Dixon, David  

Physics

1.97/4.00

33 evaluations


PHYS 122


Senior
D
Elective
Nov 2010
As a pre-vet student who has NEVER had a D I was shocked when I received a D in ths class. Dixon is unrelateable, does not have sympathy for students and if you go to office hours he tries to be helpful but often doesnt know how to explain it. If you get stuck with Dixon good luck--his tests are awful

PHYS 132


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Feb 2008
Dixon was a great teacher. He explained everything very well (at least for me) and his tests were very straighforward. No curve balls. I would take him again if i had the chance.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Major)
May 2008
Ok, I have to admit this guy is pretty funny during lecture and class definitely isn't boring. However, like posters above have said, his lectures are very disorganized and he spends most of class time deriving formulas that are in the book instead of telling you general concepts that you need to know. The weekly quizzes wouldn't be that hard if I had 20 minutes to do it, but with only 10 minutes I could never finish in time. Most people average around 5/10 on the weekly quizzes. It's very hard to maintain a grade in this class. Workbook problems are graded, book problems are graded, and everything is graded on CORRECTNESS not on effort. Almost no-one gets 100% on anything ever. In most classes HW will bring your grade up, but in this class it will bring your grade down. Also, in office hours I agree with poster above that he's an ass. He NEVER actually goes through a problem with you--only gives you hints about what to do. If you still can't figure it out, you're SOL because he won't tell you how to do it even in his office. I would not recommend this class, you will just be frustrated the entire time. I went into this class loving physics, and now I absolutely hate it and want to switch majors.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Jun 2008
Dixon is great, and class is a lot of fun. It's definitely not as hard or as bad as some of the other posters claim. This guy has a sense of humor and makes physics as exciting as it could ever possibly be, never mind the fact that math is inherently boring. A lot of the demos are cool though. Once he burninated a feather or something with adiabatic compression There are weekly quizzes that are pretty hard even if you do the homework+reading every night (which is graded), and I think our weekly average was 7/10. Everything is graded based on effort, so just completing your homework won't score you anything. I recommend going into office hours, because it's usually empty and he tries hard to help you. I'd say he's the best one on one professor that I've had so far, so definitely go to office hours if you need help. Oh also, there's a FAT curve. I was in danger of failing, and the curve automagically brought me up to a B+. Definitely take this professor if you like physics, or just want an easy class to pass. A++++++++ would do business again


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Mar 2009
don't take him unless you're already good at physics. tests are hard. he does let you do corrections, which is helpful because it makes you restudy the material. but even after corrections, the average grade is still shitty. weekly quizzes are absolutely ridiculous. we cover a buttload of material, more than other physics classes. DON'T TAKE HIM


Sophomore
D
Required (Support)
Dec 2009
As you may have already heard, Dixon is NOT an easy professor. I found his lectures to be pure regurgitations of the text. I can\'t remember him presenting any in-depth or relevant examples. He seems like an easy going guy, but he simply can\'t approach the lower division undergrad mentality of his students. I went into the final with a strong C, and ultimately came out with a D+. His midterms and finals are brutally difficult, and he is a stickler with partial credit. You really need to know the material, through and through. Unless you have a knack for physics, stay clear of Dr. Dixon.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Jan 2010
Perhaps it was the time of the class, but the class only laughed at half of his jokes, at best. The class wasn\'t early in the morning either, I think it was just the people in the class. But that aside, Dixon gives good demos and good examples, but lacks on clarification when you go to him in office hours. His curve really does help, but if you\'re looking for an easy A, you\'re going to have to know the material or learn it yourself. The lecture notes only helped halfway because when I started reviewing for the final, most of the notes weren\'t that useful. If it wasn\'t for some previous knowledge of the subject beforehand, I would\'ve gotten a C.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Jan 2010
Where to start? Well he gives a lot of demos which are helpful and he teaches the material fairly well. Another pro is that you get to correct your midterm and get half the points back, you get to use both sides of a computer paper to use for the midterm and 2 pieces of computer paper (4 sides) for the final. The only problem I had with him is his ridiculous extra credit problem that doesn\'t have to do with anything we learn in the class and the quizzes/labs/hw grades he gives out seem like he is trying to fail you. To give you an idea of what I am saying is, I got a 92 on the midterm but got a 6/10 average on the quizzes and 14/20 on the labs and 16/20 on the hw. So in another word is that he grades your labs for an actual score instead of a completion grade (like my previous teachers) and he picks the 4 hardest questions on the hw to grade as well. Oh btw he has custom problems along with each hw that consists from biology questions to statistics.

