Alvine Kamaha
Department of Physics
AD
3.6
Overall Rating
Based on 8 Users
Easiness 3.1 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 3.1 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 4.5 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.8 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

There are no relevant tags for this professor yet.

GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
16.6%
13.8%
11.0%
8.3%
5.5%
2.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

22.9%
19.0%
15.2%
11.4%
7.6%
3.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

AD

Reviews (6)

1 of 1
1 of 1
Add your review...
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A-
Dec. 28, 2023

I did well in this class because I had previously taken calculus based physics in high school. It was more of a review class for me. However, if it was my first time learning mechanics, I would have no clue what would be going on, as it was hard to understand her lectures and I feel like she struggled to get her points across clearly. The first few weeks leading up to the midterm we went at a ridiculously slow pace on the easiest topics, then it felt like Prof. kamaha was rushing to get through the topics at the end of the class. It is VERY IMPORTANT to take the optional practice midterms/final. Some of the questions are repeated on the actual test.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Feb. 17, 2024

If Kamaha has a million fans, I'm one of them. If Kamaha has one fan, it's me. If Kamaha has no fans, I am no longer alive.

I actually do love Professor Kamaha. I didn't have much of a background in physics, just physics honors in high school (some people in the class took AP Physics C and scored well and still took this class - so keep that in mind in terms of grade distributions), so the first midterm was rough. Office hours are really really helpful -- go every week if you can, and ask clarifying questions on the lectures and homework as well as discussion worksheets. Kamaha takes the time to understand where you are confused and she walks you through it really well, so take advantage of all her office hours slots. She's also pretty funny in office hours, and it feels more personalized than the lecture hall.

She does record her lectures, so you can always go back and rewatch/ not attend in person. For midterms and the final, make sure you go over her discussion worksheets and practice exams, as those are the most helpful. The homework is a time sink (roughly 4 hours per week) but I guess it does help you learn the concepts -- don't bother looking over it for exams though.

Have fun with 1A, 1B is so much worse - sincerely, a 1b student.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Jan. 8, 2024

This class is definitely a good physics introduction course (although I took AP Physics in high school, and I know it was harder for people with no prior physics experience). I admire Professor Kamaha and any uncertainties during lectures can be answered during her office hours, which are very collaborative and helpful. She records lectures, so you can go to lecture or not.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: B+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 30, 2023

As someone who took AP Physics C in high school, the course felt fine, but without prior knowledge, I can see the course being difficult. During lectures, the professor assumes certain prior knowledge of things, so it can be tough to follow her lectures without asking her to clarify what she means. The professor is always willing to help, though. The homework is not bad at all, but the exams are not that much like the homework. However, pay attention to the discussion worksheet because most of the exams are from the worksheets. The professor does give a slight curve on the exams if the class doesn't do well, but the type of curve she uses is confusing. One time, she gave us a 5% increase on an exam, but another time, she gave us 5 free points for the exam but made the exam out of 105 (originally 100), so it didn't help that much while claiming its the same thing. Her grading scheme is kinda weird too; a B has a range of 2 percent while a B- has a range of 10 percent; I've never seen that before. Overall, Kamaha is a good and helpful person and kind of funny in her own way and accomplished too. Her tests can be easy if you study all of the discussion problems thoroughly, but she sometimes gives weird questions that come out of nowhere. She did make the final pretty manageable though.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 29, 2023

Professor Kamaha is not the greatest lecturer I have ever had, but she is a really cool person who cares about teaching and her students' understanding. If you are confused go to office hours and she will help. I didn't take AP physics in high school and did fine, but I am a math major and did take regular physics so that definitely helped. Just do a lot of practice and look at the past midterms she gives.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: B
Dec. 20, 2023

go to her office hour and get to know her. sometimes she might drop a little subtle hint about what will be on the test. Overall, I found lectures not very useful even though I went to lecture everyday. I didn't like her teaching methods (she talked in a low tone and that definitely didn't help.) She takes in feedback from midquarter survey and that definitely helped a lot. The discussion worksheets and past exams were really useful for the tests. She assigns homework every week and it takes around 2-3 hours to get done but it really helps understanding the material. Near the end of the quarter, I started reading the textbook before lectures and it helped with my understanding. I would recommend reading textbook on the topic before she covers it in class. This class wasn't an easy class but you don't need to avoid it. The class mean on both midterm 1 and 2 were 60. She boosted 10% for everyone who submitted a correction for midterm1. She added 5% to everyone for midterm 2 and promised that the final will be easier. The final was indeed easier. I like her as a person but she could improve her teaching imo.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A-
Dec. 28, 2023

I did well in this class because I had previously taken calculus based physics in high school. It was more of a review class for me. However, if it was my first time learning mechanics, I would have no clue what would be going on, as it was hard to understand her lectures and I feel like she struggled to get her points across clearly. The first few weeks leading up to the midterm we went at a ridiculously slow pace on the easiest topics, then it felt like Prof. kamaha was rushing to get through the topics at the end of the class. It is VERY IMPORTANT to take the optional practice midterms/final. Some of the questions are repeated on the actual test.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A
Feb. 17, 2024

If Kamaha has a million fans, I'm one of them. If Kamaha has one fan, it's me. If Kamaha has no fans, I am no longer alive.

