Personally, I did not enjoy Corbin's class. Everyone told me to take him if I wanted a challenging class where I would really learn Physics. However, that was not my experience. His lectures were interesting and not terribly difficult to follow, but I feel like they did not teach me physics. He often blew over the algebra parts of solving, and he was not receptive of questions. His tests are ridiculous and even though he ends up curving the class a bunch in the end, I personally feel that it is not a good learning environment. There's no homework technically due in class and although the book problems are helpful to do, nothing can prepare you for his crazy tests. The final however is a lot better than both midterms, and even though I was below average on both midterms, I got a B in class and I believe it's because the final was much more straight forward and you actually had time to think and work through the problems. Overall though, I wish I had not taken his class and I would not recommend anyone else take it either.

Another good review for Corbin. Honestly, I'm just an average joe, but I found an appreciation for physics after this class. There's no bullshit to get in the way between you and actually learning the material. Your grade is based on three things: one final and two midterms. That's it. There is nothing to distract you from actually learning the material, no menial time-wasters. You'd just better know your shit on the day of the exam.

And the day of the exam is always a hard one. There are three questions and each really demands something from you. I feel like I realized homework can make you intellectually lazy... once you've done it all, you get confident. "Oh, I've done the homework, so I'll just study old problems and the exam will be doable." True, for the most part. But what happens when there IS no homework? What happens when you can't simply memorize a general process/formula/pattern to solving the problems? Well, then you're forced to actually learn and use that knowledge creatively and artfully on the spot. That's the essence of Corbin's teaching style.

One thing: if you can get your hands on old tests HE designed, this is the best study material. I was fortunate to have a few to go off of, but even then you cannot fool the test. I was weakest in optics, and even though I knew what he was gonna ask on the test, I could hardly attempt the optics problems. I was strongest in flux calculations, and I even knew the type of question he'd ask on the exam, but there was a unique spin (he makes a new exam every time) that required me to know wtf I was doing, and I did! It feels great and gratifying when that happens. The test is intended to make you say "OH, that's what I should have done!" after you walk out and really think about a problem you were close to solving. Another tip--attempt every problem. Partial credit is extremely important, especially when the curves are always low. Even one point on everything you didn't know adds up and counts.

You need to understand what kinds of questions he likes to ask. *ATTEND LECTURES*. Go to his office hours! Those are pretty much sermons by Jesus himself. Pay attention to his thinking style--sometimes in office hours he will give what is basically a midterm problem. When he's done giving the basics of a concept and then says "Now what if we put this unique spin on the problem?" PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. Those are really what his midterm problems are like. "What happens if you take this concept you should know the ins-and outs of and put this unique restriction on it? What does this physically mean in the real world?"

He's not a perfect teacher by any means, but no one will argue that he's a bad one. I'd say anyone who has to take 1 ABC series should take at least one Corbin class, even if you suffer for it. You'll feel very accomplished for passing the class, no matter what your grade was. My only regret is that I wish I could have studied more for the final. Highly recommend this professor.

I got pretty frightened with previous reviews but honestly Corbin is a really great professor overall. You might struggle with him if your maths isn't strong (he skips a lot of steps) but generally you'll learn a LOT even if the tests seem really hard. He makes them hard on purpose and doesn't want the average being so high because its meant to be a challenge, but the curve in this class is EXCELLENT!!

The graders are so lenient <33 this quarter, since it was online, he split our midterms up into 5 quizzes (every fortnight) which were each amde up of a 30 point midterm question (12% each). we also had mastering physics homework which took AGES and was worth 10% which was kinda annoying because it took over a day per chapter - from what I know he doesn't usually do this for his in person classes and he meant for it to help our grade, but i think he just didnt realise how long the questions really were.

overall I'd honestly recommend him - i didn't really have a strong physics background but he explains things really well! he goes a bit fast so if that stresses you out you can watch the recordings or take another prof but im ngl i started enjoying some of the content later on! some midterm questions were really hard and in the final as well but again as long as you write something youll get points for it !

This was my favorite class in the Physics 1 series by far! Corbin made it seriously so interesting--especially special relativity, Maxwell's equations, and interference (those were my favorite). By far, this class was super hard and I studied a lot. However, you honestly learn so much and get a lot from how Corbin makes sure you understand things conceptually and aren't chugging textbook problems. Corbin is very scary at first but he has a big heart hiding behind is exams. Definitely, the final matters a lot--I did poorly on the quizzes throughout but did pretty well on the final. He grades on improvement and I think if you study enough, you definitely can get there.

