Samani overall was a great Professor, in that I learned alot from what he taught, and the way he lectured made me interested in physics. However, do not take this class if you want an essay A. He invests alot of time in this class including posting well-made demos simulations and weekly content videos. The videos were a little long but weren't horrible if you watched at double speed. The weekly quizzes were pretty manageable assuming you went to class and watched the content video. However, they were closed notes so that definitely made them more difficult. While the class isn't easy if you put in the time and work you can defiantly succeed. If you actually want to learn physics would definitely take this class.

He made this class hard again

Samani is a great professor. He is passionate about the subject and has thorough explanations. Many of the people writing poor reviews here likely never showed up to class and/or refused to study for the final.
Surprise! Physics is hard... but as somebody who has had actually bad physics professors in the past I can assure you this is the guy to take. If you show up to class and study for just 15 minutes a week outside of class, you will do great on every quiz and the final. Plus, there are no midterms, which means less stress on you when all your other professors are breathing down your neck weeks 4-7. Look at the grade distribution.

I think professor Samani is the greatest physics professor I've ever met. Other than teaching physics concepts, he really cares about students' needs. He changed the quiz duration to be much longer than usual in order to reduce students' anxiety on unsuccessful gradescope submission. The difficulty of quizzes and the final is reasonable as long as you follow the lectures carefully and do most of the practice pracket problems. Also, go to his office hour which is really useful! To be honest, as a math major, I spend 60-70% of my time on this physics course, but I think it's worth it. I really enjoy this course because I can feel Samani's passion when teaching it. I'll definitely enroll in other courses of Samani in the future if I had a chance. Take his class if you really want to learn sth!

BEST PROFESSOR EVER!!! Samani will make you LOVE physics even if you've never loved physics before. He is so engaging and funny and makes every single lecture relatable and applicable to your life. Like I would leave lecture wanting to learn more and I never really liked 5A so Samani completely turned the experience around for me. TAKE PHYSICS WITH SAMANI HE WILL MAKE YOU LOVE SCHOOL!!!

This review is for Samani's 5A class. The grading in this class is amazing, there's no way around it. The breakdown is as follows.

45% Labs, Discussion, Mastering Physics, Problem Sets and Clicker Q's
- Your lab grade is at the discretion of your Lab TA, but they're all chill.
- Discussion is based on showing up and completing the assignment (you get points basically for writing your name and scribbling on the paper).
- Mastering Physics is kinda annoying because there are pre and post-lecture assignments, and it is based on accuracy.
- Problem Sets are VERY hard, but they are based on effort and completeness.
- Clicker Q's are based solely on answering the question, but it requires you showing up to class everyday (questions are asked throughout lecture, not just at the beginning or end).
- Samani makes it very clear that you should receive a 100% on all of the above items if you just try (it's a huge cushion for your grade).

12% - 1st Midterm
18% - 2nd Midterm
25% - Final

There are test corrections, which allow you to get 1/3 of your points back (unheard of in any physics class). There is also extra credit allowed.

As far as Samani goes, he can be kinda frustrating when going to OH, as he really urges you to get the answer on your own. In physics, that can be tough, because you often find yourself having no idea where to start. If you get over the fact that he's trying to help you and not make fun of you (he can come off as condescending), you'll be better off.

Exams are interesting; they really demand that you understand concepts as opposed to memorizing material. Understand ALL of his in-class examples, as one or two will show up on the exam. Take it from me: I suck at physics, and I somehow got an A in this class with hard work and persistence. Bonus tip: make use of the LA's and TA's...they offer a ton of good help and are never as busy as Samani's OHs are. Good luck!

Cool Class. take it.

A great professor overall. One of the best professors in the physics department of UCLA. Very engaging lectures and he's always trying to be helpful. His exams are a little hard, but to be fair, most physics exams are hard anyway.

Samani has really engaging lectures and the concepts seem easy in class..but the tests are absolutely horrendous. The first midterm is not bad, but the second, and the final are pretty much impossible unless you are already amazing at physics. He expects problems to be addressed in discussion...which you do worksheets on your own and in groups...so no one really teaches you and you have to figure out the concepts on your own. The class has to be curved an incredible amount because he literally designs his test for most students to get a majority of the questions wrong. The extra packets, discussion worksheets, and online homework are all things you do on your own and have no guidance on, again having to teach yourself the material. If you go to his office hours, he wants you to work it out on your own, which is fine, but he gives actually no help at all.
I do not recommend taking his class unless you have a physics background.

I've never really met Samani in office hours because I heard he wants you to figure it out yourself even if you go to him. I can say without a doubt that you'll probably end up with some sort of A coming out of this class. If you go to every discussion, submit all the problem sets on time (they don't even need to be correct), go to lecture to earn extra credit, score average on his midterms, and 8 points above the average on the final, that's an A. He lets you correct your midterm for 1/3 of the points back, and it's really helpful to go back and see what you messed up on. I came out of the class knowing physics more than I thought I would've.