***I'm updating my review because so many people seem to have slammed Vassiliev's class and ruined his rating. I do recommend this class with him even if you don't think you'll understand everything because he does explain the basic topics very clearly and writes very fair exams.***
Before everyone comes and writes Dr Vassiliev a bad review for making the class very difficult (especially compared to the other 1B professor this quarter), I'm just going to say that if you have a strong understand of the material in math 32A and 32B and you pay attention in lecture, you're going to learn a lot about physics and have a great appreciation of it. Even though I'm not a physics major, professor Vassiliev made me very interested in the course material and goes above in beyond in his efforts to motivate and explain concepts in physics. I also found the professor very clear at explaining topics.
That being said, if you are less mathematically inclined or are taking 32B this quarter, I will warn you that lectures can get a little mathematically intense. The two midterms we've had so far haven't been too difficult and haven't included any math that was too complicated.
I guess the main complain people might have with this class is how densely packed with information the lectures are and the fact that the professor expects math 32B as a pre-req when it is only a co-req for this class.
The professor gives a lot of extra credit and homework and midterms with almost 50% of the marks on the midterms coming from extra credit. The grading scheme is very generous with 100%+ being an A+, 90-100% being an A, 80-90% being an A-, 70-80% being a B+, 60 to 70% being a B and so on.
TLDR: take this class if you really love physics and want a deeper appreciation of the subject matter (though even if you don't particularly care about rigor, the exams aren't that difficult and the grading scheme is quite generous).

Professor Vladimir is THE most underrated professor in Physics Department from my opinion. Surely his class is intense, but with extremely clear structure and logic. It is normal to find yourself unable to follow his pace in lecture, but if you review his lecture slides later, you will absolutely find how beautiful these physics theories are. His homework and exams are not easy but doable as long as you sort everything out from the lectures. Besides, you would one hundred percent want to attend his optional lectures on the connection between analytic and quantum mechanics if applicable. It will be mind-blowing if you take quantum mechanic classes in the following quarter.

Lastly, if you find vvv's class is boring and unhelpful, I would suggest you to change your major as he could be the very first professor to show you how beautiful physics is. He definitely deserves a 5.0 rating.

The course material for 105B can be very challenging, and Vassiliev tends to do some things differently from the books. The homework problem sets take ages to finish, and often can't be done unless you get some help from the TA. However, Vassiliev is very generous with the curves on the tests and offers A LOT of extra credit. If you take the time to understand the material, and go to office hours, you'll be able to get an A.
TLDR- Time consuming and hard class with, but still sort of an easy A

The professor introduced a lot of concepts in class, however, none can be found directly on the textbooks and he tends to skip around class materials a lot. In addition, he gave out a lot of extra credits on hw and test (although none of us have time to do them). I will say the class is really hard and he didn't explain all concept thoroughly. The exercises he gave out during discussions are also not that relatable to class material either.

VVV is I think the best QM professor at UCLA. His tests are tough but fair and with lots of extra credit opportunities. His grading scale is also very generous, so as long as you do the homeworks and score about average on exams you should be fine. The material is also really interesting and useful in any field. Its all just ways to approximate differential equations that can't be easily solved. If you have the chance to take it with vvv you definitely should

VVV has his own way of understanding physics, and lecturing them out, so you probably need some time to get used to his style. However, once you manage to keep pace, you'll find that he really has a profound knowledge in physics, and his point of views on various materials are thorough and in logic with each other. Each time I ask him a question, I will always get even more than I ask for from his answer. If you choose VVV, it is definitely a hard path, but if you manage it, you'll get much more than you expect.

Yes, the other reviews are true - this is not an easy class BUT it is worth all the struggle, especially if you are interested in physics. Vassiliev will spend most of his lectures going over problems that seem incredibly difficult at first, but actually end up being manageable and doable with our current physics knowledge. Personally I really appreciated that but I can understand how that's not everyone's deal. He certainly goes above and beyond the course material but a key thing to note is that none of the extra topics or concepts are on the tests. You can totally rely 100% on the textbook and homework and get an A in the class.

Additionally, there is quite a bit of extra credit on both the homework and exams, and you will likely get over 100% on many of your homework assignments. His exams can certainly throw you for a loop, but I would say they're still very fair. And if all you're looking for is to pass the class, a 30% in the class was curved to a C, so I doubt any of us failed, despite the apparent difficulty of his lectures.

Overall, definitely take Vassiliev's class if you have a strong interest and background in physics, and even if you don't have either of those, the class is designed so an A is certainly still very possible.

All the reviews are true, and you can look at them and decide whether or not to take Physics 1B with VVV. And my suggestion is if you are not a Physics major, just want to use this class to fulfill your major's requirement, have no strong interest in Physics, and also have other important class to take during that quarter (like CS32), DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS WITH VVV!!!

This is the worst class I've taken at UCLA. You are probably considering taking a class with VVV to become better at physics. Well, don't do that. You won't learn anything from his lectures. All he does is point at his lecture notes and mumble. His HOME ASSIGNMENTS (that's right, not homework, but HOME ASSIGNMENTS) are time consuming to say the least and will make you neglect all of your other classes. I know you are thinking that VVV will make you a better physics major, but trust me, you can just learn using the textbook with any other professor. This class truly sucked the living soul out of me, and I can't say I came out of it as a better student. Also, his exams are absolutely horrendous. After each exam, it felt like I was in the wrong class (and the wrong major). The average for the first midterm was ~58, the second ~43 and the third exam (non-cumulative "final" exam) ~40. He even sent us an email explaining how disappointed he was in our averages. It's completely his fault. He can't just mumble through the lectures without picking up a pen and expect people to follow along. Don't take this class, trust me.

Professor Vassiliev has a way of frustrating you and intriguing you at the same time. In 8 AM lectures, he is almost impossible to understand, but it is clear that he is passionate about his subject and wants you to love it as much as him. I learned almost the whole subject through the textbook, but I gained a newfound appreciation for Physics by visiting office hours, where we could spend close to an hour talking about a single problem. One-on-one, he is a far better teacher than during lecture, so if you sign up for this class, take advantage of office hours more than lecture time. His exams are quite difficult. There are 4 across the quarter, and no final exam in Week 11. Each exam and homework assignment has a lot of extra credit opportunities, so it's good idea to at least attempt the homework ones. If you're a Physics god, try the exam ones too.