Hi guys ! I'm going to do an IN-DEPTH Review of this class. If this is too much for you to read, then just stop reading and take this class. If you don't, well... your loss tbh.
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PROFESSOR:
I don't typically do a direct review of the professor, but I must say Jukka is EASILY the MOST REALEST PROFESSOR I HAVE EVER MET. He is super nice, and not only in the personality way that most people say which honestly doesn't mean very much to me. I mean he is nice in the way that we all really want them to be, in terms of grades. I know you don't know me, but I promise you that you will definitely NOT REGRET taking this course
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LECTURES:
Lectures are a MUST because there are clickers every lecture which is about 10-11% of your grade. In the start you will be able to grasp the ideas because of your previous AP Calculus experiences, but once we walk past that area, you will be VERY lost quite often. He covers only the theoretical ideas in class and doesn't go over any problems. Usually he reviews the previous lectures for the first half of class, and then goes into new content the second half of class.
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TAs:
TAs are fairly important as they do grade your homework which is a good percent of your grade (15-16%). They are also supposed to help with your coding section( Yes there is coding involved). My TA wasn't super helpful but she graded nicely so I suppose that was something.
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LAB SECTIONS:
Lab sections are technically mandatory, since they don't take attendance as far as I'm aware. People simply go to get help for their coding assignments as they are relatively difficult after week 3 or 4. The entire thing is simply coding for about 2 hours, and the prompts are somewhat difficult to understand. It can be difficult to answer the questions if you don't understand them. Also to keep in mind TAs DO NOT grade the lab section. They are graded by outside graders who you don't know. I would show up. It is necessary in order to do well. it is 12% of your grade + 3% is the lab quiz (Which was fairly easy).
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HOMEWORK:
This ! Homework is probably the single most important thing in this class, and also probably the most difficult thing. Since the professor doesn't go over the homework, it can be somewhat difficult to solve them, especially as you go further into the quarter. You are however, allowed to drop the 2 lowest homework grades so that is a bonus. I would save them for the last two weeks as homework gets significantly harder near the end.

Also Homework problems are very similar to the problems that appear on the exams so it is good practice, or at least, it will look familiar during review sessions.
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BOOK:
The book was provided as a PDF for our class, so don't waste your money. All the homework comes out of this book too.
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MIDTERM/FINAL:
- Yes there is one midterm and one final
- They are a fattt majority of your grade (60% I believe)
- It is VERY LIKELY you will get an A on both of them if you even remotely try to
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STUDY GUIDE/ REVIEW SESSIONS:
This is the single MOST IMPORTANT THING in this class by far. If you don't go to these review sessions, you are simply screwing yourself. The professor practically goes over the exams during the review sessions and give you an exact idea of what to focus on for the exams.

Literally if you aren't sold, his class median for midterms was a 94 and for the final was a 97.
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OVERALL:
Would definitely take this class again if I had to (which I don't) but you should definitely take it.
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Goodluck To Yall ##

~this is a corona time review~

TAKE JUKKA. HES THE BEST PROFESSOR FOR LS30A. YOU DONT NEED TO WASTE MORE TIME FILTERING THROUGH REVIEWS FOR HIM JUST TAKE HIS CLASS.

Overall:
-Jukka is a funny guy, a great lecturer, and helps you to understand all the material perfectly! LS30A has some hard content, but Jukka makes everything so much easier to understand and genuinely wants every student to succeed. He is my favorite professor at UCLA and is truly the best professor I will probably ever have.

Labs:
-There is a coding lab once a week in which you are put into breakout rooms and work on the assignment which is due by your next lab. The labs start out pretty easy and the TAs and LAs are really helpful if you have any questions! I had never coded before but they teach you the basics and everything is fine.

Textbook:
-You need a textbook for the homework/ studying, but it is free and linked by the professor in CCLE at the start of the quarter.

Exams/Quizzes:
-There is 1 midterm and 1 final in this course. Both are pretty rigorous but definitely manageable! The midterm is pretty much all the conceptual math you learn and the final is combining that knowledge with the calculus-based math you learn later. The midterm was definitely easier than the final but each of the exams are split into 3 parts: study guide with your groupmates 60pts, individual final 80pts, group final 60pts. It is a very forgiving system where even if you do poorly on the individual portion, you can redeem yourself with the study guide and group portion.
-There are participation quizzes after every lecture (essentially clicker questions) where the answers can be found in the lecture slides and you have unlimited attempts to gain full credit! You have a week to complete these from the day they open.
-Weekly quizzes are posted at the end of every week and stay open for about 2 and a half days. These are usually about 3-5 questions about the content from the week; for the first half of the quarter, you had 2 attempts on them (the highest of the 2 attempts would be counted), for the second half of the quarter, you still had 2 attempts to do the quiz, but the 2 scores were now averaged instead.

