Petta is a fantastic professor, easily one of the best I have had so far at UCLA. His lectures clearly explain the concepts, first giving a brief overview using slides, then going more in-depth with calculations he helps you work through. The best part of each lecture was the demonstrations, which while didn't help to explain the material much, provided a bit of an idea for real life applications of these concepts, and was just plain entertaining, especially after an hour of dense lecture.

His problem sets were very difficult. He would assign around six textbook problems per week, each of which took on the order of 30 minutes to complete. Discussion sections helped immensely with the homework, as at least one problem would be solved basically in its entirety.

Exams were fair, with the midterms being significantly easier than the final. Both often pulled problems from the textbook, and were essentially designed to be curved up, with an average of around 60-70%.

Though this class was very rigorous, I would recommend it to anyone interested in physics or willing to challenge themselves. I would not worry about the grading too much, as there is a generous curve, like in most honors classes.

Many people will encourage you take this class because Prof. Petta is a great teacher and great guy. This is true-- he explains concepts well and is extremely understanding and helpful. However, I would NOT recommend taking this class unless you are extremely confident in your physics skills and have ample time to dedicate to this class.

The weekly work consisted of one problem set, which takes hours and hours as Prof. Petta purposefully assigns nearly impossible problems "to make you think about the material". These problem sets were super difficult and I would've learned more if they were ore doable.

The tests (2 midterms, each 20%, and a final worth 38%) were all quite difficult -- the average was usually around a 75-80%, but only because this class attracts only the really smart students. It also didn't help that Prof. Petta never posted answer keys to practice exams because "it's an honors class". At the end of the quarter the raw grades were curved such that the class average was around a B+/A-.

Overall, as good of a professor Prof. Petta is, the problem sets and exams are simply too difficult and time consuming for even an above average physics student. I would strongly recommend taking 1B for 95% of people.

Please take this class if Petta is teaching it. It's not all that difficult and it's certainly better than 1B with a professor like Corbin from what I've heard.

Please take. It would be a mistake not to take Petta. He is perfect

Petta is easily the best professor in the department, no contest. He is very accessible outside of class, extremely welcoming to questions, and is extremely clear in lecture. This class would be impossible without him. With that being said, it is a very tough course, particularly when you hit special relativity. I would only recommend taking this course if you have familiarity in both magnetism and special relativity or else I guarantee you will be lost. The homework is tough, but not if you attend discussion (where the answers are practically given) and work in a group (it's a small class so get to know your classmates). The tests are hit or miss; sometimes manageable, sometimes tough. But Petta typically curves by the end of the quarter so don't worry, his philosophy prioritizes the understanding over the grade.

The professor uses demos that are very engaging and that help you understand the material. He uses iClicker and you are graded on attendance, but it was only 2% of the grade. The grade was based off of the 2 midterms (each 20%), problem sets (20%), the final (38%), and attendance. The tests were manageable, but slightly more difficult than the problem sets. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this class!

After having the worst experience in physics 1CH, I realized the preciousness of Professor Petta. Not only does he knows all the materials inside-out, he delivers it in a clear, understandable way and apply the concepts to real situations. The first exam scared me a little but I sticked through (this is my first physics class). His exams reflects all the topics you learn in class and as long as you follow though, do the homework and practice exam, you will get a very good hang of everything. Most importantly, the knowledge you learnt will be carried throughout your future career. I revisited the capacitors in one of the micro sensor labs, and I realized all his practice prepared us for real life applications of the knowledge so effectively. I am so glad I took this class! One of the best professors in the world! I will definitely take his class again!

I really liked this professor! His lectures were very clear, and he was very easy to talk to at office hours. The content was easier than 1AH, so if you took that class, you'll be fine with this class. Grades haven't been released yet but we think it's bell curved around 90% with a max/min being 100 and 80% respectively.

It's not as hard as I would've expected from the honors class, but it still is difficult. There's a bunch of stuff that's useful to know for physics 110ab (if you're a physics major), and it's really heavy on math. Take math 32b before if you can. The regular physics 1b doesn't cover things like special relativity and Maxwell's equations. Attendance was mandatory. We had weekly homework problems, two midterms (averages were around ~80% and ~70% if I remember correctly), and a final.

If you just want to take this class because it gets curved a lot more than the regular class, probably don't do it. Even if you're an EE major, I don't think this class is more helpful than the regular one for that subject. But if you're really interested in the physics, it's very fun!