I actually do love Professor Kamaha. I didn't have much of a background in physics, just physics honors in high school (some people in the class took AP Physics C and scored well and still took this class - so keep that in mind in terms of grade distributions), so the first midterm was rough. Office hours are really really helpful -- go every week if you can, and ask clarifying questions on the lectures and homework as well as discussion worksheets. Kamaha takes the time to understand where you are confused and she walks you through it really well, so take advantage of all her office hours slots. She's also pretty funny in office hours, and it feels more personalized than the lecture hall.

She does record her lectures, so you can always go back and rewatch/ not attend in person. For midterms and the final, make sure you go over her discussion worksheets and practice exams, as those are the most helpful. The homework is a time sink (roughly 4 hours per week) but I guess it does help you learn the concepts -- don't bother looking over it for exams though.

Have fun with 1A, 1B is so much worse - sincerely, a 1b student.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A+
Jan. 8, 2024

This class is definitely a good physics introduction course (although I took AP Physics in high school, and I know it was harder for people with no prior physics experience). I admire Professor Kamaha and any uncertainties during lectures can be answered during her office hours, which are very collaborative and helpful. She records lectures, so you can go to lecture or not.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: B+
Dec. 30, 2023

As someone who took AP Physics C in high school, the course felt fine, but without prior knowledge, I can see the course being difficult. During lectures, the professor assumes certain prior knowledge of things, so it can be tough to follow her lectures without asking her to clarify what she means. The professor is always willing to help, though. The homework is not bad at all, but the exams are not that much like the homework. However, pay attention to the discussion worksheet because most of the exams are from the worksheets. The professor does give a slight curve on the exams if the class doesn't do well, but the type of curve she uses is confusing. One time, she gave us a 5% increase on an exam, but another time, she gave us 5 free points for the exam but made the exam out of 105 (originally 100), so it didn't help that much while claiming its the same thing. Her grading scheme is kinda weird too; a B has a range of 2 percent while a B- has a range of 10 percent; I've never seen that before. Overall, Kamaha is a good and helpful person and kind of funny in her own way and accomplished too. Her tests can be easy if you study all of the discussion problems thoroughly, but she sometimes gives weird questions that come out of nowhere. She did make the final pretty manageable though.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A
Dec. 29, 2023

Professor Kamaha is not the greatest lecturer I have ever had, but she is a really cool person who cares about teaching and her students' understanding. If you are confused go to office hours and she will help. I didn't take AP physics in high school and did fine, but I am a math major and did take regular physics so that definitely helped. Just do a lot of practice and look at the past midterms she gives.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: B
Dec. 20, 2023

go to her office hour and get to know her. sometimes she might drop a little subtle hint about what will be on the test. Overall, I found lectures not very useful even though I went to lecture everyday. I didn't like her teaching methods (she talked in a low tone and that definitely didn't help.) She takes in feedback from midquarter survey and that definitely helped a lot. The discussion worksheets and past exams were really useful for the tests. She assigns homework every week and it takes around 2-3 hours to get done but it really helps understanding the material. Near the end of the quarter, I started reading the textbook before lectures and it helped with my understanding. I would recommend reading textbook on the topic before she covers it in class. This class wasn't an easy class but you don't need to avoid it. The class mean on both midterm 1 and 2 were 60. She boosted 10% for everyone who submitted a correction for midterm1. She added 5% to everyone for midterm 2 and promised that the final will be easier. The final was indeed easier. I like her as a person but she could improve her teaching imo.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
1 of 1
3.6
Overall Rating
Based on 8 Users
Easiness 3.1 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 3.1 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 4.5 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.8 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

There are no relevant tags for this professor yet.

ADS

Adblock Detected

Bruinwalk is an entirely Daily Bruin-run service brought to you for free. We hate annoying ads just as much as you do, but they help keep our lights on. We promise to keep our ads as relevant for you as possible, so please consider disabling your ad-blocking software while using this site.

Thank you for supporting us!