ECON 11
Microeconomic Theory
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Enforced requisites: courses 1, 2, Mathematics 31A, 31B, with grades of C or better. Laws of demand, supply, returns, and costs; price and output determination in different market situations. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
2 of 4
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2021 - I felt that I was doing well in this class and could understand the material quite clearly, but the way questions are formulated and the time crunch during exams was enough to bring my grade down. The math in this class is not so bad, but it can be conceptually difficult to remember when to use certain formulas. Andrew was very clear in lectures, and offered good notes which were helpful for review. The workload when I took the class during summer was very manageable, with only a few quiz problems per week.
Summer 2021 - I felt that I was doing well in this class and could understand the material quite clearly, but the way questions are formulated and the time crunch during exams was enough to bring my grade down. The math in this class is not so bad, but it can be conceptually difficult to remember when to use certain formulas. Andrew was very clear in lectures, and offered good notes which were helpful for review. The workload when I took the class during summer was very manageable, with only a few quiz problems per week.
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Most Helpful Review
A nice guy...but boring&confusing lecture it is a wasting of time to go the lecture because you will find yourself sitting there, but doing hw of another class or sleeping.. tho u can skip the class...dont skip the discussion!!TA helps a lot in going thru the class bare in mind to choose a good TA for Hellwig's class..go to every TA's website and search if they have any notes, i used to study TA's notes rather than the prof's notes... Hellwig's notes are somtimes very confusing.... some of my friends just go to all TA sections in the first few weeks and find the best among them ...coz u should have a great TA when u hv a poor prof!! exams are straight forward from practice midterms and final, just make sure you know and understand how to solve it and u will get A hw are optional (to compensate the midterm if u did bad on it...), but i highly recommend to do because it really helps u to understand the materials (especially for students like me who seldom go to classes) overall...an easy A class if u go to TA sections and do hw
A nice guy...but boring&confusing lecture it is a wasting of time to go the lecture because you will find yourself sitting there, but doing hw of another class or sleeping.. tho u can skip the class...dont skip the discussion!!TA helps a lot in going thru the class bare in mind to choose a good TA for Hellwig's class..go to every TA's website and search if they have any notes, i used to study TA's notes rather than the prof's notes... Hellwig's notes are somtimes very confusing.... some of my friends just go to all TA sections in the first few weeks and find the best among them ...coz u should have a great TA when u hv a poor prof!! exams are straight forward from practice midterms and final, just make sure you know and understand how to solve it and u will get A hw are optional (to compensate the midterm if u did bad on it...), but i highly recommend to do because it really helps u to understand the materials (especially for students like me who seldom go to classes) overall...an easy A class if u go to TA sections and do hw
Most Helpful Review
GOOD prof! I passed his class after taking Econ 11 with two other profs. Although his exams were very difficult, if you paid attention, reviewed his old exams, then you can do good like I did. I didn't even read much of the book. He gave many of the EXACT same questions from his old exams!!! When he hint in class that something might be on the exam, TAKE his hint. Yes he goes off topic alot, but I thought his other insights were valuable to our daily future lives as business persons. Highly recommand if you want to really learn and use what he has to offer. VEry funny!
GOOD prof! I passed his class after taking Econ 11 with two other profs. Although his exams were very difficult, if you paid attention, reviewed his old exams, then you can do good like I did. I didn't even read much of the book. He gave many of the EXACT same questions from his old exams!!! When he hint in class that something might be on the exam, TAKE his hint. Yes he goes off topic alot, but I thought his other insights were valuable to our daily future lives as business persons. Highly recommand if you want to really learn and use what he has to offer. VEry funny!
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2020 - Prof. Ikudo is great. She is very clear in her explanations. Workload is very reasonable: two short quizzes and homework assignments per week. Each of those comprise 20% of your grade, and the midterm and final make up the remaining 60%. The key to doing well in this class in understanding the material properly. Don’t just memorize - you’ll get confused and won’t know how to approach new problems. I took this class during the COVID era, so lectures were recorded and exams were open note. Highly recommend this prof for this class.
Summer 2020 - Prof. Ikudo is great. She is very clear in her explanations. Workload is very reasonable: two short quizzes and homework assignments per week. Each of those comprise 20% of your grade, and the midterm and final make up the remaining 60%. The key to doing well in this class in understanding the material properly. Don’t just memorize - you’ll get confused and won’t know how to approach new problems. I took this class during the COVID era, so lectures were recorded and exams were open note. Highly recommend this prof for this class.
