3.0

Neil Alberding

Physics - Simon Fraser University

3.0
Quality
2.7
Difficulty
50%
Would Retake
109
Reviews
3.0
Quality
2.7
Difficulty
3.1
Helpful
2.9
Clarity

50%

Would Retake

109

Reviews

Rating Distribution
Official
109 total ratings

5

28

4

22

3

18

2

17

1

24

What Students Say

Best physics teacher I have seen in my life

PHY120 - 5.0 rating

bad lectures, useless help (although it is available) and tons of homework

PHYS140 - 2.0 rating
Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

92%

Textbook Required

78%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

74% confidence
Based on 8 grades
Most common grades:
B+ (3)
A+ (2)
Rather not say (1)
Grade Distribution
A(3)B(0)C(1)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(4)
Based on 9 reported grades
B+: 3
A+: 2
Rather not say: 1
C+: 1
Common Tags
Lots of homework (3)
Caring (2)
Get ready to read (2)
Tough Grader (1)
LOTS OF HOMEWORK (1)
Skip class? You won't pass. (1)
Graded by few things (1)
Accessible outside class (1)
Rating Trend

Declining

-1.47 avg change
Mar
Aug
Nov
Dec
Apr
Dec
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

PHYS131

4.6

(8)

PHYS233

4.5

(4)

PHY100

4.3

(3)

PHYQ100

4.0

(1)

PHYS130

4.0

(1)
+13 more courses
Difficulty by Course

PHYSICS100

5.0

PHYS102

4.0

PHYS141

3.9

PHYS140

3.5

PHYQ100

3.0

Reviews (108)
4.0
1.0
PHY100
Jan 27, 2002

No Comments

4.0
3.0
PHYQ100
Mar 27, 2002

boring class Dont take .. only if you must

4.0
2.0
PHYS100
Apr 1, 2002

interesting and good prof (a real nerd) but cool anyway!

4.0
1.0
PHYS131
Aug 3, 2002

Wow, easiest lab prof! Gives great marks!

3.0
1.0
PHYS131
Sep 20, 2002

No Comments

2.0
2.0
PHYS100
Oct 20, 2002

Great in the Lab... too disorganized in the Lecture

4.0
2.0
PHYS100
Oct 31, 2002

Great little guy.

4.0
2.0
PHY100
Nov 29, 2002

Easy Quizes, Funny class, but expect tough final

3.0
3.0
PHYS100
Nov 30, 2002

Could have more notes. Better text would be nice. Pretty awesome person.

3.0
3.0
PHYS100
Dec 13, 2002

lectures were really unclear but he's a nice guy overall, go in for extra help

4.0
2.0
PHYS100
Jan 8, 2003

crazy but very nice & funny guy

3.0
2.0
PHYS100
Jan 24, 2003

No Comments

5.0
3.0
PHYS131
Jan 25, 2003

Very good friendly, and funny guy. Great combover.

5.0
1.0
PHYS100
Feb 3, 2003

No Comments

4.0
3.0
PHYS100
Mar 5, 2003

Neil's coo... hes so funny... Lots of demos.

4.0
3.0
PHYS100
Mar 13, 2003

Very funny, hair is great, but notes are bad and lectures are boring. Easy class though

5.0
1.0
PHYS131
Apr 9, 2003

He is a very interesting instructor. I think he is the easiest, funniest, and coolest instructor I have ever seen.

3.0
1.0
PHYS100
Apr 19, 2003

No Comments

5.0
1.0
PHYS131
Apr 27, 2003

Excellent prof. Very clear in the lab preview. Care about his students' achievement.

5.0
2.0
PHYS131
Jun 12, 2003

Excellent teacher and very funny. Good class to take as long as you do your work!

4.0
1.0
PHYS233
Aug 17, 2003

great in the lab, helpless in lecture.

