MATH 115A
Linear Algebra
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, two hours. Requisite: course 33A. Techniques of proof, abstract vector spaces, linear transformations, and matrices; determinants; inner product spaces; eigenvector theory. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Spring 2022 - NEVER NEVER take his class in person! Otherwise, your life will be ruined and this very first proof-based math course will become your nightmare throughout the quarter. ALL components in his class prevent you to genuinely from learning some math and gaining a good grade. You cannot understand his awkward accent at all since he speaks with mumbling and at least half of the words cannot be correctly pronounced. He just rushes through the course content so fast as if we have learned the course prior to his "reviewing style" teaching. When you find yourself lost in the class, you will feel so distressed and frustrated. Also, it is so difficult to understand his chaotic and obscure handwriting on board. The grading schemes are one of the toughest I've ever seen: 60% for final, 25% for the mere midterm, and 15% for HW. Oh, if you bomb your midterm, then your final weighs 85% of your entire grade! :) Great huh? No lecture recordings in this course. Only provide course notes which are also hard to read. Only around 20%-30% can gain an A or A-, and this course is totally curved (you need to beat others). This course is thus suitable for those who have learned it before and would like to retake it. Last but not least, save your life and stay away from this course! (you really have many choices with different instructors tbh)
Spring 2022 - NEVER NEVER take his class in person! Otherwise, your life will be ruined and this very first proof-based math course will become your nightmare throughout the quarter. ALL components in his class prevent you to genuinely from learning some math and gaining a good grade. You cannot understand his awkward accent at all since he speaks with mumbling and at least half of the words cannot be correctly pronounced. He just rushes through the course content so fast as if we have learned the course prior to his "reviewing style" teaching. When you find yourself lost in the class, you will feel so distressed and frustrated. Also, it is so difficult to understand his chaotic and obscure handwriting on board. The grading schemes are one of the toughest I've ever seen: 60% for final, 25% for the mere midterm, and 15% for HW. Oh, if you bomb your midterm, then your final weighs 85% of your entire grade! :) Great huh? No lecture recordings in this course. Only provide course notes which are also hard to read. Only around 20%-30% can gain an A or A-, and this course is totally curved (you need to beat others). This course is thus suitable for those who have learned it before and would like to retake it. Last but not least, save your life and stay away from this course! (you really have many choices with different instructors tbh)
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He is one of the better math professors that I have had at UCLA. His lectures are clear most of the time. I wouldn't suggest asking questions because half of the time he doesn't understand what you are asking. The other half of the time he gives a good explanation. His homework assignments are a bit tedious and are difficult. There are many resources online to help you gain points on the homework. The exams are much easier than the homework and are on the easier side compared to other math midterms/finals at UCLA.He doesn't ask for anything too complicated on his tests. The lectures are a good supplement to the book. I never went to office hours, so I can't comment on how helpful he was there. He spends 1 lecture before the midterm and 2 lectures before the final reviewing. This is helpful and the example problems he gives are similar to test questions. Not a bad class w/ this prof at all. Grade received: A
He is one of the better math professors that I have had at UCLA. His lectures are clear most of the time. I wouldn't suggest asking questions because half of the time he doesn't understand what you are asking. The other half of the time he gives a good explanation. His homework assignments are a bit tedious and are difficult. There are many resources online to help you gain points on the homework. The exams are much easier than the homework and are on the easier side compared to other math midterms/finals at UCLA.He doesn't ask for anything too complicated on his tests. The lectures are a good supplement to the book. I never went to office hours, so I can't comment on how helpful he was there. He spends 1 lecture before the midterm and 2 lectures before the final reviewing. This is helpful and the example problems he gives are similar to test questions. Not a bad class w/ this prof at all. Grade received: A
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2023 - At least at the time I took this course, Jerry was a graduate student teaching in lieu of a professor due to the school's insufficiency of 115A professors. But Jerry has been one of the best lecturers in Math I have had, along with our TA Josh. He would sometimes make mistakes on the board that could go on for a while, but those were rare and he was VERY invested in teaching 115A. Going to his office hours is essential because he goes over homework problems in detail. Of course, you should attempt the homework yourself before going, but he does a great job working through and being attentive to all students' questions. Grading for our quarter had several schemes: HW was always 20%. Then, either: - Midterm 1 20%, Midterm 2 20%, Final 40% - Midterm 2 20%, Final 60% - Midterm 2 40%, Final 40% - Midterm 1 20%, Final 60% - Final 80% You can just see here that there are a lot of opportunities to pick yourself back up if you mess up one or even both of the midterms. I did worse than I wanted on Midterm 1 but eventually got used to the class structure and did way better than I anticipated going forward. His syllabus is extremely clear and explicit; his instructions on logistics in general are very specific and to the point, which was very helpful and I wish more professors would do that. It was a somewhat challenging intro to upper-division mathematics (as you'd expect it to be) but it was not stressful and I felt my educational experience and performance were very well cared for. I have hardly any complaints about his class. I'm going to miss Jerry; I hope he considers lecturing or becoming a professor beyond this point. If he teaches another quarter, take him!