PHYS 133


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Support)
Dec 2007
I would not recommend this professor to anyone looking for a typical challenging physics course. This class had weekly quizzes along with two midterms and a final. The midterms and quizzes had a multiple choice part to them along with normal calculation type problems. The problem with this instructor is that his lectures are very unorganized and it is often hard to keep track of what is being discussed. The average grades for the quizzes and midterms were always very low, but the grading scheme is curved to account for this. If you have to take this teacher, make sure you are prepared to be lost and confused 75% of the time.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Feb 2008
Dixon isn't a bad guy, he's easy going in lecture and isn't nearly as boring as other phys profs are. Granted the weekly quizzes are a bit difficult, but this isn't supposed to be an easy class. I didn't think that his tests were hard at all, they adequately tested what you were supposed to have learned from each chapter (5 conceptual mult choice and 3-4 problems to work). The hw wasn't too bad, but I got the key from a friend of mine so that made the material easier to understand. I really didn't take notes after that, but more or less focused on what he was going over rather than writing. The common final that we had was probably the hardest part of the course, I ended up with a B+.


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Mar 2008
I took dixon for 132 and 133. hes a good teacher. His tests are insanely hard it seems like sometimes but he is the shit and allows you to make corrections and get back half the remaining points. so if you got a 60 you could get an 80 if you do all the corrections correctly. Hes good in office hours and can explain just about anything physics to you. Hes a genius and lets it show. However he needs to brush his teeth once in a while. Overall a good teacher. I would recommend him to anyone that has to take physics 132 or 133.


Sophomore
D
Required (Support)
May 2008
I wouldn't take his class again. I don't think that he spent enough time explaining important topics that were covered in the common final.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Oct 2008
His lectures are easy to sit through and he gives great examples. Dixon isn't boring/monotone like most professors and for that I really like him. His tests are HARD compared to other 133 profs... but as a trade-off you get to correct problems for half credit. Each midterm's only worth 12% of your grade though. This can be a good or a bad thing; you can completely fail a midterm and still drag it up to a C. On the other hand, the weekly quizzes are tricky, a serious pain, and are worth an odd 30% of your grade. So to summarize, Dixon's entertaining, but if you want the easy way out, hes definitely not the one to choose.


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Nov 2008
DON'T take him. hes known to be a much harder prof, and though i wont say hes insanely difficult, he WILL put you a disadvantage when it comes to getting that grade. 133 is a tough class, but compared to other profs, he makes it harder than it needs to be. It's not fucking fair. Dixons tests can be corrected for 1/2 credit but it doesn't help all too much when the class median hovers around the 50%s. if not the tests, his quizzes will sink your grade.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Dec 2008
NO NOT TAKE DIXON. YOU WILL BE IN FOR 3 MONTHS OF HELL.


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Dec 2008
he actually gave pretty good lectures but 2 midterms we had were freaking ridiculous!! eventho we get the midterms back and get to turn in the corrections for 50% of the missed points, i still ended up with D on the first test and C on the second... i passed this class cuz he kinda curved the final


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2009
He puts off a very arrogant vibe. I know I will have to work very very hard to get a C in this class and my GPA is a 3.4 so I'm not an idiot. He is funny and class is interesting BUT, his arrogance and tough grading ruin it. Dixon I hope your reading this: YOU TEACH INTRO TO PHYSICS AND NOTHING MORE. Teach an upper level class and stop harassing these lower class Freshmen and Sophomores with your "I know more than you!" and "I pwn you!" mindset. Its not cool Dixon. So Basically if your a geek who's up for the challenge of passing an intro to physics class then here you go. If your a normal student with a life then steer clear.


