Okay to preface this is a review for Math 31A with Changying Ding not 31B. I'm writing this here because as of rn he isn't listed for 31A. One of the questions I feel doesn't have a clear answer for freshman at ucla is "Will I be able to pass with a subpar math background?" Going to forums or even asking the NSAs often gives a very vague answer and leaves much question. So I wanna cut it short and say even with a subpar math background (algebra 1 and geometry and very shabby algebra two and in my case no precalc) it is very possible to pass and even get an A. You will most definitely have to work a little extra to cover the concepts you don't have an understanding of like trig or logs, but it is doable. Especially if you get Professor Ding if he teaches it again. Mostly cause he's allergic to trig and almost never put it on exams unless it was easy to remember like cos(0) = 1 so a lot of our content relied heavily on polynomials. Outside of this question the class itself was very straightforward you had your weekly HW, quizzes, two midterms and the final. You are allowed to drop 1 midterm 1 HW and 1 quiz. Overall, it was a very doable class for those without sufficient math background, but fair warning Ding cares A LOT about punctuation and would dock points for improper punctuation.

Since Math 31A is not available for review, I will leave this here. This was my first math class at UCLA, and because I had not taken calculus before, I found the course very confusing. The logic behind many of the problems did not make sense to me, so I ended up teaching myself the entire class.

You really do need prior knowledge going in. Otherwise, you should expect to spend a lot of your free time studying many different variations of the problems just to keep up. I personally spent about twenty-four hours a week studying. After the midterms, I reviewed the material again and again. Still, even the most minor mistakes, even when I had the correct answer and most of the correct methodology, still resulted in losing about half the points on a question. This makes sense of the subject, but the professor was often not specific about the layout for exam responses until after midterm 1. His teaching style is perfect for those with prior knowledge and who have already had the chance to apply this math in high school.

Pretty Easy Class shout out to Andrew Fuentes he's the goat

the goat.
- midterms & finals easy af as long as u put a bit of effort
- exams EXTREMELY similar to the practice exams
- TAs are great (if u have daniel rui he is so cool, he hosted a 3 HOUR LONG office hours on a weekend before the final which is like?? ur so cool i love you. hes also really funny)
- only complaint is sometimes ding can complicate simple topics but as long as u attend office hours diligently if you have questions youll be fine

DING IS THE GOAT, DANIEL RUI IS THE GOAT!

Changying is the goat. Easy af class. Homework and midterm 1 are super free, lectures are recorded and he gives notes. Lots of homework but idt they even check it for correctness outside one or two times. Midterm 2 was a bit hard but he drops your lower midterm. Final was pretty easy too imo. Absolutely take this class if you can for 31b, prolly the best one you can take.

overall, a great professor for a class that wasn't really super hard (other than some parts of taylor series). ding explains the concepts really well, and he was pretty funny. the grading scheme was also very fair, he drops the lowest midterm. would take again!!

if you have the option to take it with this professor do it!!! I cant' stress how good of a professor he is. There are two midterms and one final and you have the option to drop one midterm, that just means the the other Midterm and Final will be weighed more. But the midterms and final was pretty easy Im not gonna lie. He is also a very funny and charismatic professor who engages with the students. I will say this class goes incredibly fast as you are learning all of Calc II in like 10 weeks, so just make sure you understand what he says and go over concepts you are having trouble understanding. Overall view: Take this class with him if you can!

This is definitely a class I would recommend going in person for, especially since our lectures were not recorded consistently. Ding is a good professor and would always keep us updated about grading, changes in the class, etc. I remember not liking the first class, but throughout the quarter warmed up to it, and he warmed up to us too. He would skip stuff in the textbook if it wasn't gonna be on the final. He wasn't like an amazing teacher but he got the job done and I utilized TA office hours for anything I didn't get.

Professor Ding is a relatively new lecturer but I thoroughly enjoyed his course. He follows the textbook to a T so you would be fine not going to lecture and just learning through the textbook, albeit he explains the intuition and concepts in lecture pretty well. Ding is also a funny professor and quick-witted. I would recommend this course with Ding- he makes lectures enjoyable although he doesn't really know how to use the mic, making it difficult to hear him past the first few rows. He is getting better at mic placement but its just because hes a new lecturer. He expects exactly what he's putting in as he allows an index card on both midterms and half a piece of paper for the final. His exams are extremely similar to the practice exams and your knowledge in the course is reflected pretty well from the midterms. His first midterm is extremely easy, second tough, and final pretty normal. I had Daniel Rui for my TA and I LOVE THAT MAN. HE IS SO FUNNY, QUIRKY, AND EXTREMELY INTELLIGENT. FOR HARDER CONCEPTS THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IN LECTURE, GO TO DANIEL'S OFFICE HOURS AND ASK HIM. DANIEL WILL EXPLAIN IT AMAZING. ALSO, I GO TO HIS OFFICE HOURS SOMETIMES JUST TO HANG OUT BECAUSE HE'S JUST A SILLY GUY. LOVE THAT GUY.

Ding is honestly a great teacher; typically Math 31B/Calc II is notorious for being the hardest in the lower division calculus pedagogy, however Ding's lectures and tests made it extremely manageable. You have homework once a week consisting of problems of various difficulty and length of questions. Majority of midterm and final questions stem from the homework and things talked about in class. He's also somewhat funny. One con is that he isn't necessarily the greatest at explaining things in multiple ways, so I'd probably save majority of my questions for the TA's. Overall, great teacher, great class, 10/10, would recommend.