5.0
2.0
PHYS100
Nov 3, 2003

No Comments

4.0
3.0
PHYS100
Nov 18, 2003

his beeping hat and his bat mobile is worth a laugh.. he's great in the tutorial but i wish he shows less videos and more examples to calculate stuff in class

5.0
3.0
PHY100
Dec 2, 2003

pretty funnny dude. I'll say that he tried to make physics fun

4.0
2.0
PHYS100
Dec 21, 2003

He shows too many videos~ should spend more time to show the class how to do different types of problems instead. A fair prof, if u study then u should get a decent mark. PS: He is very funny though

3.0
3.0
PHYS100
Jan 2, 2004

Less videos = understanding

5.0
3.0
PHYS100
Jan 2, 2004

Funny prof. Good lectures.

5.0
3.0
PHYS131
Feb 10, 2004

I like your mac lappy!

5.0
1.0
PHYS100
Feb 19, 2004

One word to descibe " AweSome!"

4.0
1.0
PHYS233
Grade: B+
Feb 25, 2004

really nice guy in the lab courses. believes in giving good grades, unlike a lot of other profs in the department. would take a class again with him. a bit crazy and disorganised, but entertainingly so.

5.0
3.0
PHYS131
Feb 25, 2004

Hilarious guy, takes a dreadfully boring lab and makes it only somewhat dull :)

5.0
2.0
PHYS100
Mar 4, 2004

my favourite prof so far, he interacts with the students and has a ton of hilarious demos!

5.0
3.0
PHYS233
Mar 18, 2004

Dr. Alberding is so helpful and he is so funny. If you ask for help, he is more than happy to assist you but you might end up spending lots of time in his office b/c he is hilarious..

5.0
3.0
PHYS100
Apr 5, 2004

He's the funniest prof I've ever met. I took this course long ago and he still remembers me. He has offered to help me in many occations even though he isn't teaching that particular course!

5.0
1.0
PHYS100
Apr 6, 2004

Awesome! Funny and informative! Easy to learn from!

5.0
2.0
PHYS100
Apr 10, 2004

Best physics prof ...hilarious, and he doesn't give out midterms b/c unlike most profs he actually cares about our stress level!

5.0
1.0
PHYS100
Jul 5, 2004

He is just awesome~ hilarious-check mark, easy-check mark, informative-check mark~ u will love him

5.0
2.0
PHYS100
Jul 13, 2004

Brings in other forms of media to relate into the course

3.0
3.0
PHYS100
Oct 27, 2004

No Comments

5.0
2.0
PHYS100
Dec 4, 2004

Dr. Alberding is such a nice person. If you are polite and nice to him, he is always willing to help. Besides, if neone can make physics fun, that on its own is spectacular.

3.0
1.0
PHYS100
Feb 11, 2005

although he was nice enough, and helpful. i found his class to be useless. i acheived a B+ in this class and went on to receive a D in phys 101. i learned NOTHING

4.0
5.0
PHY120
Feb 11, 2005

Lectures in class were way too simple. Hwk was out of the question. Not solveable. And Mastering Physics has got to be the worst online assignment hwk i have ever used. A typing error would deduct % from you.

5.0
1.0
PHYS120
Apr 2, 2005

He is cool. I like the way that he tries to be funny and intertain us...

4.0
1.0
PHYS120
May 3, 2005

He's a funny guy.easy class, easy HW, easy midterms, easey final, easy marks. He made everything easy. As long as you work on those question, you'll do good.

3.0
1.0
PHYS100
May 29, 2005

very entertaining prof and the grading scale will boost up your mark significantly... found it to be completely useless though

5.0
1.0
PHYS100
Jul 21, 2005

Awesome and dedicated prof. He brings in just to explain a lecture!!! how many profs would go out of their way to do that??? He prepares you really well for further physics courses but this course is overall really subject matter so the amount of time you put into this class will be MUCH less than what you should put into future phy classes!

4.0
3.0
PHYS100
Feb 21, 2006

Funny guy, he wouldn't let me borrow the powers of 10 video though! Entertainment value rises, sophisticated, suave and well.

