Professor Samani is by far the best physics professor I have EVER had. There are a ton of recent negative comments about him on here, but these are just some of the reasons why people might have left them:

1. The final was in-person and people didn't want to study for it as they should. It's just funny how people kept getting angry at Samani for holding his final in-person, claiming to be extremely afraid of COVID, yet had no issues showing up in-person for their other finals and other social events. This is because Samani is an extremely accommodating professor and a majority of students expected him to move the final online in response to their backlash. Unfortunately, the line has to be drawn somewhere and these students weren't content with that.

2. The final was closed note and had no equation sheet. Now we were informed of this in like Week 5, so people had PLENTY of time to memorize their equations, make flashcards, etc. This isn't even taking into account how weekly quizzes were supposed to be closed note, so people should have had their equations memorized anyways as long as they weren't cheating. However many people chose to ignore these steps and continued to cheat on weekly quizzes by using their notes, therefore not learning any of the equations for 10 weeks and freaking out before the final. This is not Samani's fault, this is the students' fault. Also, Samani literally made us an equation sheet to memorize so we wouldn't have to comb through 10 weeks worth of lectures to find all the equations. All we had to do was memorize it (it's really not that bad).

3. People claimed that having an in-person final after the entire quarter being online was unfair. This was just false. Yes, the class was online until Week 5 (just like every single other class at UCLA due to the COVID surge). However Samani had in-person lectures for the rest of the quarter after campus opened up (people just chose not to show up) and you were allowed to take the quizzes in-person in the lecture hall during lecture time (people just didn't use that option, probably because a lot of them cheated during online quizzes). So it's not like there wasn't anything in-person during the quarter -- literally everything about the class was in-person if you made the effort to attend.

Now that that's out of the way, here are some reasons why Samani was absolutely amazing and a gem of a professor:

1. He listened to ALL of our concerns and made changes wherever appropriate. Our weekly quizzes were initially open for 24 hours (but an hour timed) and Week 3 he switched the system so we had to take the quiz during lecture time (still online however). This stressed a lot of students out and Samani heard these concerns. Week 5, he switched quizzes BACK to being open for 24 hours. How many professors do we know of who would do that? Also, quizzes were initially 60 minutes long. This time was too short for some students, so Samani increased quiz durations to 80 minutes while keeping the length the same. Again, he made accommodations when he had no obligation to do so. It was out of the kindness of his own heart.

2. He had a weekly quiz + final format instead of midterm(s) + final. This is up to personal preference, but I personally LOVED this format. Each quiz was wayyy lower stakes than any midterm would be so I was naturally much less stressed for this class since one bad day wouldn't ruin my grade. Also, the lowest quiz grade was dropped! Another reason why the quizzes were not stressful at all. Additionally, quizzes always incorporated some content from previous weeks. This actually helped me to retain the content way better and gave some bonus extra practice with old concepts. When the final came around, since I had actually been learning and applying the concepts all the way back to Week 1 every week, studying for the final was way more doable and took less time than it normally would.

3. His lectures were incredibly engaging and funny. He always made up some entertaining example problems to work on during lectures which incorporated all of that week's concepts plus old concepts for review. He's also very high energy during lectures which makes them much more engaging especially if you attend in-person.

4. He gives plenty of practice material so you always know what to expect on quizzes and the final. Practice packets can be quite long, but honestly they're just for your own good. Some people complained about how we don't get points for completing them, but not everything you do for a class should be for points, some should just be for genuine learning. The questions on quizzes were very doable if you put in meaningful effort to the practice packets and asked questions wherever you needed help (Campuswire was great for this!).

5. He gives ample extra credit. We got extra credit for Campuswire based on our level (0.1% - 0.3%) and for completing LA feedback forms and course evals. If you are borderline, EC should hopefully push you over the boundary.

I know this is a long review, but I honestly really wanted to highlight how amazing a professor Samani is. Especially for a class like physics which many students struggle with, it was extremely evident how hard he tries to make it engaging, applicable to our lives, and not too challenging. The negative reviews on here are the same students who were complaining on GroupMe about the in-person final and lack of equation sheet, but let's be real, when we go on to take the MCAT or other standardized tests they will also be in-person with no equation sheet.

