Fred Gittes - Washington State University

Professor: Fred Gittes

Department: TBD

College: Washington State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHYS303
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Dr Fred is an excellent lecturer, somewhat disorganized at times but super funny and engaging. He's lenient on homework grading and really just wants people to learn, he goes over 99% of the homework problems in class. Grading is also scaled so that 80-100 is an A, 60-80 is a B, etc. Classes are always interesting. Definitely one of the best at WSU

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHYS303
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Gittes is funny and caring! He can seem random but you can learn a lot from this class and it is applicable to other courses. His grading scale is awesome, 80 for an A. He mainly just wants you to learn. Gives you a list of questions for exams and creates the exam from those questions, so if you study exams are easy! Also does hw questions in class

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHYS301
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Bad!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHYS205
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Gittes is extremely unorganized. Lectures aren't clearly structured but he does a lot of fun demos and he has actual real-life examples to compare our theoretical concepts to. I had never taken physics before, had no idea what I was doing on most tests, and still got an A. Honors physics with him is easier than regular physics with a Chinese prof.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHYS205
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He's amazing! His physics 205 class is the light of my life! He's passionate and excited about the course material. Prepare to work your ass off though. You will dedicate an obscene quantity of time to this class if you want a good grade. The A bracket goes down to 85% and it's still almost impossible to get an A. It's impossible to fail though!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHYS101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

You can tell he's extremely passionate about physics and tries to help everyone understand the topic in class. He gives practice problems online and works some of them out in class, that are very similar to the ones on the tests. A little unorganized, but he cares about his students.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHYS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He seems like a really nice person and is hilarious in lecture, but is too unorganized to really learn anything during class. I found myself relying on the homework and textbook to teach myself the material, which ended up being more helpful than his lectures. Nice guy, but not the best professor.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHYS101
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

First of all, I hate physics. I still don't quite understand it. But Gittes was so entertaining to watch in lecture, it made the class bearable. Also, he makes sure everyone does well in the class even if they are as bad at physics as I am. He is a very caring, attentive prof. and he is the best part of the Physics department at WSU hands down.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHYSICS206
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Great and funny professor. If you get to know him he will really like you. Tests are very easy and you can often talk to him and get homework pushed back and made easier.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHYSICS 201
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I loved learning physics in Prof Gittes class. His lectures were entertaining and insightful. He is also very helpful if you get stuck on a problem-- he will help you through it and teach you loads in the process. Very talented and dedicated-- my favorite prof!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHYSICS101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

While easily distracted, Gittes is a wonderfully enthusiastic professor who really knows what he's teaching. If something is unclear, he's open to questions and tries hard to help (you just have to ask, or he'll think everyone understands). Exams are super easy- he does good review before them and often draws straight from homework or the textbook.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHYSICS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

As long as you put effort in to the homework (all the test problems are pulled from the hw and practice problems that he gives... like word for word) it's easy peasy. He does easily get distracted though. He's a lot like Robin Williams in Flubber as a teacher. I went to class maybe 5 times though and got 100s on the last 2 tests.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHYSICS202
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He gets distracted easily but he tells you exactly what will be on exams. With a little effort an A is easy to achieve.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHYS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

One of the worst professors I've ever had. He doesn't lecture on everything that is in the homework or the exam. He goes off on tangents and it is really hard to follow his lessons. He seems more concerned with making funny sketches instead of being clear in the problem.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHYS205
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Pretty difficult class, even if you've taken high school physics. Gittes is an awesome guy, super nice, helpful, and enthusiastic, but also pretty erratic and unorganized, so pay attention and ask questions if something is unclear. Lecture is basically an accompaniment to the textbook, so if you don't read it, it's going to be a tough year.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHYS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is very unorganized and frantic during lectures. Often gets lost with what he is saying and confuses students. Class is a waste of time unless you can coax him into giving away some of the exam questions. He only reduces the homework IF YOU ASK HIM TO, otherwise it takes hours to complete. Understand mastering physics and you will do well.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHYS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This class was pretty easy and he teaches straight from the book. Tests were around 10 questions long and adapted straight from the Mastering Physics homework problems. He also cuts down the homework load a lot! Awesome professor!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHYS205
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Gittes was a ton of fun and knows all about the subject. The class is very hard, and expect to stay up late getting the work done. If you don't devote the time and talk to Gittes outside of class, you will not do well.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHYS202
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Was a waste of time going to class relied on the book to be the teacher and then he would 'clarify' if needed. Whats the point in having a teacher if he doesn't teach? Lectures had nothing to do with the test. It's not hard to get a good grade but I left feeling that I had not learned much which. Good luck if you can't find a different teacher.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHYS202
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Gittes is incredibly smart, but is NOT a teacher. He has an extremely difficult time bringing his knowledge down to a student level (He was part of a NASA research panel). He's very enthusiastic about the material, but avoid his class if you can. If you're stuck with him, read the book thoroughly and memorize the "stop to think" sections - Phys202