Professor Bondarenko is so nice! He really cares about his students. In lectures, he would write everything down and post them after class so you don't need to spend too much time taking notes. Someone may say his lecture is not so engaging, but I found his teaching clear and full of logic. In addition, he had review sessions before each exam, which is really helpful since the actual exam is quite similar to those practice questions. Midterms can be hard since they are time-pressured, but final (with three-hour to finish) is quite fair. Overall, good Professor!

Anton Bondarenko is the biggest of homies at UCLA. He gave out at least 20 PTE's for 1B, so you wouldn't be stuck taking a different (and more difficult) professor. Not only is he super clear and thorough in his lectures, but he also HANDWRITES all of his lecture notes and posts them as well as the slides online. He does do clickers to incentivize you to go to class, but they are only after he finishes a chapter. When it came to exams, Anton sent us a study guide that went over exactly what you needed to know and what you don't need to know, and it really helps with your studying. He also hosts his own exam review sessions, and the questions he goes over during the review are almost identical to the test questions, which are completely fair. I had Bondarenko for both physics 1A and 1B and I'd definitely say his tests were harder for 1B, but by no means impossible. You think it can't get any better, but it does: THE MAN USES BRUINCAST. So literally anything he says or writes is on record, so you will have more than enough resources to help you succeed. Plus, he's super receptive during office hours, and he's probably one of the most patient individuals whom I've met in my life. Overall, I came into physics 1A hating physics and now I'm leaving 1B as a physics double major, thanks to this incredible enigma. Take him and watch the magic unfold.

Heard he's not teaching the 5 series anymore, which to be honest is for the best. This was the first class I had ever failed at UCLA, and now I can't sleep the night before an exam I'm stressed about because of PTSD from this guy. Took this class later with Samani and went up two letter grades. Some people like this guy, but his teaching style did not work for me AT all.

Bondarenko is the most prepared and dedicated professor I have ever had. He uses a combination of powerpoint slides and handwritten notes. I never took a physics class prior to taking the 5 series, but he teaches from the very basics and builds onto that. He tends to follow the textbook closely, so it is not necessary to read the textbook. In regards to studying for exams, it is crucial to understand the problems that he goes over during the review sessions. The problems on the exam tend to resemble those of the review sessions but with slight modifications. The midterms are time-constrained, which resulted in rather low averages, but the final exam was fair. The only tough part is being able to draw connections when solving the problem because he asks for the answer in terms of certain variables. He is generous in allowing one notecard per exam. Homework is assigned through Mastering Physics, which you will need to purchase. He allows many attempts with no penalties. There are clicker questions, but they are graded based on participation and not accuracy. Discussion is optional, but usually the TAs will go over certain homework problems that Bondarenko handpicks. Also, he tends to teach a little bit slower than the other physics professors, so you may find it difficult to do the labs when he has not taught that topic yet. Finally, his grading scale is like a rank system, and he claims that it is only more generous than a normal grading scale. Overall, Bondarenko is an excellent professor, and I do not regret taking him for both 5A and 5B. He is such a patient professor, and it is really obvious that he genuinely cares about his students. Take him, you won't regret it.

Professor is great, you will learn a lot and it's a funner than an average class.

Very math based and might leave you disappointed if you're weak at math.

Okay so any positive review is literally the 5 people in the entire class that got a normal grade. His exams are brutal, 50% average. You can do every problem in the book and still not understand one thing on the exam. His practice questions are similar to the exam, but still are not enough to get a good grade. The final was like fighting a final boss in any of the souls games but with no armor or weapons. Great lectures tho!

It's a real bummer that Dr. Bondarenko is teaching the 1 series again and no longer 5, but I think it's for the best because he is underappreciated here.
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LECTURES: Anton does all handwritten notes, which is essential for diagrams and drawing vectors. He prepares all his notes beforehand and is extremely organized and clear. His voice is a bit monotone, and I actually fell asleep for a bit in 5A but his pace is slow so you won't miss much. Much of my time in lecture was spent drawing the diagrams as he spoke so I wouldn't doze off. His lectures are very helpful and since they are podcasted, you can go back and follow along looking at his notes. He actually speaks everything out so if you listen to podcasts you can actually tell what he's talking about opposed to other professors that say "here" and "there" like boy I'm not watching a video where are you pointing!!
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HOMEWORK: Mastering Physics. Great resource but problems aren't that similar to how Anton words them, so he suggests you solve them without numbers and you should be able to get good practice on how to solve problems quickly because that is essential for tests.
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EXAMS: I think this is where people are frustrated the most. His exams are challenging, but they are all doable! His lectures are clear and he gives you everything you need to know to solve any type of problem he throws at you. You are expected to truly understand the concepts and methodology for solving problems, not just plug and chug and same formula from the easy example problems. Problems are all variable based which I think is great because you get a better understanding of how variables are related to each other. You start to see patterns in problems when you solve them in variables rather than numbers. It is challenging and people are unfamiliar with this style of math, but it is immensely useful and leads to less errors when you properly learn to solve problems this way.
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He also hosts two review sessions before every exam and goes through problems that are very very very similar to the actual test questions and outlines exactly how to solve them. It seems tedious, but taking the time to break down the steps so you can understand the physics behind it is so valuable.
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THE MAN HIMSELF: Anton is fantastic. I really like professors that care about their students and the course they teach. He is so organized and helpful and kind and smart and I would 100% recommend him if you are looking to learn and challenge yourself a bit.
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OVERALL: I thought this course was fantastic! I enjoyed showing up to lecture and learning even though physics had never been my strong suit, and I had a bad experience learning it in high school. Anton makes it make sense. Oh yeah I've spent four quarters in various thermodynamics courses and no one really taught me how pressure through a membrane worked until Anton. Like...... chem department wyd..

Bondarenko is probably one of the better physics professors you'll get in the lower div physics series. He's very clear in his lectures and he writes extremely good lecture notes (which he handwrites and posts on CCLE). The notes are very understandable and he makes it clear what's important by boxing in the equations, etc that you'll need for the exams; this comes in real handy when you're studying for the exams. He does use mastering physics and suggests that you read the textbook, but honestly his notes are pretty sufficient for the class. (They are very close to the book though, so you should definitely read the book if you're unsure about any topic).
The best part about Bondarenko is that he prepares you extremely well for his exams. Before each midterm and the final, he gives out a midterm study guide and review problems. The review problems are essentially the closest thing you'll get to the actual midterm/final - he almost feeds you the exact problems on the exams (or at least you'll have an idea of exactly which topics will be covered). If a midterm or final is coming up and you're short in time, your best option is to essentially know his review problems very well - everything else is secondary. Also, he allows you one note card as a cheat sheet on each exam. Use this note card to the max - put every formula down from the study guide and if you have space, you can also write down how to solve the review problems.
One main downside to Bondarenko though is that his lectures can get really boring - many people in class were not focused or doing other things, as his voice is pretty monotone. If you can get past this however, you'll find that Bondarenko is a pretty good professor overall!

Professor Bondarenko is the most organized and clear professor I've had at UCLA. I waited an extra quarter to take this class with him and it was a great decision. Takes neat notes, uploads everything online, answers questions patiently but concisely. Makes the material (which can seem difficult and abstract to some) very straightforward and easy to understand. Tests are a time crunch but are very fair, they cover the material evently. Only thing I did not like about this class was that I had to pay for MasteringPhysics.

Cool class. Take it