GE 70 A
Larkin is an extremely smart and nice professor. He cares a lot about the material he teaches and his students. Therefore, he does a great job in making non-science majors enjoy his science class.

GE CLUSTER 70A

I thought he taught the class pretty well. The concepts could be confusing sometimes, but I felt he did a good job explaining them. He does go too quickly sometimes, but he does take the time to answer a question about the topic if someone asks. I really enjoyed the section of the class that he taught.

Course Taken: Physics 11

Class breakdown:
10% Participation
10% Quizzes
25% Midterm 1 (Week 4)
25% Midterm 2 (Week 8)
30% Final

Personally, I had never taken a Physics course and found some of the material/concepts to be challenging. Although true, Professor Larkin is very approachable and willing to help.
He provides study guides before all of his tests. His tests and quizzes are extremely fair and are not out to trick you. I would HIGHLY recommend going to office hours to review any questions that you got wrong or didn't understand on exams. At the end of the course, he curves grades slightly.

*This is a review for Physics 11

Physics 11 with Larkin is literally one of the best classes I've ever taken. It goes through the intricacies of physics with zero math involved, so it's only concept based. Yet, by the end, you'll have a general idea of Einstein's theories, quantum mechanics, black holes, string theory, etc. Basically, the course will absolutely blow your mind and the fact that it's stripped of math will allow you to appreciate the beauty of physics without drowning yourself in the numbers.
Professor Larkin himself makes the course extremely fun. He's an amazing lecturer and answers questions before you even ask. Everything he teaches is interesting. He's also very clear with the material exam wise. His powerpoints really help the lecture (although notes are still highly recommended) and he uploads study guides which will easily help you through the midterms. He makes himself extra available before midterms and thoroughly cares about his students. Do whatever you can to take physics 11 with Larkin, it is truly an eye opening experience. You will learn more about physics than you ever thought you could know.

Take this class if: you want to avoid actual math and science classes/your major requirements don't have any math or science classes, you want to learn about physics, astronomy, the birth of the universe, evolution, and geology without ever doing any tedious math.

The professors are all amazing lecturers, and are genuinely fun and kind people. They have lunch office hours every Tuesday after lecture, and plan tons of fun field trips to help expand students' learning and get to know their class. Because everyone who takes the class is pretty much a social science/biz-econ major, the class is super social and fun to be in. Plus you get an entire school year two get to know people and bond rather than a 10-week quarter!

The information is all so interesting and really deepened my understanding of the world around me. My overarching understanding of special and general relativity rivals that of most of the physics majors I know, and I'm so much better equipped to understand geology, evolution, and atomic interactions. The readings are painless, the papers are manageable, and the labs (while sometimes tedious) build on the information we cover in lecture.

I would highly recommend this class. Make friends with those around you, study for the midterm and final, and GO ON THE FIELD TRIPS.

Larkin is one of the better professors that I've had so far. He seems to genuinely care about his students understanding the concepts. Lectures were very organized and clear. He does talk a little fast which makes it hard to take notes in class, but he does post his slideshows online, so I guess it's fair. Exams are heavily based on his review questions (which is provided a week in advance), so as long as you can answer those, you're pretty much guaranteed at least a B. I think this course is interesting for anyone regardless of their major as the professor makes the concepts very accessible to everyone.

Use the text bank to look up past midterms, because a lot of the questions will be repeated from previous years.

MY FAVORITE PROFESSOR AT UCLA!!! and I'm not a physics fan typically.

Larkins makes physics fun by taking out all the math in it. You learn very simple stuff in the grand scheme of things, very much akin to LS15, but still very perplexing nonetheless. You honestly couldn't explain quantum physics without a few heads turning, but Larkins still manages to make it all still seem interesting.

The tests are very close to the study guides and the weekly quizzes are based off of lectures, so the class shouldn't be too hard.

All in all, an excellent teacher with very approachable material for people willing to take a dip in the south campus.

Larkin is engaging and his lectures were always something to look forward to. The material was confusing, but he did his best to help you. His office hours were SUPER helpful if you're confused as well. Would recommend