1.0
3.0
PHYS100
Mar 23, 2006

He does have rather interesting/ funny demonstrations, but his use of extra materials (eg. roadrunner cartoons) eats up time we could be using to actually take notes and write down equations to help us with the homework. I don't feel that his teaching has prepared me for physics 101 at all nor a chance to get a good mark in the class.

3.0
3.0
PHYS100
Apr 1, 2006

Be prepared to learn 90 percent of the material on your own from a supplementary text book and/or a tutor, because lectures do not adequately cover problem solving, or necessary formulas. The material in this course isn't particularly difficult, but it is difficult to do well from lectures and course materials alone.

1.0
5.0
PHYSICS100
Apr 12, 2006

This teacher makes no sense, he uses Looney Toon cartoons as his explanations. I'm completely lost this year in physics, and I blame him!! Horrible teacher! Don't take him if you don't have to.

4.0
1.0
PHYS100
May 8, 2006

very easy class..make sure u go to the open lab, and understand all assignments, quizes, and sample exams...then, u'll get a good mark..

3.0
3.0
PHYS100
Jul 25, 2006

His lectures are amusing, but I didn't learn much from them. There are lots of interesting demos during class. His marking scheme was fair tho, no midterms, only 6 quizes, homework, and a final. But you might need some extra study guides to learn from, the "Motion Chronicals" is a piece of junk.

3.0
3.0
PHYS100
Aug 23, 2006

For the quiz & exam:95% of the lec is useless, 70% of the text book is useless, 80% of the lab is useless, 200%!! of the homework is important, 200%!! of the TUT is important!!

2.0
3.0
PHYS100
Oct 12, 2006

Lectures are really pointless to go to, you dont learn much from it or "the motion chronicles", understand the hw and go to tutorials, basically teach yourself and you'll survive the class.

1.0
1.0
PHYS100
Nov 21, 2006

Unless he starts testing you on loony toons, the classes are useless. Often times when doing an example, he will make a mistake and a student will have to point it out. He tries to correct it, screws up more. Then gives up and says "well its obvious you can figure it out yourself."

3.0
4.0
PHYS140
Dec 17, 2006

He's not a bad prof. He loves to entertain students. However, we are not in PNE, right? Midterms are not that hard, quite fair [at least one suprising question inside though]. Final is hard [since he asked a lot from the last chapters of the book] To sum up, he's good for grade/fun but not for learning physics that much...

4.0
2.0
PHYS130
Apr 24, 2007

Very helpful,approachable and nice :) totally recommend him

4.0
1.0
PHYS100
Aug 8, 2007

Highly Recommended. Students with previous interest in physics might want a more challenging teacher.

2.0
5.0
PHYS140
Jan 22, 2008

if you aren't naturally good at physics, then don't take him...cuz he won't teach you much

2.0
4.0
PHYS141
Jul 21, 2009

Well he's not a bad guy and I feel that he was honestly trying to help but it just wasn't working for me. I couldn't even do half of the homework assignments cuz they were so hard and would take hours. I just had to study hard for the midterms and pass the practical and formal report cuz the Activity guides were easy. AVOID THIS COURSE IF U CAN!!!

5.0
3.0
PHYS140
Nov 3, 2009

Very good teacher!

3.0
1.0
PHYS140
Dec 7, 2009

Not the greatest teacher. Relies on you teaching yourself. The entire course is labs, which you don't learn anything from. Goes way to slow on stuff you know already, then way too fast through complicated stuff.

3.0
4.0
PHYS121
Apr 29, 2010

He expects you to study and learn by yourself, his midterms are fair and final exams fairly marked.

3.0
3.0
PHYS100
Jun 29, 2010

Dr. Alberding may be a nice guy, but his lectures are horrible: expect to learn on your own as he is prone fall behind on material (goes slow on easy stuff and rushes through hard topics), provide poor explanations and assign HW on topics he has not covered in class yet. AVOID HIM IF YOU CAN and pray you don't have him for higher level physics.

