3.0
Quality3.3
Difficulty51%
Would Retake101
Reviews51%
Would Retake
101
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
25
4
13
3
18
2
27
1
18
What Students Say
“Physics 101 is tough and you'll have to work for your grade”
PH101 - 3.0 rating“I took him summer 2009”
PH106 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
34%
Textbook Required
24%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.37 avg changeRatings by Course
PH102
4.3
(8)106
3.5
(2)PH106
3.2
(29)PH105
2.9
(28)PH101
2.6
(34)Difficulty by Course
PH101
3.7
106
3.5
PH105
3.3
PH106
3.0
PH102
2.4
Reviews (101)
He is Italian. He is a good teacher. He knows physics. His tests are kinda hard but they come from the homework. He isnt the best but he isnt the worst 105 physics teacher of all those who teach 105 at UA.
Prof. Fabi is all about physics and he tries hard to make it simple. Not too much formula but cool concepts. Take this class with him, he's very nice person. Fun foreign accent included.
Professor Fabi is not a good teacher. He teaches at a fast pace and sometimes makes simple concepts hard to understand. I've made A's my entire life and have a C in here right now. His tests are EXTREMELY difficult...even if you know the material. It's true all his tests come from homework and in class examples, but he makes them impossible.
Way too hard of a teacher. Tests are impossible, and lectures on not mandatory and he is almost impossible to understand due to his thick accent. Nice guy but nearly impossible class. Labs are also useless.
This man is awesome. He's funny as hell, and has a great accent. We flew through physics, but I also took it during the summer. He was helpful if you asked him. If he had more time, I think he would be an amazing teacher. Hint* = TA's will be a godsend.
I took him summer 2009. Great sense of humor. The first two tests weren't difficult. He told us exactly what to expect: 2 or 3 questions would come from hw. The final was difficult but I believed he scaled the class tremendously. We had a book report due that he didn't feel like grading so he let us write the grade we wanted. I recommend him.
He was VERY hard prof. cannot understand he at ALL. I dont think he is a good teacher. but he was funny but not nice.
He makes PH101 extremely difficult. He is impossible to understand and his tests are insanely hard. Even learning the concepts will not help you pass the class. I highly recommend not taking him. The TAs were also not at all helpful.
I like how everyone is downing him, when they're most likely the ones not putting in any effort. Physics is hard, no doubt, but if you do the homework, go for help, and invest time to study you will be fine in his class. his accent is bizarre, but he's perfectly understandable after the 1st class. he pulls questions from homework to the test.
Took him summer 2010. Online homework, two tests and final, funny accent, extra credit 2 page book report. Lab is 25%, quizzes 10%, hwk 15%, book 5%, test 1 15%, test 2 15%, final 20%. Lab grade and hwk grades saved my average! Scales the final, gives formula sheets for tests.
I learned from him very well because of the way he lectures (writing notes on the board while explaining them). Had him for summer school-essay project for bonus (we gave ourselves grades). DO THE HOMEWORK. Oh, and he's absolutely hilarious.
Dr. Fabi was one of the easiest teachers I've ever had. His online notes were very concise, and his tests come straight from hmw. I pulled all-nighters before each of his tests and for the exam and came out with an A+ with minimal effort. Most of the time I did not even have to study the entire night. Just listen in class, and you'll be fine.
Great Teacher. Loves the material he is teaching and is one of the most brilliant minds at the University.
I really enjoyed professor Fabi. He's a great teacher. His tests are based off the homework, which is sometimes difficult. Overall not incredibly hard, but I'm not a physics person.
I really loved Professor Fabi. He was a great teacher, and I thought his lectures were interesting. If you don't understand something he is always available to help. The tests are sometimes tricky, but if you do well in the homework and lab it will be ok.
Fabi's accent is rather thick, but once you get over it, he's not too bad. His lectures seemed to drag on, but his online notes were great. His tests had a lot of homework problems on them but could still be tricky.
