Class record · EESC · MCAS

EESC 5573

Geophysical Modeling · 1 instructor on record · 1 section

What the course score is made of

100BC evaluations1 record · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2023

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

100thMore challenging than 100% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

100BC — “Intellectually Challenging”1 record · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

60BC — “Workload”1 record · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

This course will teach the fundamental concepts of mathematical geophysical modeling. Specifically, we will discuss forward, physics-based models that describe the temporal and spatial evolution of geologic systems (e.g., heat transport, chemical advection/diffusion, sediment transport, fluid flow, precipitation/dissolution). Students will learn how to formulate mathematical descriptions of geologic variables and then solve these equations numerically. The class will focus on numerical solutions to box models and 1-D & 2-D problems utilizing finite-difference methods. However, students will also be exposed to other numerical approaches (e.g., finite-element and finite-volume), as well as how models can be extended to higher dimensions. An emphasis will be placed on practical problem-solving skills required for research in the earth and environmental sciences.

The only instructor on record

1 section · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Mark BehnEarth and Environmental Sciences Provisional	1001 record	78th	100th	803 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Mark Behn is the only instructor with evaluation records for EESC 5573, so the number is a record, not a position. It rests on 1 record, which is thin — read it as provisional. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.

Also taught by Mark Behn

6 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
EESC 2201Environmental Systems: The Human Footprint	516 records	72
EESC 9901Doctoral Continuation	37 records	100
EESC 2208Environmental Systems: Quantitative Methods	26 records	67
EESC 3391Introduction to Geophysics	25 records	83
EESC 1168Environmental Geosciences: Earth Processes and Risks	23 records	73
EESC 5591Introduction to Geophysics	23 records	64

Other EESC classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
EESC 1720Crisis and Storytelling in the Age of Climate Change	532 records	74
EESC 2201Environmental Systems: The Human Footprint	516 records	72
EESC 1717Making the Modern World: Design, Ethics, and Engineering	315 records	82
EESC 1507Powering America: The Past and Future of Energy, Technology, and the Environment	314 records	80
EESC 1146Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth	113 records	77
EESC 1180The Living Earth I	313 records	67

The line

All 13 items · means across 1 record

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

100100th pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

100100th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

100100th pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

9773rd pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

100100th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

100100th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

9783rd pctl

Assignments & Feedback2 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

100100th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

100100th pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

6078th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

100100th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

9783rd pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

Game log

1 section · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Mark Behn	Spring 2023	01	100	100	60

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.