2.0
3.0
PHYS100
Jul 14, 2010

Three words: HE DOESN'T TEACH. He tries to keep you entertained with live physics experiments in class, but they quickly get old as quizzes, assignments and the final begin to close in. Expect to learn on your own and don't expect much from his lectures.

1.0
4.0
PHYS100
Jul 27, 2010

He starts off slowly explaining the most basic high school physics concepts and then rushes through the rest, barely explaining anything. The assignments are about 2 weeks ahead of the material taught in lecture, so you are basically on your own, and MUST learn everything from the textbook. Lectures are useless, most people skip them.

1.0
3.0
PHYS101
Aug 7, 2010

Without a doubt the worst professor I have ever had. Does not deserve the privelege of being called a professor when he cant teach anything. Just does his silly experiments and makes mistakes on the most basic problems. You are completely on your own to survive in Phys 100 with him. Wait to take it with someone else, anyone else.

1.0
4.0
PHYS100
Aug 8, 2010

Absolutely horrendous teaching. Do not take Phys 100 with this prof you will absolutely regret it.

1.0
2.0
PHYS100
Aug 10, 2010

Worst. Prof. EVER. Will not teach you a thing, but will demonstrate friction by making you watch an asian guy pull a truck with his ear. Or watch Romeo and Juliet physics jokes. Did not learn a thing, except ears are strong

5.0
1.0
PHYS100
Aug 17, 2010

The assignments and labs are quite easy. Lectures are so so. Anyway, Neil is a good lecturer.

1.0
4.0
PHYS100
Aug 21, 2010

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the evaluation below - Dr. Jungic is a poor lecturer who doesn't teach and everything you learn is self-taught. Worst prof I ever had PERIOD.

1.0
4.0
PHYS100
Aug 21, 2010

Whoever gave this guy 100% is completely inaccurate (I won't be surprise if Alberding wrote that evaluation himself). Final exam average was 55% this semester! 55% for a 100-level course. Alberding is a horrible lecturer who doesn't teach. ENOUGH SAID.

1.0
4.0
PHYS100
Aug 21, 2010

Jungic? I think the guy below means Alberding. Anyways, everything else I completely agree: WORST PROFESSOR EVER!

1.0
5.0
PHYS100
Sep 10, 2010

Worst professor ever, avoid at all costs! You will not get your money's worth from this guy.

2.0
5.0
PHYS100
Oct 8, 2010

Terrible prof, we learnt almost nothing in class yet the assignments and final were so hard

4.0
1.0
PHYS100
Nov 6, 2010

Great prof and he is funny. Intersting class,and the content is not very hard. Eassy to follow. Exams are fair, but with too many quizs. or maybe a bit too much hw. I like the way he teachs

1.0
3.0
PHYS100
Nov 18, 2010

This professor is one of the worst instructors at SFU. I have a degree in Business and was coming back to school to complete med school pre-reqs and this guy is without a doubt the worst prof I've ever had. I ended up dropping the course. After seeing the comments from last semester, I'm really glad I did. Avoid him at all costs, he doesn't teach.

2.0
2.0
PHYS121
Dec 4, 2010

Horrible Prof, has no idea what's going on, wastes time, doesn't teach the slides, just tells you to read them at home, when asked a question, he generally doesn't know the answer, so he replies with some off-topic thing, or asks you a question.

5.0
3.0
PHYS100
Jun 14, 2011

One of the best profs at SFU!

2.0
4.0
PHYS140
Jul 20, 2011

if you plan on being a physics major, you might make it through this class. if you're taking it to fufill a lower division pre-req for a diff degree, DONT TAKE THIS WITH HIM. espec. if you're first year. exams ARE fair but you must keep up with homework (there's a lot!) lectures are horrible. hard to pay attention if you don't love physics.

2.0
4.0
PHYS140
Jul 20, 2011

PLEASE do not take physics with this prof, especially if you're first year. i was not a physics major and found this class *excruciating*. bad lectures, useless help (although it is available) and tons of homework. self-directed class. drop if you have him!

