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
Spring 2020 - Adam is an amazing Professor. He made 115A so digestible and intuitive. I honestly did not like linear algebra that much coming into this class and struggled a bit in 33a but Adams teaching really made me appreciate the topic a lot more. He was always super fair and accommodating and would entertain any questions. Would take every other math class with him if I could
Spring 2020 - Adam is an amazing Professor. He made 115A so digestible and intuitive. I honestly did not like linear algebra that much coming into this class and struggled a bit in 33a but Adams teaching really made me appreciate the topic a lot more. He was always super fair and accommodating and would entertain any questions. Would take every other math class with him if I could
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Fall 2023 - Given that 115A is a difficult class to begin with, it's hard to rate a professor not off of the curriculum they taught. But Nienhaus did a pretty good job of teaching what was a hell of a class. He was fairly reasonable when it came to rounding one of our midterms because we all did poorly on one of the problems (this was after our finals were graded though), which overall boosted my grade. He does a good job of answering students' questions and giving clear lectures (as clear as it can get for 115A). Though your best bet for understanding this material is using the textbook, watching youtube videos, and relying on office hours. Also, our TA, Matt Kowalski, was hands down the best TA I've ever had. Made such a big difference in my understanding of the class. Had one problem I really couldn't understand, went to his office hours (which he scheduled outside his normal OH times for us), he helped me understand it, and I aced it on the test. If you get the chance to take either Nienhaus or Kowalski, please do! Both are great for the math department!
Fall 2023 - Given that 115A is a difficult class to begin with, it's hard to rate a professor not off of the curriculum they taught. But Nienhaus did a pretty good job of teaching what was a hell of a class. He was fairly reasonable when it came to rounding one of our midterms because we all did poorly on one of the problems (this was after our finals were graded though), which overall boosted my grade. He does a good job of answering students' questions and giving clear lectures (as clear as it can get for 115A). Though your best bet for understanding this material is using the textbook, watching youtube videos, and relying on office hours. Also, our TA, Matt Kowalski, was hands down the best TA I've ever had. Made such a big difference in my understanding of the class. Had one problem I really couldn't understand, went to his office hours (which he scheduled outside his normal OH times for us), he helped me understand it, and I aced it on the test. If you get the chance to take either Nienhaus or Kowalski, please do! Both are great for the math department!
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - I'm not a math major but I took this class as one of my TBR engineering courses, the class material is hard but Professor Nurbekyan was great. His lectures were better than any of my engineering courses. He's very clear and caring for students. The class is based on weekly HWs (which first 4-5 was very long but rest was fine), 3 short midterms (were he droped the lowest one), and a final exam (longer than midterms but doable). Overall I recommend him for this class.
Spring 2020 - I'm not a math major but I took this class as one of my TBR engineering courses, the class material is hard but Professor Nurbekyan was great. His lectures were better than any of my engineering courses. He's very clear and caring for students. The class is based on weekly HWs (which first 4-5 was very long but rest was fine), 3 short midterms (were he droped the lowest one), and a final exam (longer than midterms but doable). Overall I recommend him for this class.
Most Helpful Review
I had Professor Oberlin for 115A. 115A is kind of the standard first upper division math class that most people take. I would strongly recommended Prof. Oberlin for this class and other upper divisions if possible. I do not know about his teaching in lower div. classes so I can't speak for that. He presented the material in a straightforward, but organized way. He moved pretty fast and covered a lot in a class but he also had 3 office hours a week so if you had questions, you could go to those. 115A also meets 5 times a week (2 discussions) so there is a lot of help available which is good. One thing I liked about Oberlin was that since the class does emphasize proof writing, he did an intro to proof by contradiction/contrapositive and induction. It was not too thorough but it was pretty good. His first midterm (I am currently in the class) was really fair. I thought the average would be really high but it turned out to only be 50%. If you are able to do the homework problems and such, you should be good. He does definitely emphasize proofs on his tests, as should be the case in 115A (33A is the more computational side of Linear Algebra). The proofs on the test are doable though. I obviously liked Oberlin since I am taking him again next quarter. He is a good professor- maybe a little less talkative/personal in his OHs than other professor but a cool guy too.