Sophomore
F
Required (Support)
Feb 2009
I know that my grade probably would tell you it all. However, don't just scroll down. I am a hard-trying student who couldn't for the life of himself understand electrostatic physics. I went into his office hours every week and asked him questions, although I still was confused afterwards. Dixon is a nice guy, but he really has trouble conveying information in a way that doesn't make him look like some kind of genius. His office hours would be more helpful if he was better at teaching the material in the first place. The class average on midterms always fell into the "F" catagory, but you could correct your midterms for some points back. Only problem was if you get something below a 50, correcting it won't make a difference and on top of it, he grades harder on his corrections. He calls it his "curve". His final was a nightmare. It doesn't matter my grade, you should not take him if you don't want to spend hours on this class just to get a grade you don't want.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2009
Don't take Dixon if you can help it. He does not teach the material in lectures, just goes over random stories and demos which don't help, then he gives insanely hard tests. The average on each midterm was less than 50%. You could redo it for 50% back, but he graded really hard on that and it was impossible to get all of it back. He does curve at the end, I failed each midterm and didn't know anything so I studied my butt off to get a B- on the final. But a curve to a B doesn't mean you actually know anything. He is a terrible teacher, I have a 3.85 GPA meaning I'm not stupid, but I couldn't understand anything he said nor learn anything from him. I also just took EE and understood everything, so it's not like the material is that difficult. He's just terrible! DON'T TAKE HIM!!


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Mar 2009
Dixon is a great professor. Yes he is hard, but that is just the nature of 133. It is a lot of material to get through in one quarter. Take Dixon if you want to learn something. To ace the class you just need to try hard on the homework. Expect to spend about 3 hours a week on this. If you understand homework, the quizzes and tests are very similar. He does give the hard problems on tests and quizzes, but there is a huge curve to make up for that. You can earn back half credit on tests, making an 80% basically an A. He also curves the whole class. Dixon keeps class interesting having a demo almost every time. He is also very good at time management. It is a fast pace class but he does not fall behind, forcing you to cram a lot into dead week as many physics teachers do. If you don't care about learning the material avoid Dixon, otherwise I highly recommend him.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Support)
Mar 2010
He will derive equations until the moon leaves earths orbit, comes back and destroys us all!!!! but his demonstrations are cool, and on the midterm he lets you make up your missed problems for half credit. so if you get a 50% you can make up an extra 25. His lecture is kind of useless because he derives equations, explains some cool shit and doesn\'t tell you what to do.


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Jun 2010
This professor is by far one of my favorites. His tests and quizzes are difficult beyond belief, but he lets you have an equations sheet which helps a lot. He does a demo nearly every lecture, as well as tells you about the background of the science without requiring you to learn the specifics of the history. This makes the class much more interesting. I never went to office hours or did the homework, both of which would have helped my grade. He does grade heavily on the final, seeing as I had an F going into it and came out with a C-. The class is not easy, but very rewarding and interesting.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Aug 2011
really nice guy, pretty good teacher, kinda a stickler when it comes to grading labs. He's a little out there sometimes if you know what i mean, plus he has some bad b.o.

PHYS 141


Freshman
C
Required (Major)
May 2012
he is reallly really reallllllly bad at teaching. nuff said. #cockface

PHYS 211


Senior
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2008
Dr. Dixon is very confusing during lectures. The first few weeks of the class we were able to understand what he was talking about. But then things just got nuts. He is also an ass during office hours. He doesn't give you help if you don't understand the basic concepts, he just asks you other questions and makes you feel stupid. One time I had a question on the homework and he said it required phys 141 knowledge of projectile motion that I had forgotten temporarily. Instead of giving me a 2 minute refresher of projectile motion, he told me to go look it up in my old phys book. He said he would not help me any more with that problem. This guys has an ego and he makes you feel stupid. His lectures are unorganized and it's hard to follow. His homework problems are nothing like his lecture material and his tests are insane. The class averages for both midterms and the final were below 60% He does adjust the final grade for that, but he sucks. Don't take him.


