Dr. Bennoun is quite possibly the greatest math educator I have ever had. He is incredibly clear during lectures, open to any and every question, goes out of his way to assist struggling students, and is overall very pleasant to be around. He is so approachable and it's clear he wants his students to succeed. In terms of the class workload, it's very similar to other LS 30A classes, and there is a decent amount of work ahead of you. Knowing calculus before taking this class is by no means a requirement, but it makes a lot of the homework much easier. That being said, Bennoun still provides A TON of resources for students with no calc background. He also uploads a lot of resources before the midterm and final, including practice exams, courselets, and office hours that he uploads, in which he goes through any homework question students are struggling on. Overall, this class was a highlight of my quarter, and I genuinely enjoyed it. I would take it again just for Bennoun :)

Professor Bennoun was a great professor to have this quarter. His lectures were engaging and informative and the clicker questions really helped to supplement the material. The class content itself is definitely different than high school math with the only similarity being basic calculus (derivatives and integrals) but I found it a lot more interesting than anything I did in high school.

Every week there was a coding project, quiz based on the lecture material, homework set, and pre-lab videos and quiz. The coding projects are done in a small group during discussion and most of the time you can finish or get most of the way through them then. The TAs also hold office hours where you can get help on the projects. The homework is sometimes confusing because of the textbook and was pretty long so I would definitely not try to do it all the night before it's due. The lowest two homework scores, lowest quiz grade, and lowest lab score were also dropped! There was one midterm and a final and I found both of them not overly difficult. He provided a lot of practice tests and held office hours which were both really helpful for the tests. Overall, I would recommend to take this class with him.

It's a pretty easy class if you keep up with assignments and go to office hours. He is really nice and his midterms are exactly what you learn in class. He is also very flexible, if you can come to class, he posts them online so you can do them for participation 10/10 . The labs can be a little challenging bur the TA's are extremely helpful

Only take this class if you already have experience with calculus!! Bennoun is a kind, good lecturer. However, his tests are unfairly hard and he often gives long homework assignments that feel like busy work.

LS30A was definitely a struggle - this was pretty evident based on the overflowing office hours that kept increasing in attendance as the quarter went on, and sentiments from friends/peers. This class is not curved, so you really need to have a solid understanding of all the concepts to do well. The midterm (for F23) was extremely challenging, like some others mentioned - I studied literally so hard for it, thought it was difficult (everyone did), and got an 81%. However, Professor Bennoun has 3 different grading schemes that you can use to get the best possible grade in this class - which is really nice. I got a 99% on the final (I thought it was way easier than the midterm), so I was able to pull my grade back up using a different scheme. The lab portion of this class is also pretty challenging, especially for people with no coding experience (basically everyone). They start out pretty simple and guided with a lot of instructions, but they get harder pretty quickly with less instruction and more "figure it out on your own"! It also didn't help that labs were almost nothing related to the class/lecture content. Therefore, I thought the lab practical (the coding "final" of the class) was pretty difficult, but I still got a 90% somehow through generous partial credit, I guess. Ending with some tips:

- GO TO MANY TA OFFICE HOURS. Pick your favorite TAs, and go to their OHs every week. And don't just go to get answers to your homework and labs. Try to really understand and learn from office hours, because if you're just copying the TA's answers, you won't do well on the exams. You have to know what they're doing and be able to replicate the work/concepts yourself.
- Study consistently for this class - try not to cram before exams. Review your lecture notes after each lecture, make them more organized, and see if you understood everything.
- Try to get help on and understand the labs and the *meaning* of the code. Again, you can copy code from peers and TAs who help you, but you'll have to understand it when the lab practical rolls around in week 10.

Overall, an interesting and doable class that requires a lot of hard work and persistence. I did have a breakdown in one LS30A lecture this quarter because I was so overwhelmed. Just know it'll all work out and be fine in the end - all you can do is study hard and try your best. You got this!

Class is very conceptual-heavy and not so much math-heavy. Bennoun is a good lecturer who posts his own annotated slides after class. The coding labs are a breeze if you get a good TA, if not then just attend office hours. Overall, this class certainly requires effort but the homework and tests are manageable.

Bennoun is the goat for this class. Sure, his midterms are actual hell and I definitely got the shock of my life because it was my first midterm ever, but going over lecture slides and using the textbook as a resource really helps!! Scored well on the final and pulled off an A-. For F25, grading was done using one of two schemes, they automatically use the scheme that gives you the highest grade.

At a glance, this class seems "easier" than your typical calculus course due to it being more concept heavy. Many call it "fake math." If computing calculus is not your strong suit, but understanding concepts and the "why" behind calculations rather than the "how," then this course is for you. Do not be intimidated by the math itself, or the coding aspects. I'd say these are one of the easiest parts of the class.

During lectures, Prof Bennoun may seem intimidating because he lowkey judges you if you get the answer wrong in his participation questions. However, that shouldn't deter you. Go to his office hours: he's patient and will explain and go through the problems with you step by step to ensure your understanding. He's a great guy and has a bit of an accent, but is still understandable.

MIDTERM and FINAL
The midterm will catch you off guard if you are unprepared. Some students say the final is easier than the midterm, but in my opinion, the difficulty is relatively the same. Prof Bennoun will give you practice exams and the TAs will provide review sessions; however you should not solely rely on them. There are two grading schemes: one that accounts for both your midterm and final, or one that only uses your final grade.

TIPS to SUCCEED
- ATTEND OFFICE HOURS 2+ TIMES A WEEK: Whether it be for homework or general questions, use these hours to your advantage to ensure you fully understand the concepts
- GO THROUGH EACH LECTURE AGAIN: Especially when studying for exams, the lectures and clicker questions are a great resource for understanding the concepts visually
- ASK QUESTIONS DURING LAB: Your TAs are a great resource for understanding topics especially if office hours are full.
- REDO HOMEWORK: Don't just memorize answers--understand the processes of solving them
- SKIM/READ TEXTBOOK: The textbook goes more in depth about concepts and has some practice problems you can do

SUMMARY
Getting an A in this class is possible if you prepare ahead of time and fully understand the concepts. Take advantage of the resources you have and you will succeed. Good luck to everyone taking this course!

As long as you do all the homework assignments and labs with effort then you should pass this class. If you didn't take calculus in high school, you'll probably have a rough time with the calculus aspects of this class. I didn't take calc and there wasn't a lot of time put into learning derivatives, so I had to put a lot of effort into learning what they were and studying them. Definitely reach out to the people that have taken calc for help in that portion. Bennoun is chill and can be pretty funny at times, I would totally have liked to have him for 30B if his class worked with my schedule. Just show up to class, put in effort for your work, and you'll pass the class.

This class was really something. I think the material is interesting surprisingly, but it is not at all similar to a classic calculus class. Bennoun definitely explained well and was a good lecturer, but he could come off as a little bit condescending when answering questions.
This class is inevitable as a pre-med or life science major, so just prepare for it as best as you can, it's definitely bad but not impossible.
The workload is very easy with the labs that you can usually finish in lab time (although they are horrible), and the once-a-week homework. Don't mess up submitting the homework, those were almost the only times I lost points.
But because of this and how niche this class is all you can really study with are the practice midterms and finals. Those are very helpful but often not definitive as to what the exam will be like. Our midterm was so hard that one of the questions the TA couldn't even solve. I studied for 30 hours for the final and got an 80%, which was lucky compared to what I heard from some. I was fully expecting to have a B in this class, but the 30A instructors curved final grades surprisingly. I know a lot of people whose GPAs were done dirty by this class. Go to office hours and be prepared to really investigate these niche math topics.
Textbook is absolutely not needed.