Dr. Fabi is hilarious. Physics 101 is tough and you'll have to work for your grade. His tests are basically the homework so if you rework the homework and actually go to class you'll get an A.
The tests are copy and pasted from the homework-MEMORIZE THE HMWK BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS. Must go to class to get the conceptual questions that he tests. He doesn't know kinematics at all, he reads from a little sheet of paper and if you ask him something he doesn't have written down, he won't know it. Final is HARD, but curved 20%
Good teacher, funny and talks softly so be ready to pay attention. Has a strong love for physics, explains very well.
Sergio Fabi is the COOLEST person I have ever met in my life! Way cooler than Thurston Moore, Tom Waits and Nick Saban combined! He taught me so much about physics and life and how to rock the roll. He is the original Italian Stallion. The sultan of sausage. I just wish he were born in the U.S. so he could be our president. All hail Sergio Fabibibi
Definitely worth taking
Like most physics teachers, he assumes everyone understands what he teaches immediately. You might as well teach yourself if you take him because he doesn't elaborate on anything and his exams are only 20 questions.
Funny guy enjoyed having him but he is difficult. You better study a week ahead of the test because this is not a class you can study for the night before and make an A. Study hard as hell and you should do good in the Italian stallions class.
Fabi is the coolest professor I've ever had. He does have a small accent but its not that bad. That being said his tests are pretty difficult, but if you show up and do all the work you should be fine. Bye.
I had fabi for 105 and 106. He teaches the material only one way, and will not slow down for anyone. Assigns a ton of homework. He expects you to learn his way, and is not helpful during office hours. Tries to be nice, but simply is not.
Talks very fast and the examples in class don't make sense. He goes off of notes which he publishes, but most of the time loses the point he tries to make halfway through. If you have any questions, he'll make an attempt at answering it but you'll probably have more questions by the time he is done talking. Take this class if you want toteachurself
Homework, labs, and quizzes are fairly easy. However the tests are very difficult, even for those who study a lot. Many people fail. I don't really think there is a great professor for this course though, so you will probably do the same regardless of professor.
Fabi is great. Accent is more fun than it is difficult to understand, he is a surprisingly good teacher, and the overall difficulty was not high by any stretch. I often compared with friends taking the other physics teachers, and Fabi is definitely the way to go.
2 tests and a final, lab, quizzes, and lots of homework. The quizzes were not difficult but the tests were a little challenging. If you go to class it helps a lot and the tests are very similar to homework . Not a bad lecturer but has a strong accent and his wording on tests can be confusing. Multiple times correct answers were not listed on tests.
No point in going to class because all he does is teach how to derive the equations that are given on the formula sheet. Good luck getting a good grade on the final because he checks your multiple choice booklet to see if you actually did the work (you can't guess). Basically you will have to learn everything in the class from your homework.
This was the worst class Ive ever taken and worst teacher. He doesnt give a textbook, has a strong accent, and none of anything he says makes sense because his lectures are so scattered. Everyone has to learn from doing the homeworks over and over. If he asks something outside of homework youre basically screwed. Avoid at all costs.
Lecture is useless, he just derives formulas that are already on the formula sheet. His lectures are all over the place and taking useful notes is really hard. His homework system is awesome though and really helps boost your grade. Pretty much have to teach yourself everything from the homework. Tests are hard but are just like the homework.
lectures are very messy and disorganized. tests are full of trick questions. he seems like a chill guy but I wouldn't take him again.
Physics is difficult. If you're only looking for a teacher who tells you how to put numbers into equations and get the right answers without learning any physics, maybe his course is not for you. If you care about some real physics learning, take his course. No book (save some $), but great free lecture notes. Above average grades.
I hate this man. He only taught for like 15 minutes a day, his lectures sucked, and we didn't even have a textbook, so you're basically on your own. He lied about curving our tests and didn't respond to emails, ever. But tbh the whole UA physics department sucks, so I guess he's as good as anyone, plus I got a B+ without knowing anything.