I had Professor Oberlin for 115A. 115A is kind of the standard first upper division math class that most people take. I would strongly recommended Prof. Oberlin for this class and other upper divisions if possible. I do not know about his teaching in lower div. classes so I can't speak for that. He presented the material in a straightforward, but organized way. He moved pretty fast and covered a lot in a class but he also had 3 office hours a week so if you had questions, you could go to those. 115A also meets 5 times a week (2 discussions) so there is a lot of help available which is good. One thing I liked about Oberlin was that since the class does emphasize proof writing, he did an intro to proof by contradiction/contrapositive and induction. It was not too thorough but it was pretty good. His first midterm (I am currently in the class) was really fair. I thought the average would be really high but it turned out to only be 50%. If you are able to do the homework problems and such, you should be good. He does definitely emphasize proofs on his tests, as should be the case in 115A (33A is the more computational side of Linear Algebra). The proofs on the test are doable though. I obviously liked Oberlin since I am taking him again next quarter. He is a good professor- maybe a little less talkative/personal in his OHs than other professor but a cool guy too.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2023 - This class consisted of homework, discussion worksheets, a midterm, and a final. Like almost all other math classes, there are two grading schemes, where the second scheme drops the midterm. Grading Scheme 1: Homework 25% Discussion 15% Midterm 25% Final 35% Grading Scheme 2: Homework 25% Discussion 15% Final 60% The homeworks and discussion worksheets were extremely difficult since they were based on accuracy (at first) and the TA was very nitpicky on our answers. Not mentioning a certain theorem or even missing a step could cost you a lot of points. However, during the second half of the quarter, the TA began to grade on completion which definitely saved me a ton of points. The good thing is that the TA would make comments on our homework and discussion worksheets on what was wrong or what we need to do. The midterm and final were essentially like the practice exams he gave us. However, don't rely on just going over these practice exams because the TA is also nitpicky with our exam answers. I remembered how the professor had solved one of the exam questions during a review session, and I understood and remembered it. However, my TA still took off a lot of points for my answer to that exam saying that I didn't really explain my proof. So, the professor and TA seemed to have their own ways to prove the problems. Speaking of the professor, the lectures were definitely not that helpful as all he would do is write down theorems/ideas briefly and then spend a lot of time proving that theorem without using much time to go over examples. Most, if not all, of the examples that he did do were from the textbook, so anyone could've self-studied the class. With that being said, I stopped going to lectures after Week 4 since I realized I would be better off studying on my own. I will say that the professor is nice and approachable at least. Overall, the content is definitely difficult and the homework and discussion assignments can be time consuming since the TA is strict with grading. Even if the exams are like the practice tests, I recommend studying a lot and meeting with the TA to make sure your solutions follow what the TA wants. Although he wasn't as bad compared to what I had heard from the Math 31B students, he was still pretty bad and I would not take a class from this professor again.
Spring 2023 - This class consisted of homework, discussion worksheets, a midterm, and a final. Like almost all other math classes, there are two grading schemes, where the second scheme drops the midterm. Grading Scheme 1: Homework 25% Discussion 15% Midterm 25% Final 35% Grading Scheme 2: Homework 25% Discussion 15% Final 60% The homeworks and discussion worksheets were extremely difficult since they were based on accuracy (at first) and the TA was very nitpicky on our answers. Not mentioning a certain theorem or even missing a step could cost you a lot of points. However, during the second half of the quarter, the TA began to grade on completion which definitely saved me a ton of points. The good thing is that the TA would make comments on our homework and discussion worksheets on what was wrong or what we need to do. The midterm and final were essentially like the practice exams he gave us. However, don't rely on just going over these practice exams because the TA is also nitpicky with our exam answers. I remembered how the professor had solved one of the exam questions during a review session, and I understood and remembered it. However, my TA still took off a lot of points for my answer to that exam saying that I didn't really explain my proof. So, the professor and TA seemed to have their own ways to prove the problems. Speaking of the professor, the lectures were definitely not that helpful as all he would do is write down theorems/ideas briefly and then spend a lot of time proving that theorem without using much time to go over examples. Most, if not all, of the examples that he did do were from the textbook, so anyone could've self-studied the class. With that being said, I stopped going to lectures after Week 4 since I realized I would be better off studying on my own. I will say that the professor is nice and approachable at least. Overall, the content is definitely difficult and the homework and discussion assignments can be time consuming since the TA is strict with grading. Even if the exams are like the practice tests, I recommend studying a lot and meeting with the TA to make sure your solutions follow what the TA wants. Although he wasn't as bad compared to what I had heard from the Math 31B students, he was still pretty bad and I would not take a class from this professor again.
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