MAT SCI 104
Science of Engineering Materials
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; outside study, eight hours. Requisites: Chemistry 20A, 20B, 20L, Physics 1A, 1B. General introduction to different types of materials used in engineering designs: metals, ceramics, plastics, and composites, relationship between structure (crystals and microstructure) and properties of technological materials. Illustration of their fundamental differences and their applications in engineering. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - 2 Quizzes, 1 Midterm, 1 Final, Weekly homework Quizzes and midterms weren't cumulative, and they aren't too difficult. Overall, there is A LOT of material to cover, so be prepared to do a lot of reading on your own. The lectures were all pretty dry, and I didn't find them too useful. They're basically just reading off a powerpoint. There's a lot of material to read, so the workload is pretty tough. Don't take this class with this professor if you don't have to; it's basically just learning everything by yourself.
Spring 2020 - 2 Quizzes, 1 Midterm, 1 Final, Weekly homework Quizzes and midterms weren't cumulative, and they aren't too difficult. Overall, there is A LOT of material to cover, so be prepared to do a lot of reading on your own. The lectures were all pretty dry, and I didn't find them too useful. They're basically just reading off a powerpoint. There's a lot of material to read, so the workload is pretty tough. Don't take this class with this professor if you don't have to; it's basically just learning everything by yourself.
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Most Helpful Review
Good lecturer! He is always enthusiastic about the materials he teaches and brings in cool demos all the time. However, though his lectures give a good overview of the stuff you're supposed to learn, the key to acing the quizzes, midterms ,and finals are in doing the homework. The quizzes and midterms are straightforward and very much like homework problems. Going to class or reviewing his ppts gives you the multiples choice questions. The final was harder, but you get a double-sided cheat sheet. Overall, a good, fair professor.
Good lecturer! He is always enthusiastic about the materials he teaches and brings in cool demos all the time. However, though his lectures give a good overview of the stuff you're supposed to learn, the key to acing the quizzes, midterms ,and finals are in doing the homework. The quizzes and midterms are straightforward and very much like homework problems. Going to class or reviewing his ppts gives you the multiples choice questions. The final was harder, but you get a double-sided cheat sheet. Overall, a good, fair professor.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - Just as a preface, I took this class completely online due to COVID-19. Professor He was a fantastic professor. She was very clear, albeit a bit fast, and was more than receptive to student feedback as the course went on. The only significant drawback I encountered with this course was the approach to test-taking. For me personally, I did not perform very well on the tests due to the limited time allowed for lengthy tests. Other students performed just fine, so this was definitely a personal issue, but I still think it is important to know when deciding on a class/professor. Overall, I would absolutely take another class with Professor He. Though the tests didn't come very easily to me, I genuinely felt like she cared about my understanding of the material and that I am leaving this course having learned something.
Fall 2020 - Just as a preface, I took this class completely online due to COVID-19. Professor He was a fantastic professor. She was very clear, albeit a bit fast, and was more than receptive to student feedback as the course went on. The only significant drawback I encountered with this course was the approach to test-taking. For me personally, I did not perform very well on the tests due to the limited time allowed for lengthy tests. Other students performed just fine, so this was definitely a personal issue, but I still think it is important to know when deciding on a class/professor. Overall, I would absolutely take another class with Professor He. Though the tests didn't come very easily to me, I genuinely felt like she cared about my understanding of the material and that I am leaving this course having learned something.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2021 - When I first signed up for this class, I was actually quite scared due to the previous reviews. However, after taking this class, I can confidently say that Dr. Huang definitely deserves a much higher rating than a 2.6, and I definitely found this class quite easy and straightforward. --- This class definitely revolves around the textbook. Slides are based off of the textbook, homework problems are textbook problems, and sometimes, exam problems are ripped straight from the textbook, verbatim. So definitely know the textbook material; grind problems out, check your answers with Slader, and you're good. Homework is definitely on the level of exams. If you can ace the homework, you can definitely ace the exams. That said, there are definitely conceptual questions you need to know; you can't math your way out of this class. --- Dr. Huang's lecture slides are really good, and same for the slides that the TAs give out. I personally found them to be very comprehensive, and useful for exams. If it's not on the slides, it's not going to be tested. Even better, Dr. Huang releases slides before lectures, so you won't have to write stuff down at 90 miles per hour. Dr. Huang's lectures may be dry, but they definitely cover what'll be on the test. She also throws in some cool videos that explain concepts well. That said, she refuses to record lectures. --- The course material is quite interesting, and the exams and homework are definitely fair. Exam averages were 75 in my year, and Dr. Huang said that she'd set the average grade to a B+. Let's see if that ends up being the case.
Spring 2021 - When I first signed up for this class, I was actually quite scared due to the previous reviews. However, after taking this class, I can confidently say that Dr. Huang definitely deserves a much higher rating than a 2.6, and I definitely found this class quite easy and straightforward. --- This class definitely revolves around the textbook. Slides are based off of the textbook, homework problems are textbook problems, and sometimes, exam problems are ripped straight from the textbook, verbatim. So definitely know the textbook material; grind problems out, check your answers with Slader, and you're good. Homework is definitely on the level of exams. If you can ace the homework, you can definitely ace the exams. That said, there are definitely conceptual questions you need to know; you can't math your way out of this class. --- Dr. Huang's lecture slides are really good, and same for the slides that the TAs give out. I personally found them to be very comprehensive, and useful for exams. If it's not on the slides, it's not going to be tested. Even better, Dr. Huang releases slides before lectures, so you won't have to write stuff down at 90 miles per hour. Dr. Huang's lectures may be dry, but they definitely cover what'll be on the test. She also throws in some cool videos that explain concepts well. That said, she refuses to record lectures. --- The course material is quite interesting, and the exams and homework are definitely fair. Exam averages were 75 in my year, and Dr. Huang said that she'd set the average grade to a B+. Let's see if that ends up being the case.
Most Helpful Review
Super nice and smart guy, but not the best teacher. His lectures are kinda all over the place and he explains things really vaguely. I would always be confused until I read the book. His tests were super difficult (He and the other MSE 104 prof. shared the same tests. I think they were hers.) but the curve was pretty generous. I did so-so in the class but ended up with a B+! Fair grader in the end. I wouldn't really recommend him, but he's not that bad I guess.
Super nice and smart guy, but not the best teacher. His lectures are kinda all over the place and he explains things really vaguely. I would always be confused until I read the book. His tests were super difficult (He and the other MSE 104 prof. shared the same tests. I think they were hers.) but the curve was pretty generous. I did so-so in the class but ended up with a B+! Fair grader in the end. I wouldn't really recommend him, but he's not that bad I guess.
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