Dr. Fabi does not provide good examples/teach the material well. The class is just hard in general but he does offer extracredit. Labs are brutal and TAs are not helpful. He once gave one sections a multiple choice test and the other a fill in the blank test and curved them both with 1 point. He DOES NOT let you use notes on exams unlike others
It's a hard class, and Fabi teaches it as if all the content is a review and you should already know it. I hated it. With that being said, I made a really good grade because the grading scale is set up to help you.
Fabi is fine. Even without calculus the material is pretty math heavy so if that's not your thing you're gonna struggle no matter the professor. Homework was usually pretty challenging but the tests and labs were much easier.
He is very nice, lectures can be a little boring but super helpful in office hours. TA's grade you labs and they also are relatively nice, labs are in class and you don' always know when they are. Technically attendanc is not mandator but if you miss a lab then you just miss it. Labs are majority or your grade and tests are pretty straight forward.
Professor Fabi gave many vague lectures in class so you learn the material on your own. The one good thing about this class was that the test percentage of your grade is 20%. I would only recommend this class to those who have taken AP physics. Also, he offers five tests, but you are only allowed to take four of them.
If you have not taken physics before, DO NOT TAKE 105. Fabi doesn't make it easier either. Yes, people may like him because he's a funny guy, but he does not care how his students perform in his class. In my opinion, his lectures are non-informative and lazily written. GET A TUTOR or you may not pass. Get to know the TA's they grade your labs.
The lectures in this class are virtually useless they are hard to follow and are all over the place. He doesn't do any examples and just derives formulas. Homework and labs make up 60% of your grade and the homework has extra credit built in so if you put in the effort on those and can have a mediocre test average you'll be okay. Tests are hard.
If you've never had physics before, good luck. You have to learn the material on your own and constantly check the HW portal bc you won't even know it's there because he won't say anything and there's no lab or homework schedule. TAs are helpful sometimes, but I haven't learned anything in this class. Tests are hard & on material he doesn't teach.
I'm a big physics guy but I did not really enjoy this course. That is not to say that I dislike Sergio- I think he's a super nice guy and helpful when you ask him for anything. I just found his lectures a bit dull and winding. I skipped much of the class because I would never listen to what he was saying. The labs were pretty cool though!
Physics can be tough. Period. Dr. Fabi could definitely improve upon the organization of his lectures. The HW is more difficult than the actual tests though! He does offer extra credit at the VERY END and does curve already! Show up for In-PERSON labs- not the simulations!!! It will save your grade!
This class was very hard for me. Hard concepts and professor is hard to understand. Lectures were not structured and very confusing. Labs took forever, but they did help my grade. The test were online and alot like the homework. but were still EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. I had tutoring outside of class every week and still barely made a B. Just buckle up!
He is a very nice man, however the class is generally an hour and fifty minutes long so be prepared to be lectured at for the entire duration of the class. I wouldn't say it was super hard but there is weekly homework, quizzes and labs. Also, the class is always in the afternoon so you will likely be getting out of class at 5pm. Fairly easy grader.
Good professor who knows what he's talking about. The class is 1 hour and 50 mins long and he will lecture for the entire time (unless it's a lab day). He gives a lot of homework, but it's easy if you pay attention in class. Labs are long, but not hard. His tests aren't that bad either.
DO NOT TAKE HIM! He is so difficult to understand, and the tests make absolutely no sense. The labs are what take up the majority of your grade but you do not know when they are, he himself does not grade anything he has his TA's do it.
Fabi can be hard to understand at times because his drawing skills are not that good. If you follow the given lecture notes, its a lot easier. The labs are the majority of your grade and they're really easy to get good grades on. If you just need to take this class for credit, you can take him and pass pretty easy as long as you put minimum effort
Lots of homework and it was all assigned at what felt like random, so check the homework software every few days. Labs made up the majority of the grade, but they were graded not too harshly although it felt like even the TAs didn't understand them. The tests were difficult and we all struggled, luckily it has a small part of our grade.