So to conclude, please take Samani. As long as you're proactive and willing to put in the work, you will learn a lot while having a great time :)

I'm not sure where all of the great reviews are coming from, I'm convinced he wrote them himself at this point. I absolutely hated this class, and I would never take this class again with Professor Samani. He has an absolutely absurd hypothesis behind his teaching, namely memorizing with flash cards will give you long term retention. The biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard in any class I have taken thus far at this school.

His quizzes were difficult, and unlike literally ANY other phyiscs class you are not allowed to have an equation sheet. His pre-lecture videos are on average 2 hours, which is far too long. He says his in-person lectures are not mandatory, but proceeds to derive equations you will need to do well on the exam. AKA you also have to show up or watch the recordings. This means that signing up for a 3 lecture hour class actually tuns into a 5-6 hour lecture. And this does not include the time you will have to spend outside of class studying and preparing for exams.

He provides you practice packets, and then gives you quizzes that are NOTHING like the packet you completed. Oh, you also won't get credit for completing that packet either. If you take this class which I highly suggest you reconsider, for quizzes be prepared to connect concepts on your own on a time exam, derive equations, feel absolutley unprepared by any of the material that he has given you, and be unable to answer a majority of the quiz if you are unable to recall one equation. Professor Samani makes absolutely no effort to connect weekly concepts with past content, but then expects you to be able to make connections on your own on timed exams. So if you don't like teaching yourself, I'd choose someone else. He will tell you that he wants you to understand the concepts and the theory, and then asks you to memorize equations and asks you solely math based questions (which you don't get prepared for).

Having qeekly quizzes is awful. It gets to be a lot during mid-term season, and they are mentally draining. The questions are not like what you practice with, and the practice questons you receive are nothing like what you are taught. Therefore, you get thrown into an ocean and are expected to swim. If being given insufficient learning tools is your jive, then this is the class for you!

He has some make-believe world in his head where he thinks that life-science majors actually give a shit about physics, when in reality most of us are trying to get by and pass this class. If you want a manageable and understandable physics class, find another professor.

Some of you might look at the grade distribution and think this class will be fine. I'd rethink that, it is NOT worth it in any shape or form. The stress, the workload, the 6 hour lecture, NOT worth it.

Fucking hated this class. Want to deteriorate your mental health in 10 weeks or less? Take this class.

Every other class this quarter had an equation sheet available for their tests. And yet, Samani is still naive enough to believe we will memorize 4 pages of information and dense content for a final. We are life-science majors. We do not give two shits about this course and are just trying to get an A. Oh, and this is all algebra-based and intuitive, so if you can't do complex derivations, then good luck and eat shit apparently. His ego is apparently more important than our ability to get into a fucking grad school.

The reason why everyone got an A in previous quarters is because it was online.

Unless you want to live and breathe physics, take it with someone else. I lost hair because of his dogshit curriculum. 0/10.

this class was awful, i'm honestly shocked by all of the positive reviews. he's extremely inflexible and his quizzes were so much more challenging than anything covered in class. 50% of your grade is composed of these weekly quizzes that you're given an hour to complete, and most people i know struggled a ton. there's no homework to cushion your grade-- but you're given a long packet of practice problems that you're advised to complete, so basically, homework without point compensation.
he's a fun lecturer, but this class made me feel completely hopeless. it's like he expects you to make physics your entire life for the duration of the quarter. he's big on memorization, meaning you're not allowed to use an equation sheet on quizzes or exams.
i wouldn't take this class again, nor would i recommend this class to anyone.

Discussion Worksheets 10
Labs 15
Final Exam 25
Quizzes 50

A+ 99
A 93
A- 90
B+ 87
B 83
B- 80
...

His lectures are very Khan Academy-esque. He talks, draws diagrams, and writes notes. Overall, I personally am not a fan of this style. Some people were, but I did not feel like it was conducive to my learning.
He has 1 lecture per week that covers all of the content for the chapter and then 2 more lectures during the week that he basically just does 1 example problem in each. I felt like those 2 lectures were not very helpful at all. Discussion took the cake for the biggest waste of time, though. You have to memorize EVERY physics equation covered in this class for the quizzes and the final, which I found incredibly ridiculous. Many people were upset how everything for the class was offered online except the final which had to be taken in person. Overall, this was the most difficult class I've taken at UCLA just because of the memorization alone.

