MATH 31B
Integration and Infinite Series
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: course 31A with grade of C- or better. Not open for credit to students with credit for course 3B. Transcendental functions; methods and applications of integration; sequences and series. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Manolescu was the most endearing professor I had all year. He's incredibly knowledgeable and will make you smile a lot in lecture with his little mannerisms and jokes. Super approachable. One thing I would recommend to incoming freshmen is to take this class very seriously, especially if you didn't take Calc BC in high school. I made the mistake of putting off any and all studying until the night before section every single week. Even though I got an A on all the quizzes, this was a really bad habit for math that I hadn't seen at all before coming here. The first midterm was a disaster, but the good thing is that he drops one of them if you do better on the other one. Just make sure not to make stupid little mistakes! That killed my grade without a doubt and I ended up getting a C+ on a test that I completely knew how to do. For the final, memorize the shit out of the power series! Know what they look like! I only memorized how to derive them, which was a huge waste of time on the final. You will need all three hours and you will probably walk out of there feeling like you were assaulted. I managed a B- in the class, but the moral is TAKE THIS CLASS SERIOUSLY. It's very doable if you're willing to put in work. Don't think you can get away with high school habits, because 31B is honestly one of the hardest classes you can take here.
Manolescu was the most endearing professor I had all year. He's incredibly knowledgeable and will make you smile a lot in lecture with his little mannerisms and jokes. Super approachable. One thing I would recommend to incoming freshmen is to take this class very seriously, especially if you didn't take Calc BC in high school. I made the mistake of putting off any and all studying until the night before section every single week. Even though I got an A on all the quizzes, this was a really bad habit for math that I hadn't seen at all before coming here. The first midterm was a disaster, but the good thing is that he drops one of them if you do better on the other one. Just make sure not to make stupid little mistakes! That killed my grade without a doubt and I ended up getting a C+ on a test that I completely knew how to do. For the final, memorize the shit out of the power series! Know what they look like! I only memorized how to derive them, which was a huge waste of time on the final. You will need all three hours and you will probably walk out of there feeling like you were assaulted. I managed a B- in the class, but the moral is TAKE THIS CLASS SERIOUSLY. It's very doable if you're willing to put in work. Don't think you can get away with high school habits, because 31B is honestly one of the hardest classes you can take here.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - Honestly, I don't understand why people give this guy bad reviews. He's a great teacher and is really good at explaining concepts as well as example questions. I would definitely take him again. The homework he gave wass very well-tied to the stuff he was teaching in class and they are a really good indicator of what you should expect for his midterms and finals. He paced his class really well so it's not too fast or too slow for you. He's a funny guy as well, without having to try hard of course. This is one of the most chill class I have had, not because it was too easy, but because everything is so well-planned that I could literally trust this guy to deliver the best. My TA, Tim, is also a cool dude. So great at explaining concepts and helping us understand the homework assigned. His notes are lit too. If he's teaching again, be sure to take him as your TA. Extremely helpful and a great guy.
Winter 2020 - Honestly, I don't understand why people give this guy bad reviews. He's a great teacher and is really good at explaining concepts as well as example questions. I would definitely take him again. The homework he gave wass very well-tied to the stuff he was teaching in class and they are a really good indicator of what you should expect for his midterms and finals. He paced his class really well so it's not too fast or too slow for you. He's a funny guy as well, without having to try hard of course. This is one of the most chill class I have had, not because it was too easy, but because everything is so well-planned that I could literally trust this guy to deliver the best. My TA, Tim, is also a cool dude. So great at explaining concepts and helping us understand the homework assigned. His notes are lit too. If he's teaching again, be sure to take him as your TA. Extremely helpful and a great guy.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2022 - I had a really hard time in this class. Lectures were spent almost solely on practice problems, but Prof. Marks often introduced new concepts, notation and terminology without explanation which made following along really challenging. The difficulty of our homework problems didn't seem to match up with the content we covered in class, and our weekly assignments were a struggle to get through. Our exams - two tests throughout the quarter and the final - were extremely hard to understand conceptually; thankfully, before each exam we were given a practice test, so the only way I was able to pass the exams was by repeating homework/practice exam problems over and over until I had memorized the steps, rather than actually understanding the content. I often asked for help after lecture/in office hours, but Prof. Marks generally seemed annoyed or uninterested which made seeking help a lot more intimidating. Covid specific; alternative exams options weren't offered, so if a student tested positive for Covid the week before/of the final, they were given an Incomplete in the class and would be forced to take the final in a following quarter after already having taken and put effort into the class for 10 weeks. It put sick students at a disadvantage and seemed unfair given that students in other classes were provided with accommodations.
Spring 2022 - I had a really hard time in this class. Lectures were spent almost solely on practice problems, but Prof. Marks often introduced new concepts, notation and terminology without explanation which made following along really challenging. The difficulty of our homework problems didn't seem to match up with the content we covered in class, and our weekly assignments were a struggle to get through. Our exams - two tests throughout the quarter and the final - were extremely hard to understand conceptually; thankfully, before each exam we were given a practice test, so the only way I was able to pass the exams was by repeating homework/practice exam problems over and over until I had memorized the steps, rather than actually understanding the content. I often asked for help after lecture/in office hours, but Prof. Marks generally seemed annoyed or uninterested which made seeking help a lot more intimidating. Covid specific; alternative exams options weren't offered, so if a student tested positive for Covid the week before/of the final, they were given an Incomplete in the class and would be forced to take the final in a following quarter after already having taken and put effort into the class for 10 weeks. It put sick students at a disadvantage and seemed unfair given that students in other classes were provided with accommodations.
