Such a shitty teacher. Really just out to get students and is not willing to compromise in any way. Makes his tests purposely more difficult than necessary and then forces his graders into being too harsh on the kids just for his own enjoyment. One of a kind a-hole.

Pretty controversial opinions ahead, but hear me out:
Corbin is a really engaging lecturer--he knows his stuff so well he is able to go full speed into his lecture barely referencing his notes. He's really funny and straightforward. You really go deep into understanding mechanics in this class.
His tests are hard, but not in the way you think they are. They don't have numbers, which often freaked me out because I was always scared I algebraically did something wrong. They are also only 50 min long, which means you have to think quick. However, the actual content isn't terrible---very doable if you've mastered the homework. Yes, it isn't the plug and chug you do in other physics courses and you often leave the exam uncertain rather than confident, but when you get your test back you often did better than you thought. I think I could've gotten an A if I did homework more consistently (which he frequently warned us about), but since it wasn't collected, my laziness took over.
My one complaint was that office hours were directly after class MWF, which didn't work for a lot of us because we had 20B that time.

Brent Corbin is a legend and is undoubtedly one of the best Physics professors out there . His test were so well written and his explanations were just amazing . I have always loved physics but the way Brent Corbin "preaches" the subject is paranormal . His Office Hours are always worth going . I used to sit in each of his office hours and I didn't regret a minute of it . Believe me folks , you are a bruin which implies you are intelligent and so don't run behind grades because what matters is how good you learn and I am hella sure that no one can make you learn Physics better then this godly person does .
JUST GO FOR IT .... YOU WILL HAVE THE BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE

Corbin is the best lecturer I have had in my time here. His midterms don't test how good you are at physics, but how well and how intensively you have done the practice problems from the textbook. After taking this class, I found 1B much easier than those who hadn't taken Corbin's 1A.

For those who are wondering how Corbin grades: I got 60/90 on the first midterm (~20 points above median), 28/90 on the second midterm (~10 points below the median), and felt I did really well on the final to pull off an A-.

I was sure I was going to get a B after seeing my score on the second midterm, but Corbin assured us that he looks at individual scores on the final, and rewards improvement. The final has a lot of derivations related to gravitation, which if you study beforehand, makes the final very doable.

Overall, doing well in this class is achievable with hard work.

This class traumatized me. I was a broken shell of a person while I took this class. I knew taking 1A with Corbin would be difficult, so I entered determined to focus most of my effort into it, and I have never felt more discouraged in my life. Despite trying my absolute best, attending every lecture, and doing all of the homework, nothing could prepare me for the comically difficult exams he gives. All quarter I felt like it didn't matter how well I understood what we were doing, his exams were designed to have failing averages and even though the grade works out in the end with the curve, it means you never really get to show what you're capable of and you always feel like you're failing. My grades in my other classes suffered because I felt like I was failing this one despite my 50% average turning out to be a B.

A lot of his reviews say you "he's tough, but you will learn physics!" I disagree. He spends class making jokes about drinking and throwing kittens off buildings while scribbling calculus on a chalk board. While there's entertainment value, it gets old and I would have learned a lot more from an organized professor who puts more effort into clarity and concepts than putting on a performance. If you can, take this class with another professor.

Everything that is said about Professor Corbin is true. He is one of the most difficult physics professors in the entire department, however, he will teach you physics. The reviews about him giving difficult exams just to break everyone's spirits are just flat out wrong he truly cares about the learning process which is partially why I think his curve was really nice. It's easier said than done, but as long as you do better than the class, you should get an A. That being said if you want to succeed in his class you have to put in a lot of effort. It may sound cliche, but the best way to study is to practice, practice, practice. His exams don't have any numbers which will save you time, so you don't have to plug in numbers, but the sheer amount of algebra and calculus is oftentimes disgusting. His lectures are truly engaging and he shows a complete mastery of the content which is why if you are a physics major I highly recommend you take his course even if you already took AP Physics C: Mechanics like I did. He has a reputation for being the professor that best prepares physics majors for upper-division physics. If you despise physics and are looking to just get the requirement done with an easy A STAY AWAY and either find a different professor or wait another quarter. That being said, if you want to truly learn physics take Corbin.

Robert Kao is a horrible grader.

But I got a 3% on one of the quizzes and I still got an A

I purely survived off my AP Physics 1 knowledge in this class, because I often did not understand Corbin's lectures at all. He goes deep into derivations that only physics majors would enjoy. Studying barely even matters in this class, moreso perseverance and critical thinking, because he'll end up giving you the toughest possible problem for each concept on the quizzes/tests. You don't really know your grade until the end because he curves everyone's final grades, so just try and be above average. I was about average if not slightly below and got a B, but I probably deserved a B-. Homework was on MyLab for correctness and took a long time to do. All the homework was due just before the final, but don't procrastinate and try to do 1 chapter a week.

If you like a good challenge this class is for you. Corbin is a fantastic lecturer and a great guy. You can tell he's extremely qualified to be teaching the subject, and all of his lectures are engaging and pretty easy to follow (I took AP Physics 1 in high school). He doesn't teach straight from the textbook. I'm pretty sure he just teaches from his notes and great knowledge of physics. I really enjoyed being in his lectures.

HOWEVER!! Corbin's quizzes (which are every 2 weeks) and final were unlike any tests I've ever taken in my life. I would study for hours on end and end with a C at best on each quiz. Be prepared to work extremely hard in this class and have a F-C average throughout the quarter. BUT!! At the end of the quarter, Corbin takes each student's raw score from each of the 5 quizzes and the final (+ 10% homework) and ranks the class. From there, he decides the cutoff for A, B, and C based on your scores and how well he feels people have "mastered physics". Your grade will likely be much higher than your raw average, which is reallyyyy nice :).

So, taking Corbin's class is well worth it, as you learn a LOT of physics and your grade will end up much higher than you think (IF you work really hard and go for lots of partial credit on the quizzes :) ). It is very stressful and discouraging at times, but if you're willing, I say go for it.

Corbin is a fantastic lecturer but his tests will make you question your sanity. They're extremely hard and you will most likely not get above a 50% unless you're one of the physics demons who ruin the curve. Don't feel too bad about doing poorly on his tests because everyone else is doing just as bad as you. I pulled off a B even though I got 40-50%v on every quiz and a 52% on his final so his curve is very generous. Just do your best, get as many partial points as possible, and you'll pass. (He rarely fails people)