Josh is easily my favorite professor at UCLA. He was a very clear, organized, and engaging lecturer who is also a cool guy. He uses iclickers so attendance is mandatory, but his lectures are useful. His homework is difficult and solutions aren't always easily found online, so it can be time consuming. However, the homework is similar to the midterms and final. With that being said, the midterms and final were pretty difficult but reasonable. Oh and he offers extra credit so that's a plus. Overall, I highly recommend taking Josh for any class he teaches. I took him for 1A then again for 131.

I took 5A with Samani last quarter and I enjoyed his lectures a lot! His exams were not tough if you put you “thinking cap” on. I would recommend people taking 5A with him!

Great guy, living legend of a professor. whatever he teaches, just take his class.

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.

Samani perhaps the clearest professor you can get. He is very capable of explaining new concepts in simple ways and emphasizes intuition rather than brute-force math in his physics problems. It's been said that Samani's exams are harder than other physics professors, but I've never really had an issue with them. If you managed to get past the AP Physics 1 exam, you should be able to get past his exams just fine. Which is convenient, because Physics 5A is just regurgitating AP Physics 1 material and nothing more. If you've taken AP Physics 1 before, you literally will not learn anything new.

Professor Samani offers extra credit for hard work, so it's very easy to pad your grades even when you perform poorly on homework and exams. He also grades a lot of the homework on effort and completion rather than accuracy, so grades (other than from exams) should not be a big issue.

One thing to watch out for, though, is that he wants you to check a multitude of websites for announcements and homework, so things tend to get lost in the clutter.

Overall, Samani is a fantastic professor and I would highly encourage you to take his class over other physics professors' classes.

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!