Professor Amar is a great teacher. He focuses on problem solving in his class and goes over a lot of examples. Pay attention to the examples in class as he doesn't lie when he says they're the same as the exam problems. Homework was fairly simple. Quizzes and exams are a bit difficult and can go a bit fast, but are very doable.

Professor Amar is a great professor, aside from some common mic problems during the class. He gives fair homework, and his pop quizzes/midterm was quite similar to practice problems done in class. His final was slightly harder, but doable if you've practiced and have paid attention throughout the quarter. Would recommend taking this class with him, but remember to sit towards the front to be more engaged.

This is one of the better upper div mech e classes that are out there. Sit near the front if you want to actually learn (you won't be able to hear the prof or see the board otherwise). The lectures were REALLY helpful. You don't need to touch the book at all. The prof explains concepts pretty well and goes through enough examples that you should be able to learn most of the material just through going to lecture.
There is weekly homework that is not too hard, but a bit time consuming because you have to follow the professor's format. There are 4 pop quizzes, with the lowest quiz score being dropped. The problems on the quizzes aren't particularly hard, but there is very little time to complete them, so make sure you're up to date with the lecture material (especially the homework problems from the previous week). The midterms have problems that are a bit harder, but there is a lot more time to do them, which makes them not too bad (I think ~80% average for midterm).
Overall, I would really recommend taking the class with this prof. If you sit near the front and pay attention in lecture, this class shouldn't be too bad.

I really liked this class! Very standard upper div mech e class- homework, one midterm, four pop quizzes (lowest dropped), final. Lectures could be dry and he was a little hard to hear, but I thought he did a really good job of having us work through examples. A lot of my classmates agreed that they didn't have to study very much outside of class and homework, so if you put the work in during lecture, the material wasn't so bad. However, you do have to come to every lecture and pay attention. He gave pop quizzes during lecture that were worth quite a bit of your grade and were definitely difficult. Homework questions were standard, out of the book, but he posts them online so you really don't need the book as long as you take good notes in lecture. Discussion was not mandatory, and they basically went through three or four problems each week. I thought discussion was super helpful and helped me out on the midterms and quizzes. I thought the midterm was very fair. He wasn't very transparent on averages/curves, but I think the average was around a B/C. For the final he liked to find problems that combined all the things we'd learned throughout the quarter. I thought he was a pretty nice guy, but could be a little tough on people who answered wrong or asked bad questions, so come in with a tough skin and don't be too put off if he doesn't respond very nicely. Overall I would recommend him! Especially if you learn best by working through examples.

Be aware of the other reviews as if you read them they all say what a great professor he is but ONLY IF you're a perfect student (sit at the front, always engaging, going to every office hour etc.).
As someone who doesn't characterises themselves as the teacher's pet, this class is OK at best. His lectures are like watching paint dry and the amount of technical issues with microphones Prof Amar had were staggering. He does go through things in a methodical way but never pays attention to the textbook - good luck trying to use that to help.
His pop quizzes and midterms required far more time to complete than he gave us because of the long-winded method he wanted us to use and the homeworks were very similar. He also likes to think he is teaching the most sacred, important class at UCLA which simply isn't the case which really got on my nerves.
All in all, I wouldn't take this class with this professor. The actual content is fairly interesting but you need a professor who knows how to host engaging, well explained lectures for it to be a good class.

One of the best lecturers in UCLA and is very friendly. If this is your first thermo class, Amar is an excellent teacher to help you on your journey

Overall I think Professor Amar was a good professor for this class. His lectures were mainly example based, and a lot of the examples that showed up in class were very similar to the one's he would present on his exams. The pop quiz system was not terrible, he would tell us generally what weeks we would have the pop quiz (provided you were at lecture), and we would have time to prepare. The quizzes are just fast paced and you really have to know your stuff to finish all of it on time. The midterm was very reasonable, as were honestly all of his assignments. I would say it is impossible to see the board if you sit in the back as he writes very small, and his lectures can be dull at times but that's just a small criticism. Definitely one of the best professors I've had so far.

I could go on and on about this class, but to sum it up, you'll pass if you do well on the homework and do okay on quizzes and exams. I got below average on everything except the homework, and honestly did not think I would pass. The final was extremely difficult for everyone and the curve for the grades at the end clearly shows it. Practice problems are the best way to learn the material, but it is just an annoying class to go through no matter what.

This class taught me that it's okay to fail multiple tests for a class.

Professor Amar is a GREAT professor--I'd say one of the best I've had at UCLA. He made thermodynamics an interesting and challenging subject that I actually looked forward to learning about in class. DON'T SKIP LECTURES because he does pop quizzes (although you often can get a feeling/hunch when the next one is). His lectures are good; he uses the blackboard a lot and not so much his slides, so it's easy to follow as long as you pay attention.

Homework is manageable (all the problems are either online or in the book solutions manual) and professor Amar is very clear in lectures. The quizzes and exams are quite difficult (~50-60% average for first two quizzes) but he curves the class generously. I had a D+ in the class excluding the last quiz and final, and somehow ended up with an A in the class. So it's okay to fail!

Professor Amar is a great lecturer and teacher. He spent his life working in industry and has much wisdom and many stories to share during his lectures. He teaches thermodynamics with much enthusiasm and clarity that reading the book is unnecessary as long as you participate during class (Tables at the end of the book are required tho).
Quizzes (3) and Midterms (1) were very rushed, so a lot of practice and mastery of the homework problems are required to get an A.
Would definitely take one of his courses again.