John Fang

School: Cal Poly Pomona
Department: Physics
Location:Pomona, CA
Overall Rating
rated by 20 students
Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
Rating Comment
Overall
Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
 Pros: short lectures
short labs
Cons: terrible grading system
hard to understand
This is indeed by the far the easiest physics lab. The lab was always finished within 2 hrs. Sometimes we left in 45 minutes. Most of the lab reports are informal and relatively straightforward. There was only one formal lab report required. He was great until I received my grade. In the first week he tells you that he has a different grading system. For his labs which are out of 10, he explains how if you do everything you ask, you will get a 9.0 - 9.4 on your lab. If he finds your lab spectacular, you will get a 9.5 - 9.8. If you're missing things, or if things are incorrect, you will get 8.x or something less than 9.0 on your lab. I got 9.2 or 9.3 on all my labs. Yet I ended up with a B-. I must've missed something when he said he determines your grade relative to your peers. Just something to know going into his lab.
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 Pros: Easy, he gives you a 9.3/10 for a mediocre lab report
Everything is informal, even the "formal" report
Cons: Even if you got a 9.3, he grades on a curve so a 9.3 most likely will get a B depending on where you rank in the class (more info below)
He minimizes the work. You only have to do just enough to understand the material. For reports, all you have to give him is the Data, Calculations, and Conclusion (but the "formal" one needs an Introduction).
If you get there early you end up sitting outside the door for a while (my legs always fell asleep) since he arrives right on time. I came 5-10 minutes late to class several times and he didn't mind.
You can leave when you're done and he signs you data sheet, usually an hour to an hour and a half into the class.
Half the class gets Cs, around a third get Bs, and a sixth get As. You can make up up to 2 labs.
I loved this class, this guy was chill.
Overall
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 Pros: explains material clearly
makes lab easier
great teacher
Cons: odd grading scale
I had this guy for phy 121L and he's a good teacher. He always lectured about the lab we were going to do that day to simplify the amount pf work and info we have to get done. The only thing that was odd about the class was that his grading scale was different from any other lab I had. All he wanted on the lab report was your data, calculations, and conclusions. As for grades, the labs are out of 10 points with the exception for the formal lab report which is worth 20. For regular lab reports, he starts your grade at 9.3/10 and goes up or down depending on the quality of your report. Mainly did you write down all of your calculations and if everything looks right. The formal lab report is not very formal at all. It's just the same format as a regular lab report, but which an extra page for theory which is like an introduction.
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 Dr. Fang is the best lab teacher ever! This was the easiest lab I have ever taken. He never gives lab quizzes and he cuts out the majority of the lab so everything is very short and easy. You always get out early. He gives very thorough and comprehensive lab lectures so you completely understand what you are supposed to do and know exactly how to do the lab write-up. I would totally recommend rearranging your entire schedule so you can take his lab! Grade Received: A
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 He is hard to understand but a really nice guy overall. He doesn't help you really with the in-depth calculations but he will help you with general concepts and if you have problems with the actual lab, he helps you through the steps. If you need help it's better to go to the tutoring center. Grading is pretty easy if you do what he asks because sometimes he'll deviate from the actual lab manual.
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 I love Dr. Fang! He is great, friendly, sweet and a wonderful teacher. He has one midterm and one final, both with the same format. Most problems are based on homework, and he puts the hw solutions at Bronco Copy n Mail to help with studying. He tells you the exact topic each problem will be on and where it is based from (hw/example/etc). There is a little bit of homework, NO mastering physics! and going to class is very important to get all of his examples and explanations of each subject. Grade Received: B
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 Fang is such a stupid ass guy. This guy is the lamest teacher ever. Did not learn crap from his joke of a class. he gives you multiple choice with no partial credit because he is so damn lazy he does not want to have to look at your freaken work. you cannot understand anything he sais and he constantly sais "something like that" when he is trying to teach a concept or problem. what teacher sais that. i wanted to ask him "something like what" you crazy guy. worst teacher on this flippin planet. Grade Received: B
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 The bad: lectures are on projector, sometimes hard to read. He does have an accent but that didnt affect me. He covers alot of theory and basics, but doesnt go into the level the textbook expects you to be at. Homework is 20% of the grade, a midterm and a final. Gives a good review of what he expects, although Im not sure how his grading scale works. I felt I did really well, but ended up w/ a C+ some people ended up w/ A's and were worried it was typo on BroncoDirect, so its kind of a crapshoot, but you should be able to pass.