Most Helpful Review
I had him for winter quarter of 2009 and i must say he is very dull. I could not understand him because he was very messy. He has no personality. His midterms are okay but not too hard. The first two midterms and the final all had an average of around 50 but the curve is generous. I ended up with a B in that class but that's okay for me, considering that i never went to lecture after the third week.
I had him for winter quarter of 2009 and i must say he is very dull. I could not understand him because he was very messy. He has no personality. His midterms are okay but not too hard. The first two midterms and the final all had an average of around 50 but the curve is generous. I ended up with a B in that class but that's okay for me, considering that i never went to lecture after the third week.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - Professor Min was very organized in his class and provided Zoom sessions, class notes, and recordings to review after lectures. The homework load was very reasonable (one submission a week) and usually did not take up that much time. He said that he wanted to raise the overall average of the class after the first midterm and we had quite an easy midterm 2 and final. Just do the homework, study before the exams and you should be fine. I'm really glad that I had Professor Min for 31B!
Fall 2023 - Professor Min was very organized in his class and provided Zoom sessions, class notes, and recordings to review after lectures. The homework load was very reasonable (one submission a week) and usually did not take up that much time. He said that he wanted to raise the overall average of the class after the first midterm and we had quite an easy midterm 2 and final. Just do the homework, study before the exams and you should be fine. I'm really glad that I had Professor Min for 31B!
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Moreno was undeniably an excellent teacher. Very charismatic and clear with his lectures, he made learning the subject relatively easy. Though he does go fast sometimes in lecture, he has no problem explaining his work if you ask it of him. Homeworks were very light but very vital to learning the material and graded based on accuracy. As this is his first time teaching the class, he ended up making the midterms apparently too easy (with high means: 40/42 and 44/50) and overcompensated by making the final a pretty difficult 20 question multiple choice test. By making it a short mc test, he effectively "separated the A's and the B's in the class" which was his goal as stated in lecture, and sadly ended up happening to me (rip my 100% on the 1st midterm and A on the 2nd). Even though I ended with a grade I was unhappy with, I am so glad I had Moreno for 31B as I believe he made the class an infinite amount of times better and easier as it could have been. I can definitely say I have a hard time believing people who say 31B is a difficult course as he makes it seem easy.
Fall 2019 - Moreno was undeniably an excellent teacher. Very charismatic and clear with his lectures, he made learning the subject relatively easy. Though he does go fast sometimes in lecture, he has no problem explaining his work if you ask it of him. Homeworks were very light but very vital to learning the material and graded based on accuracy. As this is his first time teaching the class, he ended up making the midterms apparently too easy (with high means: 40/42 and 44/50) and overcompensated by making the final a pretty difficult 20 question multiple choice test. By making it a short mc test, he effectively "separated the A's and the B's in the class" which was his goal as stated in lecture, and sadly ended up happening to me (rip my 100% on the 1st midterm and A on the 2nd). Even though I ended with a grade I was unhappy with, I am so glad I had Moreno for 31B as I believe he made the class an infinite amount of times better and easier as it could have been. I can definitely say I have a hard time believing people who say 31B is a difficult course as he makes it seem easy.
Most Helpful Review
I took Math 31B with Moschovakis in the Fall and although the class wasn't easy or anything, I thought he did a good job of teaching the material. It's true that he has an accent but you get used to it after a couple lectures. He basically writes down almost everything he says on the board so if you can't understand what he is saying, you can just read it off the board. Copy down the proofs but down pay attention to them, they don't come up on the exams. I only took Calc AB in high school and a lot of the people in 31B had already taken a lot of the subject matter in high school with Calc BC but the curve wasn't that bad. I got the average score on the first midterm (I was sick for like 3 lectures: really easy to fall behind!!!) but then got an A on his second midterm which pushed my entire midterm grade up to an A. His exams are super long and he gives you very little time. Both midterms were about 8 problems long but they all had at least 2 parts (some had 4) and it is incredibly difficult to do them in the time allotted. Same with his HW quizzes, which consist of 5 questions to do in 15 minutes!! If you don't know what you're doing, you're not gonna have time to figure it out during the quiz. Moschovakis is really approachable and will help you out if you need it. Go to his review sessions even if you don't have questions. Do the homework questions but do the odd numbers so you know you're doing them right. Go to his or your TA's office hours. Overall, I would recommend taking this professor if you are prepared to work for your grade. If not then take someone else.
I took Math 31B with Moschovakis in the Fall and although the class wasn't easy or anything, I thought he did a good job of teaching the material. It's true that he has an accent but you get used to it after a couple lectures. He basically writes down almost everything he says on the board so if you can't understand what he is saying, you can just read it off the board. Copy down the proofs but down pay attention to them, they don't come up on the exams. I only took Calc AB in high school and a lot of the people in 31B had already taken a lot of the subject matter in high school with Calc BC but the curve wasn't that bad. I got the average score on the first midterm (I was sick for like 3 lectures: really easy to fall behind!!!) but then got an A on his second midterm which pushed my entire midterm grade up to an A. His exams are super long and he gives you very little time. Both midterms were about 8 problems long but they all had at least 2 parts (some had 4) and it is incredibly difficult to do them in the time allotted. Same with his HW quizzes, which consist of 5 questions to do in 15 minutes!! If you don't know what you're doing, you're not gonna have time to figure it out during the quiz. Moschovakis is really approachable and will help you out if you need it. Go to his review sessions even if you don't have questions. Do the homework questions but do the odd numbers so you know you're doing them right. Go to his or your TA's office hours. Overall, I would recommend taking this professor if you are prepared to work for your grade. If not then take someone else.
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