1.0
5.0
PHYS140
Nov 21, 2011

Horrible prof does not even bother teaching just sits there and looks at stuff on google plus leaves the entitre course to the students alongwith a ton of homework daily. Whatever you do NEVER take a class with him.

2.0
4.0
PHYS102
May 1, 2012

If you have him for studio physics, drop the course and take it elsewhere. The experiments were useless and the self directed learning did nothing but muddle everyone in the class. Help was available, but but not useful, and his exams were far harder than anything we encountered in class. Do not take his class.

2.0
2.0
PHYS141
Aug 14, 2012

You don't understand even a single word from his lectures.

3.0
3.0
PHYSD100
Jan 17, 2013

I think a lot of people attribute the falters of the class's parameters to Neil (e.g. the suckyness of smartPhysics and quantity of homework). I found him to be quite average in teaching effectiveness. He had a hard time with explaining some things, but this was countered by his earnestness.

2.0
5.0
PHYS141
Feb 1, 2013

LOADS and LOAAADS of Homework/Assignment...etc etc.......Speaks for half hr..and then disappears leaving T.A behind. SmartPhysics is horrible......watch videos aint gonna help a percent.....for such a HARD HARD Course....I wrote stuff in exam.....just passed with C-....... So relieved...Smartphysics thing is over.

1.0
4.0
PHYS120
Mar 8, 2013

the online smartphysics prelecs are just bleh...and all he does in class is a couple of I clicker questions. His exams are waaaaayyy harder than what you'd expect from the smartphysics homework and he doesn't really do anything to prepare you for midterms -,- do NOT take PHYS with him.

2.0
4.0
PHYS141
Jul 31, 2013

One of the worst I've seen, trust me

1.0
3.0
PHYS120
Nov 14, 2013

all he does is basically reread the smart physics again. doesnt help on problems at all, if you dont get the smart physics lectures, youre pretty much dead..he'll scale you in the end, its just that youll probably end up with C+ or B-

1.0
5.0
PHYS120
Nov 20, 2013

Screw this guy, that was a terrible class. 10/10 do avoid at all costs

1.0
5.0
PHY120
Jan 9, 2014

Baad just bad

5.0
1.0
PHY120
Grade: A+
Jan 22, 2014

Best physics teacher I have seen in my life!

1.0
1.0
PHY120
Feb 22, 2014

Material is easy, Don't expect to learn anything from him in the lecture as all he does is rereading smartphysics again. Kinda forced to go to lecture for the iclicker marks when it is actually a completely waste of time

1.0
4.0
PHYS120
Feb 23, 2014

the worst prof I have ever met across my academic career. he does not know how to teach at all. Taking his class is just a waste of time, but that is mandatory because of the iclicker. and he is unfair on grade. Having a highest mark exceeds the theoretical full mark is just like having rain in Vancouver. Please do try your best to avoid this prof!

4.0
2.0
PHYS140
Dec 6, 2014

Good at explaining. If you stick around after everyone else leaves, or come before class, he is more than willing to help you with anything, including random questions about physics.

4.0
3.0
PHYS141D100
Aug 8, 2015

All you need to know is that you are gonna have a love and hate relationship with smartphysics

5.0
2.0
PHYS233
Sep 7, 2015

good prof. he explains the requirements for assignments and lab reports clearly and welcomes questions or suggestions. he opens opportunities to choose labs that you are interested in. this course is not hard if you prepared well before each lab and take time to write the report.

2.0
4.0
PHYS140
Nov 17, 2015

Overall lazy teacher. Simply rereads lectures slides but does help if asked.

2.0
4.0
PHYS140
Grade: B+
Dec 5, 2015

Not very helpful in lectures, pretty much just reads off the slides that are prepared for him. Would recommend taking this class in Burnaby with another prof or just wait until spring semester to take the class with someone else

1.0
3.0
PHYS141
Apr 21, 2016

Avoid it at all costs. A good grade is achievable b/c activity guides are allowed in the exam but you're guaranteed to learn nothing at all. You have to buy smartphysics for both 140 and 141 and basically watch lectures and do tons of homework on your own time that make no sense, and then do boring uncoordinated, self-directed experiments in class.