Taking physics with Samani was the worst decision I made for the quarter. Despite having over half of the quarter online, Samani expected us to act like nothing happened and was not considerate to the manny struggles that students had. He did not give us a formula or equation sheets for our final and wanted us to memorize 10 weeks worth of equations. While he was a good lecturer, his pre-class videos lasted almost 2 hours a week outside of the scheduled Wednesday and Friday lecture. The weekly quizzes were very stressful and I did not feel like I ever got a break from his class. He simply expected us to make physics our entire life for the whole quarter, when most of us were cleasrly struggling with the various events in the quarter (omicron, shooting threats, in-person transition).

It was 4 am when I heard the fire alarm go off in my apartment. I revived from the stench of smoke to tall flames encircling me. I screamed for help from the top of my lungs, and then, almost immediately, Professor Samani showed up and carried me to safety. Once secure on the side of the road, we calculated the amount of heat produced by the fire given the materials in the affected area. Luckily, this took us no time at all because I took Physics 5B with Professor Joshua Samani. Samani was by far one of my favorite lecturers that I've had thus far. The lectures are super engaging as long as you pay attention, and the class itself is pretty easy to catch up on if you're the type to fall behind easily. For the class breakdown, there were lecture participation sheets, so make sure you go to as many lectures as you can because even though it's only worth 5%, the participation affects your grade more than you would think. Plus, in a couple of the lectures, Samani gives out practice exams that you take for extra credit. Discussion sections are also mandatory excluding one section. Lab sections are also fairly easy to follow along. The homework was assigned weekly for completion, but make sure you understand how to do all the problems because they are almost carbon copy the type of problems that appear on the midterm and final. The midterm is composed of both an individual portion and then a group portion which is exactly the same as the individual portion, much like LS7A. The final however is solely an individual exam. Also, there is no equation sheet so you have to memorize all of the equations. Overall, the class is easy if you put in the effort. If I were to give any advice, I would say to practice, practice, practice! Samani gives so many practice exams so make use of them!

5B was a lot of content but Professor Samani was extremely clear with his expectations and focused a lot on different strategies to increase memory retention that I will definitely bring into future courses! It is a pretty fast-paced class and you learn a new topic every week but he is one of the best professors I have ever had. He relates all of the topics to real-world scenarios and the content is exciting/ He also grades homework and discussions on completion, and you get multiple attempts, which encourages you to keep trying until you understand. He is also very good about giving solutions to every single worksheet, practice quiz, practice exam, and assignment. He probably gave out over 25 different versions of quizzes and midterms for you to study off of so if you put in effort, you will do well! There is also the opportunity to earn up to 1.3% extra credit.

You. Yes, you. I've been you, scrolling frantically through Bruinwalk because high school physics didn't go too well, and we just wanted a reprieve from the subject for a while. Alas, the MCAT exists.

But, I digress. You will be in the best hands, if you choose to take 5B with Samani. He is responsive to student feedback, he genuinely enjoys the material he teaches, and he does *everything* in his power to make sure his students succeed, whether that means offering extra credit opportunities galore, responding to emails in a timely manner, or providing specific study strategies to thrive in the course. Some of the Bruinwalk reviews of past definitely frightened me, but he is one of my favorite professors to date, and this is coming from someone who used to be petrified of physics. You will not regret taking this class with him, I assure you.

Hands down the best professor I've ever had at UCLA.
One of the previous reviews here that begins:
"Professor Samani is by far the best physics professor I have EVER had. There are a ton of recent negative comments about him on here, but these are just some of the reasons why people might have left them:" is an accurate description of the class.

He was overly accomodating throughout the quarter. Everyone is spam-hating because they've been cheating all quarter so when he made the exam in person they had absolute cry baby meltdowns. If you actually keep up with the material then an "A" is 100% attainable with minimal stress. People feel so entitled without having to lift a single finger and it's so fucking sad because he was an absolute GOAT. Some students still haven't been weaned off their pacifiers.