Junior
C
Required (Support)
Mar 2008
Dixon is the reason so many students don't like physics. Stay away from him. I got A's in 141/132/133, but this class was just awful. His lectures are disorganized and make little sense. The few examples he gives are either directly out of the book or not related at all. Granted the subject material in Phys 211 is hard, he definitely made it even harder to understand. The quiz problems are sometimes abstractly related to side notes he MIGHT have mentioned under his breath in class, and the rest are problems you won't be able to do in the allotted 10 minutes for each quiz. Weekly quiz averages are around 4-5 and each of midterms had an average below 60%. He would also get mad at us when we did poorly on an exam and tell us it was our fault for not learning the material. Avoid taking him at all costs. He will ruin any love of physics that you might have. I arguably could have learned more (and had a more enjoyable experience) if this class were taught entirely in Arabic or Latin.


Junior
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2010
Dr. Dixon. What a badass. One of the 1st things you notice about this guy is just how intelligent he is. One of the smartest dudes you\'ll ever meet. Teaching skills: could be better. Not very clear at all and he hauls ass through everything. Then again, Modern Physics is confusing anyway. That would be my biggest complaint: lectures just whip by and he never explains anything in any sort of satisfying detail. During office hours he is thousands of times better, though. That is when I really learned this stuff. Conclusion: recommended, but not strongly. Doing research for/with him would be hella tight.


Senior
C
Elective
Dec 2010
Where should I begin? To his credit, Dr Dixon is a \"scientific reporter\" and has a wide range of knowledge of physics and can pretty much give you the background for all the major ideas and theories going on. I did enjoy going to his class and listening to him lecture, but that is about all I enjoyed. That being said, holy shit did this class sucks fat nuts. Not only were the homework problems that he decided would be fun to come up with and give us impossible, the midterms were the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen and I fail to see why we weren\'t allowed open book/open notes with all the shit he pulled on the midterm and final. The average on both midterms was less than 50%, seriously, what the fuck. Speaking of the final, this is the only professor that I know of that requires you to have an advance knowledge of calculus to perform decently on the final, remember how to do a fucking triple integral in spherical coordinates? Neither do I and I doubt anyone else could just magically pull that out of their ass. I almost gave up on the final at least four times because it was horrifying. Worse than the dynamics final by far, it gave me a migraine and I really just wanted to shoot myself in the face the whole class Avoid Dixon (or D^2 as he likes to refer to himself) unless you are a complete physics nerd and have nothing better to do with your life.


Senior
A
Elective
Jun 2011
Dixon is a very good lecturer. Funny guy too. His tests were not easy but if you study they're reasonable. The homeworks were done in groups of three and generally it worked pretty well. I believe people did pretty well in his class. No one failed.

PHYS 212


Junior
C
Required (Major)
Mar 2008
dixon is great. i got a 16 on the second midterm and had a 45 going into the final and got a c in the class. what more do you want


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Nov 2008
I had Dixon at the end of last year and is awesome. He makes the class hard, the test averages were lower then 65 for both tests, but he curves it at the end to make up for it. The homework was very hard and it is pretty much necesarry to go in to his office hours every week if you want to get it done, but you learn ton from the class and it really helps you prepare for serious college work and not the bs intro phyics classes or GE level work. But if you dont want to work hard to learn a lot, dont take him because you will not do well. O yea, and he was experimenting on our class with some crazy homework policies. All the hw was group work and it was work 40% or something rediculous like that, which I think are both good things but not when they are implimented a the same time. I wouldnt expect him to do that again though because we had our complaints with him

PHYS 666


Graduate Student
A
General Ed
Apr 2010
I think Physics is a pretty cool guy. eh kills superstitious and doesnt afraid of anything... Dixon is a bad ass motherfucker, taught me everything I know about Modern Physics and marked new avenues to explore the cosmos. Credible.

ENVE 783


5th Year Senior
C
Elective
Nov 2016
What else is there to say? Fine person, nothing interesting. Class was meh... Blah, blah, blah... Fine person.