Fabi is a nice guy, but not a good professor. I wouldn't recommend taking him if you've never taken physics before. His lectures hardly make sense and are very unorganized. He doesn't do examples in class that are representative of test questions at all. He doesn't post any review, study guides, or go out of his way to make sure we are prepared.
You pretty much have to teach yourself everything and learn how to apply the formulas on your own. In his lectures it's like he expects us to already know what he's talking about and doesn't go into much detail. He would introduce a topic and then would never mention it again. The recitations are also not review, they are for weekly quizzes.
Fabi is a great guy, and his grade scale is made to be forgiving. That said, his lectures are horribly disorganized and impossible to follow. He doesn't follow any textbook and doesn't follow the notes he posts online. Tons of extra credit at the end of the year saved my grade though after a BRUTAL second exam. His curves on tests are small.
Try to take someone else if you can. The grading scale isn't bad--it's very lab and homework heavy--but his lectures are so incredibly hard to follow and honestly don't teach much of anything. And the tests, while being only a small portion of your grade, are nearly impossible. I learned almost nothing from this class.
Fabi is hilarious and genuinely cares about physics. However, his lectures are pretty disorganized, and he often assumes we understand the content. He does not give us written problems represented on tests, so expect to do some self-studying. The class is VERY forgiving though. I scored a 71 on the first exam and managed to finish with an A+.
Good professor for weekly labs (standard), and weekly quizzes (TA led). Homework use some weird multiple choice software outside of UA.
i thought he was good but he does lecture for 2 hrs straight so be warned. attendance was basically mandatory bc he never told you what day he was going to do the lab so you have to show up anyway so you don't miss it.
Dr. Fabi's lectures are very unorganized and difficult to follow. He would never give us practice problems that were representative of what will be on the exams. Exams were absolutely brutal as a result. He also has a strong accent so its hard to understand him which makes learning the material even harder. Lectures last the entire two hours.
Fabi is the WORST professor I have ever had at UA. He cannot lecture and I guess they just hand out Phds in physics to anyone. The only way you can study for the test is the homework and he never goes over example problems in class and everyone has to self teach in this class. Take Physics with cal with a better professor if you can.
Tests were easy compared to the homework problems. Offered lots of extra credit, curved each test, and scaled the final grade. There was not too much homework, maybe due once a week. Lectures were helpful but not essential - you could do well even if you didn't go to class on lecture days. Labs and quizzes made up most of the grade and were easy.
Did I learn a single thing in this class? No. Did I somehow make an A? Yes. He does absolutely nothing to prepare you for exams, and lectures are wildly confusing. Labs are a large percent of your grade, so as long as you show up for those and do well, you should make a decent grade. He curves exams which helps.
I had to teach myself everything. There was little to no practice problems in class. The lectures didn't even follow the lecture notes. He also had messy handwriting so you don't know if it's a number or a sign that he is righting. He also is hard to understand. Very nice and will let you do makeups if you missed an exam or lab. TA's graded though.
I would only take him again if I had to. His lectures are okay, but get a bit long-winded. He's not particularly understanding when I had personally contacted him, so expect that.
PH 106 is brutal no matter what but Fabi is a good teacher. His grading criteria is fair and makes homework load very reasonable. Might be easier options but I thought he was decent.
Fabi may take forever to respond to your emails or he may not even respond. Was told he was the best to take for 106 but whoever told me that was lying. Lectures are long and boring, he takes up lab time to "lecture", and there are dumb quizzes you have to take every Friday. The TA is the only reason I'm going to pass this class.
