Overall this class was not completely terrible but certainly could have been better. The online format he used, Kudu, was very convenient but not helpful for actually learning the concepts. The homework questions often seemed disjointed from the lecture and online textbook and I had to google search the questions for help most of the time. The second half of the courses homework problems are on Chegg, which was basically the only reason I passed the class. Chegg has step-by-step solutions for all the problems and really helps with understanding the concepts, I would definitely recommend investing in Chegg for the 3 months (maybe split the bill with other friends in the class and all use it and then cancel after the class is over). Kusenko uses lots of interesting demonstrations in lecture but his accent and quick talking makes the rest of it hard to follow. The only reason I had a vague understanding of what he was teaching was because I took AP Physics in high school, definitely not the class to take for your first encounter with physics. Discussion section was not mandatory and not overly helpful as it covered mostly theoretical problems but the TA was good at explaining problems one-on-one if you brought them to him in office hours. The midterms and final were very difficult, I studied everyday for a week before the final and I got a 55% (which was only slightly above average). Some of his questions were very straight forward and others seemed completely out of the blue and not at all what was on Kudu or in lecture. This class is doable if absolutely necessary but certainly not one I would recommend for anything other than mandatory pre-major coursework unless you really enjoy physics.

LITERALLY PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE DISHEARTENED BY ANY PROFESSOR OR CLASS AT MY TIME AT UCLA. As a psych major, I had a choice between this and chem 14A, and because I took physics in high school, I took this thinking it would be easy.

I WAS SO WRONG.

Spring 2017 was hell for south campus because almost every class had to use Kudu, a $50 piece of shit service that presented text and then unrelated problems that you had to use chegg to solve. Kusenko cannot teach well at all. The class tries to go through around 15 topics in a quarter, which is ridiculous for an intro physics class for non-majors. He speaks fast and to himself, and then spends ages trying to get his experiments together which are not useful at all. Going to lecture is so pointless. The TA we had, Albert Brown, was even worse. He would spend the 50 minutes doing THREE vague problems and flat out refusing to answer Kudu questions, aka the homework questions. There was an obvious disconnect between him and the professor, it seemed they only ever communicated by email. The midterms (there are 2, week 4 and week 8) and final were so strange, only 5/6 questions that seemed basic enough but were unlike what he went over in lecture or unlike what was on Kudu.

Basically, this class gives you no resources and leaves you to fend for yourself and attempt to teach yourself everything. I'm a straight A student and I worked my ass off to get only a B. Do not take this with him as a GE or for the psych req.

I honestly hated this class. I am usually a straight-A student, but I hated this class from the very beginning because it goes very fast and the TA for our term was not cohesive with the professor. Kusenko does not answer emails and does not do a whole lot of teaching. Instead, he chooses to attempt experiment after failed experiment and leaves the students to do a lot of the learning.

Okay so If you're anything like me and didn't know jack shit about physics and never took it in high school, I don't know if you want to take this class. To be honest, I feel like I should've taken Chem instead. As a psych major, I literally have nothing to do with this class. Kusenko seems like a nice person and everything but I NEVER understood what was going on (I might as well have not gone to any of the lectures). He has no slides and my blind ass couldn't even see the chalkboard right. The TA is useless and pretentious af. If I learned anything at all it was because I tried to understand the material myself. He gives homework every week through an online course (which is $50) and as long as you get half of them right you get full credit. Midterm and final were a lot like the practice exams he gave and they looked pretty easy except that I'm just pretty dumb lol. THE CURVE IS HUGE THOUGH. If you get anywhere between (I think) 30-60% in the class you get a C. It's hard to fail but this class was so bad and annoying.