The good: He's really nice, kind of funny occassionally, and approachable and doesnt expect as much as most teachers do. He makes HW solutions available and tapers the exams to what he thinks the students can handle. He obviously curves, so unless you totally screw up you'll pass the course. He doesnt really follow the textbook and just wants you to understand concepts and theory rather than hammer out tons and tons of problems. Grade Received: C+
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 this teacher seems to have a lot of knowledge about physics, but the way he teaches needs an improvement. also, he takes too much time in certain concepts and leaves very little time for rest of also important concepts. his tests have 80% of multiple choice problems, and they are only 4 questions. so if you miss one (even though you know everything about the problem, but made stupid number mistake), you are screwed. i think it is not fair, but i guess it is good for those who like multiple choice problems. anyway, he is a knowledgible teacher overall, but he really needs to work on his lecture.
if you have other choices, take other teacher's class, but if you don't he is not too bad.. Grade Received: A
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 Whoa! I didn't notice how bad Dr. Fang's reviews were. He had about 3 homework assignments that were very easy and helpful. There were 2 midterms (which he gives you the questions for) and they consist of a first part where you have to show your work on one question, and the second part where it's a few multiple choice. The final is the same format with a few more multiple choice. Fang was probably the oddest teacher I've encountered. My favorite thing about this class though was that he taught you practical applications of physics to everyday life, you felt like you learned nothing when you got out of class but I realized I would apply concepts in the outside world. Do your homework and you'll be fine. Questions and stuff weren't that hard. It made sense. Grade Received: A
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 Fang is a cool teacher. He knows his material and he's extremely friendly. His accent is a little fobby, but it's okay because it makes his lectures funny. The only problem with him is that he uses his lectures to teach the formation of physics equations rather than showing you how to do the homework. He has a midterm and a final which are both extremly difficult, but he gives a generous curve at the end. He also gives out homework every week. Your grade is divided by: Midterm-35%, Final-45%, and Homework-20%. Grade Received: A-
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 A horrible instructor. If you see that over half of the class failing, obviously you're not doing a good job in teaching your students. Pr. Fang's lecture involves the derivation of the formulas. He goes over concepts but never shows us any examples. He doesn't show you how a problem should be approached and where you should initially start. Don't take him for lecture. However, the only good thing i can say about him is if you are alreayd acquainted with phys then i'm sure you wouldn't have any problems in his class. Grade Received: C-
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 Fang is a nice guy, but his class is VERY boring and disorganized. Not to mention the class is challenging..if your not mathematically gifted. TThere are homework assignment due after the completion of every chapter, so get your hands on the solutions manual (it seems to be floating around) This class is based on pure luck. He curves, but at the very end of the course. YOU may get D or Fs on the one and only midterm, but you could still end up with a B or C for the class. One thing about this class is that his tests are multiple choice....very odd. the 1st half of the test is not multiple choice and you must show work. The other half is just multiple choice so showing your work will gain you no half credit. He does tell you what kind of problems will be on the test so come to class near test time. Grade Received: A-
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 Lectures on concepts and then tests on applications. You must understand the homework. Exams are horrible. All questions but 1 are multiple choice. The answers given are to close to guess between and are common mistakes of calculation. There is no partial points in this sections. Each question is all or nothing and each question is worth 20 points. Only upside is that the class is curved. Grade Received: B+
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 Fang's class was HORRIBLE! He teaches the bare minimum and then expects you to know the minute intricacies of physics on the exam. There a bunch of his old exams floating around so if you don't have one you're screwed. There are hw assignments everycouple weeks. You'll have to teach yourself if you take him. I've never done so poorly or learned so little in a class. Grade Received: C-
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 Fang, is a sweet and funny guy. He doesn't like to stay in lab too long so he has you do the basics. He gives you the option to do more, but it's up to you. I totally recommend him for lab. You are never there the whole time. You only have one formal lab report to do. The rest are turned in at the end of lab. He only requires: data/results and sample calculations. Nothing more than that. I totally love him. I hate physics and I'm not too good at it, but he made it easy for me. I wish I had him for PHY 122L Grade Received: A
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 Fang is one of the funniest people I have ever meet, but one of the worst teachers I have ever had in my entire life. People just stopped coming to class and we were given at most maybe five examples to copy down. He goes over the basics that everyone has been exposed to before in depth, then lightly covers new material. I have never had a 50 minute class go by so slow. If you like paying money to teach your self, then by all means take Fang, if not avoid him like the pleage.
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 both classes are pretty easy to pass... the lab is an easy B if ur looking for an A u better hope ur like the top of the roll sheet or get all 9.5s.... the lecture is boring and u dont understand him but its ok cause u dont have to ever go, ur gonna try to study and learn nothing and fail all the tests...... but he ends up giving eveyone Cs so alls good.... physics is hard, if u just want to pass i'd take him....hes a funny guy
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 One word, easy to pass the class. If you looking For a class to pass take him. The grading scale is so huge. You don't have to go to class everyday, just to turn in your homework and the test that he gives. I don't know how his Lectures are because i only go tO class to turn in my homework. His test are whatever. as i said the curve is so wide that if you got at least 2 correct you get a B depending on the curve. You don't learn much though but you get a pass thats the catch...
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 Fang is pretty cool. He has a thick accent, but he is funny in a 'physics nerd' kind of way. He has that genius with the uncombed hair look. Some of the 123 topics like electricity and magnetism are difficult, however I found his explainations adequate and just a tad boring.He assigns homework, but since he assigns the same problems every quarter, it is easy to find someone with a printed copy of the solutions. His midterms can be hard, but there are usually several problems from the homework. If you know someone that has had him before, ask them to see an old midterm. They really help and you will thank them for later. I found that student solutions guide available in the library helpful for some of the concepts in the class too. He has an enormous curve like many of the Physics professors which balances out things in the end.

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