This class was all right. Just like previous reviews the test questions are recycled from old exams. Unfortunately, the test bank pulled his exams, so I got lucky and was able to use it before they were taken away. The only recommendation is to memorize all the solutions (of the midterms and final) before the first midterm. Yes that is a lot, but it will payoff because he swaps final problems in midterms sometimes. Anyways, I have midterms and finals and I will sell all of what I got (over 13 solution sets and up to 2019) for $10, so email me at: ************* if you want them. Goodluck!

Midterm and Final questions are all recycled from past midterms or finals. I suspect a lot of people in the class had their hands on these questions, so the class was basically a matter of memorizing the solutions. If you don't have the solutions, then some questions he designed would be fairly tricky, especially for the final. Oh yeah, he also gives out bonus problems that could potentially raise your exam grades by 10 percent. Not to mention we skipped special relativity due to time constraints, but he pretty much skips it every year anyway. Overall, you should definitely take this over the summer (session C). Probably the easiest physics class in terms of getting an A.

OK so this guy literally reuses all his old exams, word for word, same numbers. Half of it is homework and should be freebies, half of them is his own creation and WOULD be difficult to solve in the time given, but the fact is that 2/3 of the class has his midterm exams so they probably memorized how to solve the problems.

The only thing that fucks you up is the final because this is the one thing that wasn't on testbank, but probably 75% of the final was old homework/similar to midterm problems. Sounds easy enough right? Unfortunately, the final is 50% of your grade so you basically need at least a 90% on it to get away with an A in the class, so you should understand the stuff, especially optics and alternating current for the final.

In my case, I couldn't bring myself to care whatsoever about this class and didn't go to lecture. The final screwed me up as a result but I still got an A- through the old midterms and mastering physics questions. That being said, he DID upload the final solutions online, so they ARE out there and someone has them.

He's kind of a dick, he made fun of people that failed the exams in the emails he sent out. Yes he wears the same fucking vest, apparently he fishes a lot.

Midterms are reused from each year from the test bank. Final is harder though but still manageable. Bonus problems for each midterm and final. Kiss your TA's ass and you are set.

Imagine a shaved Santa Claus wearing an Indiana Jones vest with a thick Bulgarian (?) accent. Great personality but lectures were boring as shit drying in the fields. Notes are posted online but they were equally useless.

To do well in this class, read the chapters, memorize the homework problems, and go to the TA's office hours whenever possible.

Midterms were homework problems with some tweaks. Final is actually quite difficult with 9 problems (one problem can be dropped). To really do well in the final, understand and practice the phasor method. There will be one LRC circuit problem that will take 20-30 mins to complete so be prepared for it.

Good luck and enjoy this class. It's really chill as long as you have your shit together.

Now, three years later, and he is still wearing the same orange Indiana Jones vest EVERY day. I would highly recommend going to class just for his demos and real-life applications of the material if nothing else because his lecture derivations are indeed pointless. The TA will be considered your savior for this class.

Midterms are literally homework problems with switched numbers, and sometimes he doesn't even go that far. Final is okay, but it does test your understanding of the material as they are not ALL just homework problems. Special relativity will also not be on the final.

I would highly recommend taking this course over summer. The outside workload is minimal and the class is an easy A if you can understand the homework.

Dantchev is a big jolly Bulgarian fellow who wears an Indiana Jones vest every day. He's a visiting professor who comes to UCLA every summer to teach and do research.

The material isn't too difficult - definitely easier than 1B. Week 1 is magnetic fields and Maxwell's equations (similar in style to Gauss's law from 1A, but not as hard because you're already familiar with the feel). Week 2 is inductance and AC circuits (still 1B-ish). Week 3 is electromagnetic waves, and week 4 (very easy) is geometric optics. Week 5 is diffraction and interference, and week 6 is special relativity. He doesn't test you on special relativity (he says you won't believe it anyways), so the class is basically over by week 5.

The tests are just modified HW problems (there are a few curveballs on the final, though). Just make sure you understand the homework and you'll be fine.

Lecture is an hour and fifteen minutes - 5 days a week! It can definitely drag, but it's not essential to attend - the majority of the lecture is derivations, which you are not responsible for. By the end of week 5, there were maybe fifteen people who came to lecture consistently. Tristan (the TA for Summer C '09) taught us everything we needed to know for the homework and tests during discussion. Dantchev likes to show us how the concepts apply to real-life, so he does a few demos each day, some of which are pretty cool - you'll miss those if you don't come to lecture.

Grading - 10% HW, 20% each midterm, 50% final. There are two extra credit problems given out (Week 1 & Week 3/4) and the first five people who solve them get a 10-20% grade boost on the next midterm.

Something to be aware of - The class started out around 80 people and had dropped to 60 by the end. Because summer session classes can be dropped all the way up until 6th week, the people who would normally fail drop the class, and this makes the grading curve harsher, i.e. if you were 30th/80, all of a sudden you're 30th/60. So your final grade might end up a little lower than you expect.

Take him - it's a quick and relatively painless way to finish up the 1 series.

Had this guy two summers ago. He was an OK teacher. Tests were not too difficult. He offers a couple of extra credit questions throughout the quarter. I STRONGLY recommend doing them if you want an A. I regret not doing them after getting an A-. His tests were basically modified homework problems. Final was not as hard as the review beneath me made it seem, though it was very long. It did contain a couple of curveballs (i.e. questions unlike anything we saw in the homework), but they were fairly simple and if you knew the concepts well then they weren't that bad. AC circuitry is easily the hardest part of the class and constituted a bulk of the 2nd midterm. The really cool thing about him is that he didn't require us to know special relativity on the final because we "didn't have enough time to learn it well enough".

Professor Dantchev is a nice teacher. He is helpful in presenting the course material. His final was a lot harder than his two midterms so be prepared to be shocked by the types of questions being asked. Overall, I would recommend him.