Frank Ferrone

School: Drexel University
Department: Physics
Location:Philadelphia, PA
Overall Rating
rated by 11 students
Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
Rating Comment
Overall
Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
 Pros: Easy A
50 % of the class gets either A or B
Helpful demonstrations
Exciting labs and useful recitation
Cons: Mediocre at lecturing
Does not spend enough time teaching himself, relies heavily on the TAs to teach
Not very clear at explaining certain concepts
Doesn't know how to format the class
Dr. Ferrone is a nice guy who is willing to help his students learn physics. Although he can be confusing at times, he does try his best to lecture. He is great at technological communications and curves the class heavily at the end. He spends a lot of time setting real life demonstrations which he hopes to help student better visualize some of the more abstract topics. Those demonstrations were the best parts of the lecture. The final is easier than the mid terms which were tricky, however if you do well on them, then the class is a guaranteed A.
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 Pros: Heavy curve
Prep for MCAT
Cons: Exams are tricky
Ferrone models his tests after the MCAT, so they are somewhat difficult. On a typical exam, he'll give you a fact pattern and then ask questions based on it. Sometimes, he'll even combine a few (seemingly) unrelated concepts. So you have to know the formulas, how to manipulate them and when to apply them. The latter is probably the hardest part, which means that you may have to practice... a lot.
The class is graded on a bell curve where the top ten percent get A's and the middle 50 get -B/C's. If you want to do well and you didn't take AP physics, I'd recommend doing all the homework and finding exams and questions online for extra practice. If you don't really care or you took it in high school, you could probably get by with just doing a few of the homework questions. Since the class is on a curve, you don't have to really worry about failing.
While his class can be difficult, I don't think the reviews accurately represent his teaching style or ability. He's a great teacher, and his TA's are awesome. Moreover, his goal is to have students do well on the MCAT, which I think is really helpful since it's one of the only reasons why bio majors would really need physics.
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 Pros: Chris is the best TA. I learned physics through the TA.
Heavy curve at the end of the class
Cons: AWFUL PROFESSOR. Doesn't know how to teach, he expects you to already know what hes teaching. His exams are hard and don't make any sense. He will give you one scenario and have 7 questions about that scenario and they all branch from each other. So if you get one wrong you are most likely to get them all wrong. Each question is 5 points so they add up.
My best suggestion is to take physics with a different professor or at a different school and transfer your credits. Not worth it to get a bad grade because of a terrible professor.
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 Pros: None
Cons: He is absolutely awful. He goes over theorems is class, but he does not show you how to use the equations and how to go about answering a problem. So good luck understanding how to answers the homework problems, which by the way are graded. If you have never had physics before, you really are screwed.
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Clarity
Easiness
 Pros: nice guy
Cons: soooo much work
lab sucks
lecture is terribly boring
Overall
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 Cons: worthless lectures
homework beyond the scope of lecture
avoid him if possible
Overall
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Clarity
Easiness
 Pros: Doesn't have any. The TAs are awesome but he sucks.
Cons: Horrible weird exams. Doesn't teach. Reading quiz every week which can be overwhelming. Three recitation quizzes which are alright. There is a very twisted curve at the end where if you're on top (even with a 75) who get curved to an A but if you're in the average range (65-70) you get curved to a B.
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 Lectures can be pointless - spends a lot of time going over the history of certain physics ideas, can contradict himself. You learn all of the material by reading the textbook and attending recitation. There are quizzes every week in both lecture and lab, which will definitely help with your grade, and there is a pretty big curve at the end of the course, so don't worry about your grade too much. Tests are moderately difficult - need to study and work through problems.
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 Professor was good but his tests were a bit ridiculous. Make sure to do the homework, it really helps with quizzes and exams. Lab was pointless and the TA\'s were hard to understand. Other than that, he has a HUGE curve on the course so everyone should be able to pass.
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 okay piece of cake.
gigantular curve and just so easy and he's AWESOME
def recommend him.
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 Dr Ferrone is the man. I see all you dumbasses say he is hard - I have done engineering physics, and compared to that, this is nothing. You guys dont belong in Drexel, go to some Community College. If you cannot do this physics, you do not belong to med school. Drop out now - your life is a waste. People like you should never become docs anyways - you guys will get sued heavy for malpractice. Dumbasses. Stop saying bad things about Doc Ferrone. Peace out

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