Final thoughts:
-TAKE JUKKA IF HES OPEN
-amazing lectures, super clear, understanding about covid circumstances
-very fair class if you study even just a little bit and go to class

Jukka is AMAZING. I only failed because I skipped a couple assignments and did poorly on the midterm which was all my fault. This class is basically the relearning of things you already learned in Calculus, but in a more sciencey atmosphere like modeling equations based on the encounters of shark 'n tuna. The atmosphere of this class is light and you'll get to love how devoted Jukka is. He's one of the rare few professors who actually care about the success of his students and actually LISTENS to our suggestions. The lab has almost nothing to do with 30A, but I know will be more integrated with 30B. Lab is just coding and is not hard.
10/10 would recommend, be sure to greet the penguins.
than you for coming to my tedtalk.

Jukka genuinely cares about his students and is super understanding and chill. He gives you tons of prep for midterms/the final that's super helpful. The homework and labs can be a pain though. The labs can be hella confusing and hard, but overall, he is pretty lenient and drops the lowest grade etc.
Be warned though, this class is literally not math the curriculum is wack

TAKE JUKKA!! I wanted to cry when I didn't get him for 30B :(((
-He genuinely cares that his students understand the content
-gives extra-credit
-and I think I love him
-hw is graded tho so that sucks and the weekly quizzes were hella hard & conceptual (midterm & final were not like that and way easier)
-I got almost full points for the coding section and idk wtf I was doing the whole time but if I can do good then you can too lmao

Would recommend & I'm pressed I did not get him for 30B

Selling the required book:
Modeling Life - Hardback $35
*much cheaper than amazon*
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IF YOU CAN TAKE JUKKA TAKE HIM!!!
He is the best professor I have had. He's funny, he cares about his students, the workload isn't too bad, he gives extra credit, and his tests aren't hard. Jukka takes time during class to answer questions and clarify content. He has clicker questions during class, but they are also up on CCLE for you to complete (due 1 week after class meets). He usually chooses 10 homework problems (2 pts each) to grade (based on accuracy) and adds 5pts for completing the assignment. He also offers extra credit throughout the quarter. We have weekly quizzes, which are sometimes hard, but they are helpful. The labs don't really connect to the material we learn, but they aren't difficult since the TAs and LAs help you. He drops the lowest score for each section (lab, lab quiz, weekly quiz, homework, and participation quiz). There's 1 midterm and 1 final. Jukka holds review sessions the weekend before the exam (go to them, they are USEFUL). His exams are divided in 3 parts: study guide, individual part, and team part. The study guide part you literally create a study guide with your learning team (can be used during exam). The individual exam has mostly calculations with some conceptual parts (all multiple choice). The team part you work with your learning team and complete 3-5 additional problems. Overall, his exams are fair and if you do bad in one part, you can bring your grade up with the other 2 parts. I would definitely take another class with Jukka.

I took Jukka during covid and I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed the class! He is literally so understanding, willing to help, and clearly cares a lot about his students. Some good things about the class: attendance is NOT mandatory since he records his lectures, he has an anonymous suggestion box, the weekly quizzes were averaged based on two attempts, and the book (which you don’t have to buy since it is provided to you) is actually helpful.

I am not a math person but his teaching and clarity made me want to attend lectures. The material will get confusing, but he will answer any questions during his very valuable office hours. The midterm and finals other people have gone into depth about so I won’t do that and just say that there is three parts, two of which you can collaborate with your group so your individual score can’t weigh your overall grade too much. In conclusion, TAKE PROFESSOR JUKKA IF YOU CAN!!! He is literally the best and I’m so sad I didn’t get him for 30B.

*COVID Edition*

Professor Jukka is AWESOME. I detest mathematics, but somehow I always looked forward to attending his lectures. He is passionate about what he teaches, and genuinely cares about his students and their learning.

I don't know how different it will be when we're back on campus, but this is how it was for Fall 2020.

Learning Teams:
This quarter, we had a learning team where you are grouped with three other classmates. These are the people you work with on labs and the group portions of the midterm and final. With it being COVID, the learning teams were a great way to get to know other people, and the collaboration helped greatly on doing well on assignments and exams!