Dr. Fabi is an above average professor for PH 106. He closely follows posted online notes in his lectures so it is a good source for notes instead of handwritten notes. Read these notes before lectures if possible-it will help. Dr. Fabi is a very nice guy and he is always willing to answer students questions during lectures/labs.
Funny guy. He actually teaches well compared to the other professors. Lectures can be difficult to follow if you do not pay attention. Weekly labs and quizzes, but that's with every physics class. Decent grader. Exams are difficult but if you study they are mostly just the homework questions.
Dr. Fabi is very nice, but not the best lecturer. It is hard to follow his lectures - he writes on a blank screen and often things get written any and everywhere. I studied the homeworks and everything he said for exams, but they weren't enough to do well. Lots of grade buffers with labs and homework and a curve though, so it ends up fine.
Prepare to learn everything by yourself. He's nice but he cannot teach; not a single thing did I understand from his lectures. It was honestly kinda distasteful the amount of extra credit he had to apply at the end of the course when he realized how poorly we were all doing. On top of having a possible final score of 127%, he also had to curve it..
fabi is awful. he assigns home
Funny guy. He's got the thickest Italian accent I've ever heard. Even if he were easy to understand, his lectures aren't organized and they don't serve much purpose. You won't learn anything, but you will get an A+. The curve is insane. Show up to all the labs, don't miss any homeworks, and you've got an A+ with zero mastery of the material.
His lectures are really hard to follow. He has his own lecture notes that he follows. The homework and labs helps your grade a lot. There are weekly quizzes led by the TA's. He is also hard to understand.
Fabi has a particularly hard to grasp accent, and not the best handwriting. His teaching assistants particularly no idea about the material as well. Most of the grade is labs and the final anyway so be sure to refer to outside sources since the homework is never on the exams. Quizzes are often mistyped and have confusing grading criteria.
Professor Fabi is not a super organized professor. His handwriting is not great and his lectures are scattered. The good thing is that the tests are easier than the lectures and labs make up most of the grade. He also curves like crazy so your grade should be fine as long as you do a good job on things that are not tests.
Lecture notes are a great reference, tests are scaled, overall a good class
If I hadn't taken physics in high school, I probably would have struggled a lot in this class. Fabi has a pretty strong accent and when he works problems out on the board he only uses symbols and never any numbers, which makes the lectures very hard to understand. There is a huge curve on almost everything, so you can still get a good grade.
Fabi's class went well for me. He does lectures on Tuesday and labs on Thursdays. The TA's Ian and Jun were very helpful at the labs and the class on Friday led by them.
The GOAT himself. Lots of extra credit, lenient grading, etc. Very willing to help you with concepts you don't understand, and so are his TAs. Lectures are very long and can be hard to stay fully attentive during, but that is true of every teacher for this class. Deserves a much better rate my Professor score than he has.
EXTREMELY hard to parse accent and rune-like handwriting. Got better towards the end of the semester. Failed every exam and it didn't matter because he curved 10-15 pts on the two midterms and 5 pts on the final. Thank you to my lab partners for the little success I had in this class.
Sergio Fabi deserves a better rating. Though he has an accent, it's not that hard to understand. His lectures are pretty boring and his handwriting isn't great, so you'll be consulting his typed lecture notes a lot. However, he curves the tests a lot and really wants students to learn physics. Also he's super chill. Gave extra credit near the end.
Is Fabi the best teacher? No. Is he better than your only other option? Yes. He's also very funny, and his accent isn't bad though his handwriting is. Just ask, and he'll tell you what it says. You get drop grades, and he curves both tests, the final, and the class's overall grade. This man deserves a little more love.
Simply put, Dr. Fabi is an alright teacher but grades forgivingly. The 2 tests and final are less than half of your grade; the rest is group labs, quizzes and homework. Tests get given a nice curve but still study for them. He teaches ok but has horrible handwriting; I'd recommend using the online lecture notes he gives alongside his in class.
definitely overhated. class is hard in general, and his accent is not as thick as other people would have you believe. he's generally pretty funny, and lectures are kinda boring, but once again, physics kinda is. tests are curved, and consist entirely of the hw problems. if you can do those, you can ace the test. pretty chill dude.
