Kusenko is one of the best 1A professors UCLA has to offer. He's a strong lecturer, has a great personality, grades fairly (30% As, Bs, and Cs, with no curving down), and his tests are reasonable. The class uses an online homework system, Kudu, that is fairly priced and contains a lot of helpful additional problems. If you took physics in high school, then this class will seem like a harder version of AP Physics; if not, than you may not gain a very strong intuitive understanding but will probably struggle less than with a different professor.

Some tips for success:
-Don't miss homework Kudu points. The homework is worth 20% of your grade, so get help before using up your second attempt!
-Try all of the additional Kudu problems. While Kusenko will probably only pull test questions (or parts) from the main problems, these will help you on the final.
-Don't underestimate the second midterm.

Overall, I highly recommend Professor Kusenko.

i love him 😭

Professor Kusenko is going off to do some research so you're unlikely to have him anytime soon, but this man is AMAZING. I absolutely despised physics going into this class. Hated it in high school, was never good at it, and it never made sense to me. But man Kusenko is good. He made everything so simple and engaging and fair. I understood the class very well and felt like physics could even be fun? Which me at the start of the quarter couldn't have imagined. Kusenko's stories are insane (he sails around French Polynesia during the summers with Russian astronauts) and he is literally so fun to watch lecture. I will say his clarity toward the end of the course wasn't at the same level as the beginning, but rotational motion is confusing anyway and OChem Tutor could easily clear up confusion. His tests were fair. They were usually exact copies of the problems he explains during lecture. The final was kinda tricky but almost everyone had an A beforehand so it was okay. He doesn't give great partial credit (0.3/1 back for correct partial credit on exams) but if you have a nice TA they'll give you a good amount of partial credit back. The class is 10% for each of two midterms, 20% for the final, and 30% for both in-class problems and homework, which is a great grade buffer bc you get multiple attempts on the hw problems with no penalty. Overall, if Kusenko is an option TAKE HIS CLASS. You won't regret it.

He cancelled the final winter 2020 bc of corona so grade distribution is a bit wack (gave everyone 100% on the final--what a g).
Overall, as far as physics goes, this was a good class. The topics get harder as the class progresses (IMO) but I think he does a good job of lecturing and he tells some funny stories about his life in the soviet union. Attendance in class counts as he asks online questions throughout lecture, but discussion isn't mandatory. HIGHLY recommend you find a friend in this class, sometimes in-class problems were nearly impossible (shark-mackerel problem lol), homework could get challenging but the workload was never too bad, just ~15 problems due every Sunday but they did take a while to do. 2 midterms, average for first was a B- and second was an A-.
I definitely feel like I understand physics more now than what I did in high school. Would highly recommend Kusenko!

THE GOAT.

Prof. Kusenko was so kind and generous enough to give all of us a 100% on the final grade (feat. COVID-19).

Prof. Kusenko is an awesome person. He told stories about his time in the Soviet army, and it is clear that he loves the material. He is a huge proponent of Kudu, and all class quizzes, homework, textbook materials, etc. are online via Kudu.com. That sometimes means that the questions on the test are out of nowhere, and they're often variable-only questions unlike what we see online.
He loves calculus, and you really need to understand the calculus behind mechanics to ace the tests.

Kusenko's a pretty good lecturer for this class. He gives clear explanations for both concepts and problem solutions. He doesn't publish slides online, but he does use his touchscreen notebook to project notes onto a big screen in class, so it's always visible (if you're diligent enough to go!). He uses the Kudu online system for lesson plans, homework, and in-class mini quizzes, so you do have to consistently go to class. I don't think he could have made the lectures any more interesting if he tried, to be honest (mechanics is not a very fun subject in general), so he does a fine job in that department.

A little warning: if you're not so good at English or deciphering minor accents, then his Eastern European accent might throw you off a bit. It's not that bad, and I don't think any native English speakers will have any trouble understanding his lectures.

Pretty good professor. Would definitely recommend.

You can definitely tell he knows what he is talking about. He gives very good examples of the concepts talked about and performs really cool real life experiments. Probably the best 1A professor from what I've heard.