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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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - Other reviews are being too generous. Wang's math 115 section was horrible. She would whisper during lectures and her notes looked like scribbles. We would all just look at each other trying to decipher what she was saying and what she was writing. I am not joking. We would tell her about this and she would raise her voice for maybe 15 seconds before going quiet again. We even told our TA to tell her something about her low voice which didn't do anything and she continued to whisper. I believe she would wear multiple face masks or just had a very thick mask on all the time, which muted her voice even more. She would solve problems on the board and I could not hear a word of what she was saying, but she still had the audacity to ask if we got it, LOL. Besides this, she does offer very short homework and take home quizzes, which is nice, but they are nothing like her exams. I would look at the hw, quizzes, and lecture notes after the tests to see if I could find how to solve exam problems from them but they were very unrelated. She would do in-class reviews the week of midterms, which actually helped for the exam. I just find it pointless that you would teach for weeks and weeks but the only material you really need to know to do well on the exams is from the week of during the review. If i had skipped the first 4 weeks of lectures and just went to class during week 5, I'd do decently well on the midterm. I went into math 131 as if I hadn't taken an upper division intro to proofs course with math 115. If you see her grade distributions for other classes and think she's your best choice (like me), you're wrong. Attend one of her lectures before you enroll and you'll see what i'm talking about within the first 2 minutes, maybe even 30 seconds. I took her class my first quarter here at UCLA and I am now in my spring quarter; I already know her class will be the worst class I will ever take at UCLA to put it bluntly. I feel bad for leaving such a negative review since she's a nice lady and has obviously earned her position if she's teaching here, but she is honestly not a very good instructor, atleast for math 115, and she needs to adjust the way she teaches and runs this course in the future. I would avoid her for the time being and take a different professor unless its one her other math courses that have grade distributions where 99% of the class gets an A.
Fall 2023 - Other reviews are being too generous. Wang's math 115 section was horrible. She would whisper during lectures and her notes looked like scribbles. We would all just look at each other trying to decipher what she was saying and what she was writing. I am not joking. We would tell her about this and she would raise her voice for maybe 15 seconds before going quiet again. We even told our TA to tell her something about her low voice which didn't do anything and she continued to whisper. I believe she would wear multiple face masks or just had a very thick mask on all the time, which muted her voice even more. She would solve problems on the board and I could not hear a word of what she was saying, but she still had the audacity to ask if we got it, LOL. Besides this, she does offer very short homework and take home quizzes, which is nice, but they are nothing like her exams. I would look at the hw, quizzes, and lecture notes after the tests to see if I could find how to solve exam problems from them but they were very unrelated. She would do in-class reviews the week of midterms, which actually helped for the exam. I just find it pointless that you would teach for weeks and weeks but the only material you really need to know to do well on the exams is from the week of during the review. If i had skipped the first 4 weeks of lectures and just went to class during week 5, I'd do decently well on the midterm. I went into math 131 as if I hadn't taken an upper division intro to proofs course with math 115. If you see her grade distributions for other classes and think she's your best choice (like me), you're wrong. Attend one of her lectures before you enroll and you'll see what i'm talking about within the first 2 minutes, maybe even 30 seconds. I took her class my first quarter here at UCLA and I am now in my spring quarter; I already know her class will be the worst class I will ever take at UCLA to put it bluntly. I feel bad for leaving such a negative review since she's a nice lady and has obviously earned her position if she's teaching here, but she is honestly not a very good instructor, atleast for math 115, and she needs to adjust the way she teaches and runs this course in the future. I would avoid her for the time being and take a different professor unless its one her other math courses that have grade distributions where 99% of the class gets an A.
Most Helpful Review
Great professor with thorough and clear lectures. There are professors that seem intimidating. Although he may seem it at first, he clearly conveys the material eloquently enough and breaks everything down for you. During the course, he was readily available for office hours in person or online, and will help you think about how to solve and approach the problems sets. His passion for mathematics and insightful lectures made me think about going into a pure mathematics major.
Great professor with thorough and clear lectures. There are professors that seem intimidating. Although he may seem it at first, he clearly conveys the material eloquently enough and breaks everything down for you. During the course, he was readily available for office hours in person or online, and will help you think about how to solve and approach the problems sets. His passion for mathematics and insightful lectures made me think about going into a pure mathematics major.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2019 - 115A was my first upper div Math class at UCLA, and I felt very lucky taking it with Dr. Wink. He gives detailed explanations to the proofs and really tries to make students understand the content. Sometimes he goes over the materials a little bit fast, but he is very helpful after class/ during office hours and would explain a long proof all over again until you feel okay about it. Quizzes are easy and you get full points for the homework/ quiz section as long as you get 75%+ in homework and quizzes combined. Homework problems are short (compared to 115A with other professors). Midterms and the final are pretty straightforward and similar to the practice problems (he has a very generous curve (A for 85+). One suggestion would be to take good use of his office hours and really try to understand the concepts and proofs.
Spring 2019 - 115A was my first upper div Math class at UCLA, and I felt very lucky taking it with Dr. Wink. He gives detailed explanations to the proofs and really tries to make students understand the content. Sometimes he goes over the materials a little bit fast, but he is very helpful after class/ during office hours and would explain a long proof all over again until you feel okay about it. Quizzes are easy and you get full points for the homework/ quiz section as long as you get 75%+ in homework and quizzes combined. Homework problems are short (compared to 115A with other professors). Midterms and the final are pretty straightforward and similar to the practice problems (he has a very generous curve (A for 85+). One suggestion would be to take good use of his office hours and really try to understand the concepts and proofs.
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