I only got a bad grade bc i was bad a physics lol. he has an accent but its not bad. funny guy and good professor who clearly knows a lot. used a free online textbook too
Hard to understand in class and had bad handwriting but posts amazing typed lecture notes at the start of the semester. Tests are almost verbatim off the homework if you do enough practice and his curve is heavy. Raw score on my first test was a 72 and got a 90 curved. He's amazing about extensions and the in class assignment is also easy. Love him
Really boring lectures and half the information is useless. If you're not a technical major the math is gonna be really hard.
Worst class I've taken so far. His "notes" are him brainstorming on an online whiteboard. He doesn't save any of the notes and uploads no notes on blackboard. The only thing you can really use to learn the material is the homework and the textbook that he does not follow in order. Just an awful class. If you're out of options, take something else
If you do the HW on time you get like 115% which makes up if you do bad on the test bc there's 15 HW. There's only 2 test each is worth 10%. He curves huge. It's like answer 26/32 problems the other 6 are extra credit and he curves on top of that. There is a mandatory lab 1x week and class activity 1x a week for a grade. You get 1 drop.
Dr Fabi was great! His lectures could get a little bit disorganized sometimes but overall were very informative. He was also funny and responded to emails fast. He had an accent but was definitely understandable. He also gave lots of extra credit on tests. Definitely a good choice for a physics professor!
This class was awful! My lab partners and I didn't understand a thing, we failed two of the three exams, BUT somehow ended with a B. HE CURVES A LOT as no one in the class would pass otherwise. He is a funny guy and tries to be engaging, but he simply can not teach. I truly believe taking 105 with a different professor is the way to go.
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Dr Fabi was great! His lectures could get a little bit disorganized sometimes but overall were very informative. He was also funny and responded to emails fast. He had an accent but was definitely understandable. He also gave lots of extra credit on tests. Definitely a good choice for a physics professor!!
If you do the HW on time you get like 115% which makes up if you do bad on the test bc there's 15 HW. There's only 2 test each is worth 10%. He curves huge. It's like answer 26/32 problems the other 6 are extra credit and he curves on top of that. There is a mandatory lab 1x week and class activity 1x a week for a grade. You get 1 drop..
Hard to understand in class and had bad handwriting but posts amazing typed lecture notes at the start of the semester. Tests are almost verbatim off the homework if you do enough practice and his curve is heavy. Raw score on my first test was a 72 and got a 90 curved. He's amazing about extensions and the in class assignment is easy. Love him!!!
Dr Fabi was great! His lectures could get a little bit disorganized sometimes but overall were very informative. He was also funny and responded to emails fast. He had an accent but was definitely understandable. He also gave lots of extra credit on tests. Definitely a good choice for a physics professor!!!
Dr. Fabi was one of the easiest teachers I've ever had. His online notes were very concise, and his tests come straight from hmw. I pulled all-nighters before each of his tests and for the exam and came out with an A+ with minimal effort. Most of the time I did not even have to study the entire night. Just listen in class, and you'll be fine...
Lecture notes are a great reference, tests are scaled, overall a good class.
Awsome the best
I honestly hated this class and dreaded going to it, but it was easy. The class was just very long and boring. The labs often didn't make sense either. However, he made the tests easy and curved them A LOT. The homework also had a ton of bonus, which helps your grade a ton. I would suggest him over the other options, but this class wasn't great.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
34%
Textbook Required
24%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.37 avg changeRatings by Course
PH102
4.3
(8)106
3.5
(2)PH106
3.2
(29)PH105
2.9
(28)PH101
2.6
(34)Difficulty by Course
PH101
3.7
106
3.5
PH105
3.3
PH106
3.0
PH102
2.4