Lectures/Participation:
Lectures weren't mandatory, but it is better to attend them live so that you are kept accountable. Participation was graded based on completing clicker questions from lecture on CCLE up to a week after the lecture took place. Slides are posted every week. Easy points!

Homework:
Graded half on accuracy and half on effort/completion. The number of problems varies from 15-30 questions, and some weeks were more difficult than others (do NOT procrastinate because it WILL come back to bite you), but 2 of the lowest homework assignments were dropped, so that was nice.

Labs:
I had some difficulty with the labs later on in the course, but overall they weren't too bad. You can collaborate with other classmates on lab assignments and you can reach out to your TA about it. Our lowest lab was dropped.

Quizzes:
Weekly quizzes on the weekend. Super short, like 4-5 questions. Sometimes a little difficult because the questions can be super conceptual, but as long as you paid attention in lecture and went through the slides, you could do well. About halfway through the course, Jukka let us have two attempts on the quizzes and took the average of the attempts as our grade. The lowest quiz is dropped.

Midterm and Final:
Both were similar in terms of structure. There were 3 stages:

Stage 1) Composed a study guide with our Learning Teams
Stage 2) Individual exam on CCLE
Stage 3) Group exam consisting of 3 questions that were more in-depth and built upon questions from Stage 2

Stage 1 is basically a good chunk of free points as long as you thoroughly complete the study guide and have all of the components!

My advice for success on these exams is to look at the Practice Midterm/Final Template, and do the corresponding problems, which are pulled from homework assignments or the several practice midterms and finals he gives out. They are more or less like the problems you will encounter on the exams. Additionally, Jukka holds a couple of exam review sessions on the weekend before the midterm or final, which were super helpful in further clarification and he provided more guidance with what to focus on, so go to those!

Almost everything is recorded for your convenience, but interact with him when you can/if you feel comfortable!

As a general note, Jukka's dedication, warmth, humor, and grace makes this class bearable, and the content is much less daunting when you have him as a professor. If you have any concerns, you can rest assured that he will listen and find a solution. You have a voice in this class, so don't be afraid to use it! Go to his office hours when he will usually go through homework problems, and go to at least one of his social hours, when he talks about anything and everything besides actual course content. He is not only a great professor, but also an interesting, warm human being who has great stories and insight to share! You should 100% take this class with Jukka (and Flippy & Puffers) if you can!

I took Jukka's LS30A class during COVID times. He is honestly a great professor, I'm so glad I got him as one of my first professors here at UCLA.
In terms of what his class looked like, it was well structured. You're assigned into a learning group with a few students in your same class and lab. You work with them during the coding labs that you're assigned weekly. The actual coding labs weren't too hard as someone who has no experience coding. There was a homework that was assigned weekly that had to be turned in by Friday 5pm. Two times during the quarter we all asked for an extension on the homework and he gave it to us so there's that. Also, go to his office hours and ask questions about the homework, or at least review his office hours. He honestly goes over a lot of homework problems during those times so that's helpful. Each module we covered came with a weekly quiz (honestly, the answers were in the slides that you had to go over before and after class so the quizzes weren't a big deal if you paid attention. They were participation quizzes). Then there were weekly quizzes, those were a little more of a big deal. He was nice enough to drop the lowest grade on your homework, participation quiz, weekly quiz, and lab. What a great guy. There was one midterm and one final. The midterm and final were broken up into three parts: a study guide that you make with your assigned learning group, a test you did by yourself, and then a test you did with your assigned group. As you can see, there was collaboration in your final and midterm that helped you NOT fail.
If you're worried about going into this course because you didn't take calculus in high school, seriously do not worry. The concepts themselves are really easy and I'd say 14% of what we covered was "math" math, stuff that you would've learned in high school. Either way, he goes super slow when we're learning calculus stuff and he's very through. If you did take calculus and you know what a limit is, how to take a derivative, and euler's method, and integrals, you're pretty much set for the "calculus" portion of this course. I want to emphasize though that at least the first half of this course is not calculus. You will be okay.
The course is not extremely hard, and Jukka himself is such a wonderful professor. He is kind, and helpful, and makes you feel welcome. It's easy to ask questions in class, and even if you type a question in the zoom chat, someone is bound to answer.
Last thing, if you do take this class, say hi to Flippy and Puffers for me :)