<p>Does anyone know anything about the course load in Physics 151Lg with Christopher Gould?I
heard that Gene Bickers is fantastic in the Physics department but you have to have a D Clearance to get into Bickers’ class.</p>
<p>Prof. Bickers doesn’t teach 151 - he teaches 161. The reason he’s listed under 151 is probably because of the registration nightmare that people used to have to go through, to register in 161 lecture and 151 lab separately.</p>
<p>I assume on day 1 of the semester they’ll switch his section course number to 161.</p>
<p>Sorry, I don’t know anything about Prof. Gould</p>
<p>I wonder why you need to get a D Clearance to be in Prof. Bickers class. My son took both AP Physics tests with high scores on them. I also wonder if Prof. Bickers class is not filled to capacity is it possible to ask permission to enroll or is the department strict on the D Clearance requirement? Thank you for writing.</p>
<p>D-clearances are precisely that, you have to ask the department for permission to enroll. Having a D-clearance represents the fact that the department has given you permission to enroll. The enrollment system is strict on the requirement (i.e. you absolutely need a D-clearance to register)</p>
<p>As for getting a D-clearance, usually for 161, I think you can get it from the physics dept, Professor Bickers directly, or possibly through the school of engineering (RTH 110) for engineering students.</p>
<p>When I took it I emailed Prof Bickers directly, but god knows the man has enough on his plate (he’s also the vice provost for undergrad programs), so it’s only nice to try other routes first.</p>
<p>If he took both AP Physics C tests and got 4/5 on both he shouldn’t have ANY problem getting D clearance for 161. They might be a bit more stickly on 3’s or the AP Physics B tests, though.</p>
<p>Do you have to be enrolled in the Engineering Honors program to get the D Clearance? My son is not in the Engineering Honors program. Yes, he has a 5 on one of the AP Physics tests and a 4 on the other Physics AP test. Although 161 is technically speaking the harder Physics, I heard that 161 with Prof. Bickers is easier than 151 with a different professor. Do you think this is true?</p>
<p>you don’t need to be in the engineering honors program for 161. </p>
<p>Perhaps the school of engineering only offers their 161 D-clearances to engineering honors people (speculating) but the physics dept would not have such a requirement, even for engineering students</p>
<p>The content is far more difficult to be sure, and you need to be much more adept at calculus than with 151/152. But if you like physics then 161 is probably likely to be far more “enjoyable” than 151, and the opposite if you don’t like physics.</p>
<p>Easier is a relative thing. The grading curve is a bit nicer, for sure, but that’s mostly due to the fact that most people in 161 would probably get comfortable A’s and B’s in 151 anyway, and he’s not going to punish anyone for taking the harder class. Pluck an “average” student out of 151 and he’d probably find 161 harder and get a lower grade, though.</p>
<p>My son wants to take 22 units because there are a lot of classes he wants to take. Therefore, given the heavy work load, it is not clear if he should take 151 or 161. His enjoyment of Physics depends a lot on how good the teacher is and I heard that Prof. Bickers won an award at USC (announced at the orientation). Of course, Prof. Gould may also be an outstanding teacher.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s possible to take more than 20 units in a semester. From what I read, the maximum you can take is 20.</p>
<p>You can take more than 20 with approval, which may or may not be a bad idea. Some people can rock 20, 21, 22 units without blinking, no problem, whereas people like me stare and wonder how they get any sleep 
I would stop and ask what on earth is so important to take this spring that can’t be taken later, though.</p>
<p>I don’t know if 161 would be that much more work over 151 (certainly the difference seems like it pales in comparison to what 18 other units of work must add up to). The labs are a major time sink (3 hours/week) and are exactly the same between 151 and 161. </p>
<p>The 161 homework is longer and more difficult, but you’re allowed to discuss & collaborate with other students, Prof. Bickers has recorded webcasts for every homework that set up all the problems, and if you go to his office hours he’s willing to work through nearly every step with you anyway. In addition, he gives you 10 “late days” that allow you to turn in homework up to 10 days late (total, for the whole semester) with no penalty - this lets you accommodate other classes exams/homework/projects without worrying about physics homework being due the same day.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, at 22 units, a little extra work might just be the tipping point between sanity and frustration. It’s going to boil down to how much he can do.</p>
