Samani is the best! His tests are really hard but with test corrections and the team portion of the midterm and final, you end up getting some points back. Lectures are always really interesting and there are many opportunities for extra credit in the form of practice exams which are super helpful. Be sure to read the textbook if you don't have a background in physics!

THIS WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST CLASSES I HAVE EVER TAKEN! I really hated physics with a passion when I was in this class. I felt like I ended up liking 5B, which is supposedly more dreadful than 5A and 5C was even better. If you have no physics background, you will struggle in this class unless you can figure out how to perform well on his ridiculous exams. My performance on the midterms was average but the final wrecked me. Also, I tried to adopt his strategies for problem solving and even worked with others, however, I still didn't see a "drastic" improvement in my performance. I feel like the amount of work I put into this class is not reflective of my grade and all the frustration I experienced during the process.

Samani's lectures are good for explaining the base concepts of physics, but then on exams and homework he expects us to apply this simple concepts on a much deeper, more complicated level with little to no guidance. Also, the workload for this class is just too much- especially the inclusion of the Mastering which is essentially useless to me. My entire weekends were always physics because of the discussion worksheet, online homework, and exam practice (not to mention extra credit) due EVERY WEEK. We have to use a calculator for these problems, which we can't do in any other aspect of the course, and the problems are never like anything we are asked on an exam. He also always seems apologetic about how hard the class and tests are, but he is the one in control of this and can change it. Overall, Samani is a decent lecturer but the class is much more pain than gain.

I felt very mislead by the other bruinwalk reviews for his other courses. Samani's class was the most difficult and unclear class I have ever taken. There is a lot of homework every week, his lectures seem to barely cover any content and the practice exams that he gives are 10x harder than problems covered in lecture. He says he gives a lot of extra credit but the class is not curved and the total amount of extra credit adds up to about 4%. He is a very nice guy but I did not enjoy this class at all.

If you can take 5A with Samani, do it. He works hard to make lectures engaging and he goes through the concepts pretty slowly and thoroughly. That said, he teaches the class in a pretty conceptual way, so its important to do problems outside of class in order to do well on the tests, which were pretty difficult. But even if the tests don't go well for you, you can get points back by doing a reflection and he offers a TON of extra credit (about 4 - 5% added to your final grade). The class is also curved, so you have a very good chance of finishing the class with an A. The class is hard, but Samani wants you to succeed and if you take advantage of the resources you'll do great.

This class was hard AF so hard I had to retake it. Samani is a very conceptual professor and does not understand that there are people who have never taken Physics before. His exams are unlike anything Ive seen and the class averages are always very low like 40% so he curves upward. I honestly do not know how 70% of the class got A's . If you have never taken physics before your better off going with another professor who uses formula sheets and calculators cus this class aint it chief.

I didn't get a good grade on this class but I have no regrets taking Samani. Other physics lecturer pale in comparison to his lectures and I wish he taught other Physics 5 series. This is a class where you genuinely LEARN instead of being spoon fed concepts in their most concise form. I actually enjoyed tremendously the questions he wrote because it really makes you revisit the fundamentals of the concepts and understand how to apply them. I took physics in high school and hated it because of how dry it was. Samani really cares about your growth and learning and I really appreciate that even though I am annoyed by the difficulty of his exam questions.

Oh and did I mention how amazing he is at answering your questions? Seriously, always go to him with your questions. He figures out exactly the source of your conceptual confusion and also understands well common misconceptions. This class has been a blast.

Honestly, everyone hyped samani to be amazing. I think he is an amazing lecturer. But this quarter people got wrecked so hard. Everyone I talked to was really upset and angry. We spend one whole lecture for one small formula. Test practices are not close to what comes out on the test. There is a ton of homework. You will be spending hours. Exam was so hard that the TA's got different answers for it.

This is the professor to take 5A with. I had not taken physics before and I was really scared as to whether I would succeed. The main thing to do is to do the pre-lecture readings and that will help you succeed in the class.

I loved the class and thought Samani was an excellent professor.

Lab is a joke- just attend it and put in decent effort and you'll get through it

To start, this class is not a walk in the park, however, it also is not a trip down Hell. Professor Samani is very clear on the goals/objectives that you need to know. His lectures were some of the best I've ever had at UCLA, he truly does care about student success; they are so engaging and make you feel like you actually learned something walking out. The midterm has a group portion 7% of your grade, which is essentially redoing the questions on the individual portion of the midterm which was 18% of your grade. He does offer extra credit through Campuswire status. Discussion is required and you get to work with your group that you take the midterm with. In terms of the tests, they were very fair. They reflect the homework and practice quizzes he would give. Nothing necessarily out of left field. The homeworks were also very nice, which number of questions ranging from 4-12 (nothing over 12 questions). They are weekly but do not take much time, especially if you do it throughout the week. These questions are written by the professor and are not just a waste of time like Mastering Physics and Kudu (both of which can feel irrelevant to the material of the class). Samani does not hold your hand like some other physics professors do, but he also will not sink your grade and GPA. You will definitely learn during this class and that could prove useful if you wish to take tests like the MCAT.