To put it simply, this class was quite difficult, but Professor Corbin made it engaging and worked to ensure that his students understood the material. I personally find Physics to be a subject that's inherently hard, and so it may have been near impossible to pass this class without going to both Professor Corbin's and my TA's office hours. The homework is also quite challenging, and for this online Winter quarter (so might not be applicable in general), the professor had all the assigned homework due simultaneously the week before finals, so it was important to not hold off on all the assignments till the end. The most difficult part was definitely the biweekly quizzes which really test your theoretical understanding, but thankfully the final "curve" at the end of the quarter was really good despite my pretty abysmal scores on the quizzes. Overall, if you put in the necessary effort and consult the TAs or professor to clarify any doubts, this class should be fine.

If Walter White went back to teaching. As other posters mentioned the class averages for the midterms are below 50%, but that said he is still a good lecturer and with the curve the grading scheme isn't so bad. If you want to learn physics, take this course; if you want a better chance at a good grade, take someone else.

Such a shitty teacher. Really just out to get students and is not willing to compromise in any way. Makes his tests purposely more difficult than necessary and then forces his graders into being too harsh on the kids just for his own enjoyment. One of a kind a-hole.

Great professor. He explains every concept with examples and mathematical deductions, which is the way university physics should be like. Exams are hard, but still someone will get high scores. So be one of those.

By the time you take Corbin, you will have heard how hard he is and how great of a professor he is. While both of these are mostly true, there is a little more to it than this.

Though his final and midterm scores are extremely low, the tests themselves aren't as hard as they seem. The main problem on the midterm is time. The problems are pretty predictable, and even if you miss all of the challenging parts you can still score way above the average because most people freak out for these tests and neglect to study the basics. If you don't waste time on what you don't know and think carefully before attempting each part then time is the only thing holding you back. This means practicing many problems is key so that you can recognize what to do quickly. The final gives you a lot more time per problem, but there is also a LOT of material that is fair game. If you have kept up with the material all quarter long then you should be fine. The questions themselves are much easier than the midterms if you studied the right things.

He is a great professor for many people, but not all like the comments seem to make you think. If you are someone who understands physics and math pretty well, then Corbin is about as good as you can get. If you don't have a very strong background in physics and math, then you will often get lost in his lectures. If you just write everything down and go back and look at your notes after you have practiced some problems, then things will go more smoothly. But if you are still having trouble then each lecture will get more and more confusing because his lectures really do build upon one another. And his office hours are apparently great, but good luck getting one-on-one attention if you need it.

If you are good and physics and want to become great then this is the guy for you. If you are shaky at physics and want to get better, then there are probably better options, unless you have a very good TA. Also, he often lets it be known how bad most textbooks (including the one for the class) are, but the practice problems and the simplified explanations actually complement his notes perfectly, in my opinion. Also, he makes it sound like the notes that you take are the key to doing well, but often other explanations can help make things make sense too. So, while he is a GREAT teacher, he's not quite as immortal as he wants to come off as.

Bottom line: Don't let him intimidate you. You'll hear many stories about how hard and scary he is, but he gives more A's than any other lower division physics professor, makes very useful notes to help summarize what he does in class, doesn't collect homework (but still gives suggested problems), gives a TON of partial credit, gives very predictable tests, and considers all of the test in you grade, so one bad test won't hurt you much at all.

In short: take him if you like physics and are at least moderately good at it, and don't take him if you struggle, as you will fall through the cracks. I learned to love physics even more than I did, and I got an A without going to any office hours or doing a ton of homework, but the experience is different for everyone, so, while he is a great professor, he isn't for everyone.

Pretty controversial opinions ahead, but hear me out:
Corbin is a really engaging lecturer--he knows his stuff so well he is able to go full speed into his lecture barely referencing his notes. He's really funny and straightforward. You really go deep into understanding mechanics in this class.
His tests are hard, but not in the way you think they are. They don't have numbers, which often freaked me out because I was always scared I algebraically did something wrong. They are also only 50 min long, which means you have to think quick. However, the actual content isn't terrible---very doable if you've mastered the homework. Yes, it isn't the plug and chug you do in other physics courses and you often leave the exam uncertain rather than confident, but when you get your test back you often did better than you thought. I think I could've gotten an A if I did homework more consistently (which he frequently warned us about), but since it wasn't collected, my laziness took over.
My one complaint was that office hours were directly after class MWF, which didn't work for a lot of us because we had 20B that time.