1.0
5.0
PHYS141
Mar 5, 2018
Wouldn't take again

If you wanna to pass the course, remember to attend the class while you just using iclicker to guess everything he said in the question in his lecture by doing nonsense flip it physics and also if u wanna pass the class get a c- well, gl my friend you have to borrow books from library doing tons of works to understand the things he saying.

Tough Grader
LOTS OF HOMEWORK
Caring
1.0
5.0
PHYS141
Grade: Rather not say
Feb 12, 2020
Wouldn't take again

Dr. Alberding spent no time preparing for lectures. He never does any example problems in class. We had to listen to the winded dude on flip it physics pre-lectures and sit though him going through textbook slides all to learn nothing. Then waste time doing activity guides, Physics 2 is a hard class to begin with and he makes it harder. Look Luck

Lots of homework
Get ready to read
Skip class? You won't pass.
1.0
5.0
PHYS141
Mar 22, 2020
Wouldn't take again

Literally just an online class with flipitphysics, the lectures and activity guides he provides don't have anything to with the midterms or the final exam (its useless). You can still excel in this class, you just need to understand and learn everything from the online pre lectures, which is incredibly sad considering this should a physical class.

Lots of homework
Graded by few things
3.0
3.0
PHYS121
Grade: C+
Aug 21, 2020
Would take again

Although not the most hardworking prof (recycled lecture slides), he really cares about his students. He took all questions, and responded to feedback. He was gracious about marks and responded to emails quickly. He would be 5/5 if he taught more effectively.

Accessible outside class
Caring
EXTRA CREDIT
2.0
1.0
PHY132
Grade: A
Nov 25, 2020
Would take again

he chill and doesn't care much about late and extension but that also mean that he doesn't really care about teaching .

2.0
3.0
PHYS132
Grade: A+
Dec 19, 2020
Would take again

Even though this lab course was only a 1 unit course, it felt like 3 units at times. Alberding seems like a really nice guy, but somewhat clueless when it came to his students and teaching. The instructions on the lab were very unclear, leading to a lot of extra time and effort deciphering what was required, with little clarification from him.

1.0
2.0
PHYS140
Grade: B+
Apr 4, 2022

I strongly advise you to avoid Neil. He's checked out during class time and it's clear that he doesn't give a flying raccoon about learning. What makes this course easy is that he grades very forgivingly to compensate for his lack of teaching. He likes to explain things once and never go back to it. He also uses iClicker. You have been warned.

Get ready to read
5.0
2.0
PHYS141
Grade: A-
Dec 29, 2024
Would take again

Best university prof I ever had. Everyone says he's a bad prof, but they never even bother to ask for help. He was very knowledgeable, you just had to ask for help. He was the first and last professor I had that threw a pizza party. Best prof ever

Participation matters
Lots of homework
Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

92%

Textbook Required

78%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

74% confidence
Based on 8 grades
Most common grades:
B+ (3)
A+ (2)
Rather not say (1)
Grade Distribution
A(3)B(0)C(1)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(4)
Based on 9 reported grades
B+: 3
A+: 2
Rather not say: 1
C+: 1
Common Tags
Lots of homework (3)
Caring (2)
Get ready to read (2)
Tough Grader (1)
LOTS OF HOMEWORK (1)
Skip class? You won't pass. (1)
Graded by few things (1)
Accessible outside class (1)
Rating Trend

Declining

-1.47 avg change
Mar
Aug
Nov
Dec
Apr
Dec
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

PHYS131

4.6

(8)

PHYS233

4.5

(4)

PHY100

4.3

(3)

PHYQ100

4.0

(1)

PHYS130

4.0

(1)
+13 more courses
Difficulty by Course

PHYSICS100

5.0

PHYS102

4.0

PHYS141

3.9

PHYS140

3.5

PHYQ100

3.0

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