Winter 2023 - At least at the time I took this course, Jerry was a graduate student teaching in lieu of a professor due to the school's insufficiency of 115A professors. But Jerry has been one of the best lecturers in Math I have had, along with our TA Josh. He would sometimes make mistakes on the board that could go on for a while, but those were rare and he was VERY invested in teaching 115A. Going to his office hours is essential because he goes over homework problems in detail. Of course, you should attempt the homework yourself before going, but he does a great job working through and being attentive to all students' questions. Grading for our quarter had several schemes: HW was always 20%. Then, either: - Midterm 1 20%, Midterm 2 20%, Final 40% - Midterm 2 20%, Final 60% - Midterm 2 40%, Final 40% - Midterm 1 20%, Final 60% - Final 80% You can just see here that there are a lot of opportunities to pick yourself back up if you mess up one or even both of the midterms. I did worse than I wanted on Midterm 1 but eventually got used to the class structure and did way better than I anticipated going forward. His syllabus is extremely clear and explicit; his instructions on logistics in general are very specific and to the point, which was very helpful and I wish more professors would do that. It was a somewhat challenging intro to upper-division mathematics (as you'd expect it to be) but it was not stressful and I felt my educational experience and performance were very well cared for. I have hardly any complaints about his class. I'm going to miss Jerry; I hope he considers lecturing or becoming a professor beyond this point. If he teaches another quarter, take him!
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Spring 2017 - I took Math 33A with Andy in Spring 2017. I struggled with the material, but that's probably just a me thing. Andy was an okay professor. His lectures were a little dull, but he explained the material pretty well. He assigned a lot of homework. The midterms were fair, and the final was significantly more challenging. I'd take him over most other professors, but he's not the best professor out there.
Spring 2017 - I took Math 33A with Andy in Spring 2017. I struggled with the material, but that's probably just a me thing. Andy was an okay professor. His lectures were a little dull, but he explained the material pretty well. He assigned a lot of homework. The midterms were fair, and the final was significantly more challenging. I'd take him over most other professors, but he's not the best professor out there.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2019 - Professor Manning was a really nice guy and I definitely enjoyed being in his class. He gave clear, concise lectures that went over the material very well. I Perhaps the thing I liked least about his lectures is that sometimes he will ask a very simple question just to check our understanding and no one will say anything because the answer is simply too obvious. Maybe that's our fault and not his but it was kinda funny to see it happen sometimes. Regarding his tests, they were of average difficulty in my opinion. I got reamed by the first midterm and consequently decided I would study much harder for the second one and the final. I did well on both of those. If you prepare for the exams well you should be fine. If you think you know the definition of linearly independent, but you don't know how to prove it, you won't be fine. So yeah if you have the option of taking Manning I certainly think you should (unless its at 8am of course).
Winter 2019 - Professor Manning was a really nice guy and I definitely enjoyed being in his class. He gave clear, concise lectures that went over the material very well. I Perhaps the thing I liked least about his lectures is that sometimes he will ask a very simple question just to check our understanding and no one will say anything because the answer is simply too obvious. Maybe that's our fault and not his but it was kinda funny to see it happen sometimes. Regarding his tests, they were of average difficulty in my opinion. I got reamed by the first midterm and consequently decided I would study much harder for the second one and the final. I did well on both of those. If you prepare for the exams well you should be fine. If you think you know the definition of linearly independent, but you don't know how to prove it, you won't be fine. So yeah if you have the option of taking Manning I certainly think you should (unless its at 8am of course).
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Marco’s lectures are nothing more than him jotting down his notes on the board and trying to cram as much in as possible before the end of the class period. He goes so quickly that you can’t comprehend anything, just race to write your notes down. Unless this course is required for your major, don’t take it.
Fall 2019 - Marco’s lectures are nothing more than him jotting down his notes on the board and trying to cram as much in as possible before the end of the class period. He goes so quickly that you can’t comprehend anything, just race to write your notes down. Unless this course is required for your major, don’t take it.
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