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2016 - I would like to preface my comments by saying that I went into this class having taken multi-variable calculus, so I wasn't caught off guard in that respect. I had heard that Econ 11 was math-intensive, and that the first week or so was dedicated to learning partial derivatives and similar topics. This was true, but I didn't realize quite how involved the math was. For the majority of the course, it felt more like I was learning theoretical math than microeconomics. Luckily I already knew the math required, but still the material had a surprising emphasis on the theoretical aspects of the various economic theorems. There were only 3 problem sets, none of which were mandatory, but were necessary for doing well on the exams. However, no solutions were provided. So, if neither you nor your friends could figure out the solutions, then you had to go to office hours -- which were scheduled during the day, when most of us had work (because it was summer). I was late to work twice for office hours, and both times it was a waste of time. He holds his hours in the Alper Room, which was by no means large enough for all students. Then, he answers students' questions one at a time, but usually responds in a way that only that person and a few people in the immediate vicinity can hear the explanation. I would not be surprised if he answered the same questions several times over the course of his hours, but I wasn't always able to get close enough to hear him. I didn't enjoy this class, and thought the material/delivery was boring, but what was even worse was discovering that other professors structure this course very differently. While our exams were 2 hours and 4 questions, one of which consisted entirely of proofs, other professors give exams that are part multiple choice, part short answer. The other exams also seem to be more economically relevant as well, whereas our exams would not be out of place in a maths class. The only redeeming quality of this course was the available extra credit. It is possible to gain up to 5 extra points for participation. However, his lectures are not very conducive to asking questions, and it is hard to get close enough to him to ask questions during office hours. This is also difficult for people who are shy/have work and cannot stay to ask individual questions. I did not gain any extra credit this way. Instead, I got it in the exams. On the midterm, I got 58/80 (58/87 w/ ec) and on the final I got 80/80 (88/100 w/ ec). Because your total grade is 50% midterm / 50% final or 30% midterm / 70% final depending on which one results in a higher grade, I ended the class with an A-. So yes, it is possible to do ok in this class. If you can, take advantage of the extra credit. Make sure to know all the proofs he goes over in class/office hours, and any he mentions doing on your own. Also do your best to solve each question in the problem sets, as one of them is sure to turn up on the exam. If you can't figure it out yourself, find a group of people to work with. The book does have some proofs/examples in it, but it is by no means enough. I suggest avoiding this professor.
Summer 2016 - I would like to preface my comments by saying that I went into this class having taken multi-variable calculus, so I wasn't caught off guard in that respect. I had heard that Econ 11 was math-intensive, and that the first week or so was dedicated to learning partial derivatives and similar topics. This was true, but I didn't realize quite how involved the math was. For the majority of the course, it felt more like I was learning theoretical math than microeconomics. Luckily I already knew the math required, but still the material had a surprising emphasis on the theoretical aspects of the various economic theorems. There were only 3 problem sets, none of which were mandatory, but were necessary for doing well on the exams. However, no solutions were provided. So, if neither you nor your friends could figure out the solutions, then you had to go to office hours -- which were scheduled during the day, when most of us had work (because it was summer). I was late to work twice for office hours, and both times it was a waste of time. He holds his hours in the Alper Room, which was by no means large enough for all students. Then, he answers students' questions one at a time, but usually responds in a way that only that person and a few people in the immediate vicinity can hear the explanation. I would not be surprised if he answered the same questions several times over the course of his hours, but I wasn't always able to get close enough to hear him. I didn't enjoy this class, and thought the material/delivery was boring, but what was even worse was discovering that other professors structure this course very differently. While our exams were 2 hours and 4 questions, one of which consisted entirely of proofs, other professors give exams that are part multiple choice, part short answer. The other exams also seem to be more economically relevant as well, whereas our exams would not be out of place in a maths class. The only redeeming quality of this course was the available extra credit. It is possible to gain up to 5 extra points for participation. However, his lectures are not very conducive to asking questions, and it is hard to get close enough to him to ask questions during office hours. This is also difficult for people who are shy/have work and cannot stay to ask individual questions. I did not gain any extra credit this way. Instead, I got it in the exams. On the midterm, I got 58/80 (58/87 w/ ec) and on the final I got 80/80 (88/100 w/ ec). Because your total grade is 50% midterm / 50% final or 30% midterm / 70% final depending on which one results in a higher grade, I ended the class with an A-. So yes, it is possible to do ok in this class. If you can, take advantage of the extra credit. Make sure to know all the proofs he goes over in class/office hours, and any he mentions doing on your own. Also do your best to solve each question in the problem sets, as one of them is sure to turn up on the exam. If you can't figure it out yourself, find a group of people to work with. The book does have some proofs/examples in it, but it is by no means enough. I suggest avoiding this professor.
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