Professor
Anton Bondarenko
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2018 - Anton Bondarenko is a legend. Take Physics 1A with him. He is very clear and provides a lot of material for students to work with. He uploads handwritten lecture notes. Leads excellent review sessions before examinations that strongly resemble the exam itself. The medians in his class are around ~80%. This means you basically have to lock in a raw score of 90+ to have a shot at an A-. I personally did not have much intuition for physics and relied heavily on mathematics to derive most of the answers. I would blindly compute integrals and take derivatives to get the answer based on the mathematical relationships between the equations. If you have a good grasp of the calculus, you will find it that you don't really have to get the "physics" to do well in Bondarenko's class. But, if you want to develop the intuition for physics, paying attention in lecture, following his demos and asking questions in office hours will definitely help.
Winter 2018 - Anton Bondarenko is a legend. Take Physics 1A with him. He is very clear and provides a lot of material for students to work with. He uploads handwritten lecture notes. Leads excellent review sessions before examinations that strongly resemble the exam itself. The medians in his class are around ~80%. This means you basically have to lock in a raw score of 90+ to have a shot at an A-. I personally did not have much intuition for physics and relied heavily on mathematics to derive most of the answers. I would blindly compute integrals and take derivatives to get the answer based on the mathematical relationships between the equations. If you have a good grasp of the calculus, you will find it that you don't really have to get the "physics" to do well in Bondarenko's class. But, if you want to develop the intuition for physics, paying attention in lecture, following his demos and asking questions in office hours will definitely help.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2018 - Anton Bondarenko is the biggest of homies at UCLA. He gave out at least 20 PTE's for 1B, so you wouldn't be stuck taking a different (and more difficult) professor. Not only is he super clear and thorough in his lectures, but he also HANDWRITES all of his lecture notes and posts them as well as the slides online. He does do clickers to incentivize you to go to class, but they are only after he finishes a chapter. When it came to exams, Anton sent us a study guide that went over exactly what you needed to know and what you don't need to know, and it really helps with your studying. He also hosts his own exam review sessions, and the questions he goes over during the review are almost identical to the test questions, which are completely fair. I had Bondarenko for both physics 1A and 1B and I'd definitely say his tests were harder for 1B, but by no means impossible. You think it can't get any better, but it does: THE MAN USES BRUINCAST. So literally anything he says or writes is on record, so you will have more than enough resources to help you succeed. Plus, he's super receptive during office hours, and he's probably one of the most patient individuals whom I've met in my life. Overall, I came into physics 1A hating physics and now I'm leaving 1B as a physics double major, thanks to this incredible enigma. Take him and watch the magic unfold.
Spring 2018 - Anton Bondarenko is the biggest of homies at UCLA. He gave out at least 20 PTE's for 1B, so you wouldn't be stuck taking a different (and more difficult) professor. Not only is he super clear and thorough in his lectures, but he also HANDWRITES all of his lecture notes and posts them as well as the slides online. He does do clickers to incentivize you to go to class, but they are only after he finishes a chapter. When it came to exams, Anton sent us a study guide that went over exactly what you needed to know and what you don't need to know, and it really helps with your studying. He also hosts his own exam review sessions, and the questions he goes over during the review are almost identical to the test questions, which are completely fair. I had Bondarenko for both physics 1A and 1B and I'd definitely say his tests were harder for 1B, but by no means impossible. You think it can't get any better, but it does: THE MAN USES BRUINCAST. So literally anything he says or writes is on record, so you will have more than enough resources to help you succeed. Plus, he's super receptive during office hours, and he's probably one of the most patient individuals whom I've met in my life. Overall, I came into physics 1A hating physics and now I'm leaving 1B as a physics double major, thanks to this incredible enigma. Take him and watch the magic unfold.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2018 - Heard he's not teaching the 5 series anymore, which to be honest is for the best. This was the first class I had ever failed at UCLA, and now I can't sleep the night before an exam I'm stressed about because of PTSD from this guy. Took this class later with Samani and went up two letter grades. Some people like this guy, but his teaching style did not work for me AT all.
Fall 2018 - Heard he's not teaching the 5 series anymore, which to be honest is for the best. This was the first class I had ever failed at UCLA, and now I can't sleep the night before an exam I'm stressed about because of PTSD from this guy. Took this class later with Samani and went up two letter grades. Some people like this guy, but his teaching style did not work for me AT all.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2019 - Bondarenko is the most prepared and dedicated professor I have ever had. He uses a combination of powerpoint slides and handwritten notes. I never took a physics class prior to taking the 5 series, but he teaches from the very basics and builds onto that. He tends to follow the textbook closely, so it is not necessary to read the textbook. In regards to studying for exams, it is crucial to understand the problems that he goes over during the review sessions. The problems on the exam tend to resemble those of the review sessions but with slight modifications. The midterms are time-constrained, which resulted in rather low averages, but the final exam was fair. The only tough part is being able to draw connections when solving the problem because he asks for the answer in terms of certain variables. He is generous in allowing one notecard per exam. Homework is assigned through Mastering Physics, which you will need to purchase. He allows many attempts with no penalties. There are clicker questions, but they are graded based on participation and not accuracy. Discussion is optional, but usually the TAs will go over certain homework problems that Bondarenko handpicks. Also, he tends to teach a little bit slower than the other physics professors, so you may find it difficult to do the labs when he has not taught that topic yet. Finally, his grading scale is like a rank system, and he claims that it is only more generous than a normal grading scale. Overall, Bondarenko is an excellent professor, and I do not regret taking him for both 5A and 5B. He is such a patient professor, and it is really obvious that he genuinely cares about his students. Take him, you won't regret it.
Winter 2019 - Bondarenko is the most prepared and dedicated professor I have ever had. He uses a combination of powerpoint slides and handwritten notes. I never took a physics class prior to taking the 5 series, but he teaches from the very basics and builds onto that. He tends to follow the textbook closely, so it is not necessary to read the textbook. In regards to studying for exams, it is crucial to understand the problems that he goes over during the review sessions. The problems on the exam tend to resemble those of the review sessions but with slight modifications. The midterms are time-constrained, which resulted in rather low averages, but the final exam was fair. The only tough part is being able to draw connections when solving the problem because he asks for the answer in terms of certain variables. He is generous in allowing one notecard per exam. Homework is assigned through Mastering Physics, which you will need to purchase. He allows many attempts with no penalties. There are clicker questions, but they are graded based on participation and not accuracy. Discussion is optional, but usually the TAs will go over certain homework problems that Bondarenko handpicks. Also, he tends to teach a little bit slower than the other physics professors, so you may find it difficult to do the labs when he has not taught that topic yet. Finally, his grading scale is like a rank system, and he claims that it is only more generous than a normal grading scale. Overall, Bondarenko is an excellent professor, and I do not regret taking him for both 5A and 5B. He is such a patient professor, and it is really obvious that he genuinely cares about his students. Take him, you won't regret it.
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