Professor Kusenko is fine enough when he is giving a lecture. He adds in interesting demonstrations of the concepts and he engages the class with a lot of energy. However, I found him rather difficult to follow. He goes very fast, so if you are having trouble understanding a concept, the lecture isn't very useful to you. He also goes over *a lot* of physics material in just a few weeks, which I think is a weakness of the class. If you're struggling with physics, this class will move way too fast for you and you'll probably need to either seek outside help, or teach yourself. I had to resort to teaching myself halfway through the quarter, which wasn't as bad as it sounds. Mostly I just had to skim through the chapters and write down the formulas, then I knew how to do the homework.
On the subject of the textbook, he makes you purchase on online textbook called Kudu, and (at time of writing) it is a really ineffective service. The homework problems often felt disconnected from the reading, which is especially odd, since the readings and the homework were on the same page. Also, unlike Launchpad, it's kinda garbage at teaching you the material. If you don't understand how to work a problem, you'll have to look it up or ask for help. You also can't tell if you got a problem right until after it's due, and you won't receive any explanation for why your answer is correct/incorrect. There's also no way to quiz yourself on the material, unlike Launchpad, so after you've done the homework, better search somewhere else if you need extra practice.
Lastly, the exams are...weird. There's only 6/7 questions on each exam, which means a lot of the stuff you learn never comes up on a test. I didn't have a problem with most of them, but each exam would have at least one question that didn't seem to be based on what we went over in class.
Overall, if you can grasp physics relatively quickly, you should be good, and you don't even have to come to class really (unless he gives a quiz, which is rare, despite what his syllabus says). But if you have trouble with physics, you should probably look at another class.

This was by far the worst professor and class I've ever taken. While I got a B- overall, that is not to say I didn't study my ass off. I failed both the first midterm and final; the only thing that saved me was a bunch of tutoring and many others failing the final as well which may speak to something. Anyways I do not recommend taking this class, but if you must as a last resort (which I had to do) then just study a lot and you will survive. All these other reviews are bullshit about Kusenko being the greatest, while he may be passionate, he is of no help as a professor. His lectures provide no help or clarity to the material he tests on, his TA was crap and didn't teach anything as well. Also I went up to him for help many times and he basically told me I had to teach myself, not to mention the fact that one time at office hours a girl tried to ask for help and he proceeded to tell her he couldn't understand why she didn't get the material because it was "so easy" which made the poor girl burst into tears. Anyways, bottom line, the dude will teach you nothing and if you've never taken physics you will struggle a lot but if you get tutoring or do AAP you should will survive. Good luck.

This Professor is amazing! The class is not hard at all and Kusenko manages to make every single lecture interesting with his jokes and experiments. Midterm and final were both very true to his lectures. Overall, I highly encourage everyone to take his class. You won't regret it.

Kusenko’s Physics 10 class was surprisingly fun and enjoyable, and he made physics interesting. He’s very humorous, and you start to recognize it the further the quarter goes on. We also did lots of cool and neat experiments in class.

Class consisted of homework assignments, reading, two midterms, and a final. The homework is doable, but some questions can be confusing and frustrating. Reading is optional, and totally dependent on whether you want to get background information on the concepts. The midterms were relatively decent if you have a strong understanding of the concepts and how to solve problems; the final’s difficulty was the same as the midterms, but just twice the number of questions.

One thing to note: while the course description may recommend the course for those who did NOT take AP Physics in high school, I would have to disagree to some extent. It’s manageable, but I feel like having a prior background and understanding of physics is necessary to do well. Luckily I did, but many other students who did not were struggling very hard. So be careful when deciding whether or not to take Physics 10!

Absolutely outstanding! Prof. Kusenko did a brilliant job of covering the main concepts of Physics in an easy-to-understand and engaging way! The constant demonstrations were fabulous and kept class exciting. VERY good approach to new concepts, taking an inquisitive sort of view. Showed a lot of concern for students, always taking time to answer questions and explain things. It was my first Physics class, and I worried about my grade, but the exams were not hard at all, like the homework and the book. Overall, a very nice experience and a great class.

I totally LOVED this class. Kusenko showed many cool in-class demonstrations. His lectures were interactive and interesting. A really fun G.E.