 90%, with quizzes and labs secondary.

Format shift

, and online reviews especially stress exams as the main grade risk.

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

42 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

lectures and office hours but many warning about hard, unpredictable exams.

Main concern

Students must study deeply because and often weigh heavily.

What students said

“The , but it is a difficult class.”
PHYS421

“ and be aware that they are very unpredictable.”
PHYS411

“He really wants you to succeed in his class”
PHYS411

Remote format

Online

8 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

Online reviews are mostly negative, describing hard exams, weak preparation, poor communication, and .

Main concern

and feel disconnected from lectures or study guides.

What students said

“ in terms of difficulty.”
PHYS350

“Exams are 90% of your grade, so doing well is near impossible.”
PHYS350

“none of his material prepares you for him exams.”
PHYS411

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

because reviews repeatedly describe difficult, heavily weighted exams that often do not match practice materials.

Test HeavyDifficult ExamsPractice MismatchLimited CurvesEquation Sheet

Assessment risk

Strict

20/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews describe difficult, often heavily weighted exams and some mention equation sheets, but do not clearly prove closed-book or .

Difficult ExamsTest HeavyEquation SheetPractice Mismatch

“tests and exams are the 70% of your grade, be wary.”
PHYS411

“You also get an equation sheet for exams.”
PHYS431

“Class is extremely exam-heavy since they are worth about 90% of your grade.”
PHYS360

Online

Online reviews clearly describe exams as difficult and heavily weighted, but do not clearly prove webcam, proctoring, Lockdown Browser, open-book, or take-home policies.

Difficult ExamsPractice MismatchNo CurveExam Heavy

“ in terms of difficulty.”
PHYS350

“Exams are 90% of your grade, so doing well is near impossible.”
PHYS350

“ , quizzes, study guide.”
PHYS360

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“His lectures to exams can be compared to being handed a screwdriver and then required to put together a car.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting key themes in , and workload. Credibility rating: High.

🧪

20/100

“ and be aware that they are very unpredictable.”

👨‍🏫 Teaching Split

56/100

“He answers questions clearly during lecture, and , and quite straightforward.”

⚖️

22/100

“ was an instant 5-10% off the top, no curve either.”

Theme 1

🧪 About Exams

Always be ready for trick questions, cuz he had plenty of them (Multiple Choice Questions).
practice exams he provides.
The study.

Theme 2

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

He really wants you to succeed in his class
The lectures were borderline worthless.
The , but it is a difficult class.

Theme 3

📈 About Workload & Grades

13 quizzes, 12 HW, 13 labs, 3 exams, &1 final.
No curves or offered, even though he mentioned multiple times that .
Study, come to class, participate and you'll be fine.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

93/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty detailed reviews across many years and courses give and polarized teaching quality.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 524

4 out of 522

3 out of 514

2 out of 512

1 out of 520

Course coverage

PHYS41119 reviews

PHYS3506 reviews

PHYS4315 reviews

ASTR3004 reviews

PHY3104 reviews

Show 6 more courses

PHYS4214 reviews

PHYS3603 reviews

ASTRO3002 reviews

PHY4211 review

PHYS4114211 review

PHYS4114214311 review

Reported outcomes

B range results lead the reported letter grades.

40 reported outcomes

A range

A 5 · A- 2

B range

B+ 3 · B 11

C range

C+ 2 · C 9 · C- 1

D range

D+ 2 · D 1

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Rather not say 3

Efrain Lopez

x x x if you want a serious physics challenge and can study far beyond the provided materials.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Recommended

Depends

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.

🧪 x x

👨‍🏫 Teaching Split

⚖️ x x

🧪 About Exams

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Workload & Grades

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

B range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

if you want a serious physics challenge and can study far beyond the provided materials.

🧪

⚖️