<p>edit: and yes, Prof. Bickers has won many awards for his teaching, and before they took down the old “senatecourseguide” rating he was the highest rated professor at USC - after taking two classes with him, I’d say he earned them :)</p>
<p>To JBUSC: Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Your responses are very much appreciated.</p>
<p>I am not sure what classes your son is signed up for but 20 units is a lot. My son has a Java class that they switched from 4 to 2 units but left in the same curriculumn. In physics 151 they have lecture, plus lab, plus a special testing day you have to go to. It seems like he has something with physics every day of the week.</p>
<p>mdcissp, your son GPA is very important. Keep in mind that some companies have a cut off GPA before they let your son interview. I just saw a USC poster from the other forum asking how he can get around the minimum 3.0 GPA for an internship at aerospace companies, he is currently have 2.80 GPA.</p>
<p>Thank you for your concern. The reason I posted this question about Physics 151 with Professor Gould is to figure out how difficult is this course with a heavy course load. For example, when Futureholds wrote her son has Physics homework every day, I would expect daily homework. The question is, how much homework and how difficult is the homework. Also, I wonder if it is better to wait until next year to take Prof. Bickers. Since my son wants to take a heavy course load next semester, I advised him to try it with the idea that he can change his schedule the first 3 weeks of the semester.</p>
<p>Physics 161 is one of the Science Honors classes, so students who were offered the option of acceptance into the Science Honors program when they were accepted to USC get first “dibs” on spots in 161[ same goes for Chemistry honors classes] My son took 161 from Bickers and loved him, but Bickers uses the same textbook as MIT for their physics classes, and the class is HARD. But Bickers is available and willing to work closely with students who need help to keep up. [son mentioned he had to work with Bickers a lot!]
Because of S’s work load this semester[ 3 other science classes, all with labs] and class conflicts with 162 he took Physics 152. He regrets not having Bickers- says he doesn’t even need to go to the lecture now to do fine on exams, and the prof is not nearly as good as Bickers, who is one of the best at USC. So if your son can get a D clearance, and is willing to work HARD in a fast paced class, it probably is worth it. but I would not recommend taking 20 units and taking 161, unless his other classes are mostly fluff[ Gen ed ] classes.
He may also want to go to the Bookstore and take a look at the 161 textbook to get an idea of the course work.</p>
<p>This is the textbook (or at least, it was way back when I took 161): [Amazon.com:</a> Physics, Volume 1 (Second Edition): Hans C. Ohanian: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Second-Hans-C-Ohanian/dp/0393957489]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Second-Hans-C-Ohanian/dp/0393957489)</p>
<p>All of the homework problems are from this book (with the exception of the occasional take-home quizzes he gives) so you can read the reviews of the book and see what people think. The general conclusion seems to be that it’s a rather dense book, with a lot of black-and-white text/equations and not a lot of pictures, with problems that tend to require multiple steps & techniques.</p>
<p>One thing is that he does provide numerical solutions to all the homework problems <em>before</em> they’re due (to allow you to check your work as you’re doing it). You still need to provide the correct derivations (which is of course the hard part), but it makes the emphasis more on problem-solving.</p>
<p>Last thing, I don’t think PHYS 161/162 is part of Freshman Science Honors. It’s the same kind of program (and maybe they give preference to FSH people) but I think it’s separate.</p>
<p>i am taking 161 next semester, i have taken a lot of physics already but my school had weird requirements for AP physics. they didn’t offer AP physics B and only one person took physics C. i just emailed professor bickers and met with him for like 15 minutes, he explained the type of work done in the class and i told him the types of classes i had taken and that i felt i could do it and he got me D-clearance. it may help that i am EE/math major, as i know a ton of EE’s take 161.</p>
<p>How is the textbook for Physics 151? Is it significantly easier than Physics 161 or the same level?</p>