MATH 32A
Calculus of Several Variables
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Enforced requisite: course 31A with grade of C- or better. Introduction to differential calculus of several variables, vector field theory. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
So I noticed that not many people sign up for his class and instead opt for Park. Bottom line is, take Park if you want to learn the material, and take Song if you want easy exams. Song's exams were straight from the book and homework (just with different numbers). He gets the harder problems from the chapter reviews. The curve is set pretty low, which I don't understand. His accent is very heavy, but you get used to it. Just sit in the front.
So I noticed that not many people sign up for his class and instead opt for Park. Bottom line is, take Park if you want to learn the material, and take Song if you want easy exams. Song's exams were straight from the book and homework (just with different numbers). He gets the harder problems from the chapter reviews. The curve is set pretty low, which I don't understand. His accent is very heavy, but you get used to it. Just sit in the front.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Spaas is a great lecturer and probably the most wholesomest, nicest man ever. I think I have a relatively more unbiased view of his class lol because despite the fact that his final was pretty horrible, I'll probably go through w taking his 32B class again next quarter. Homework: Super easy, graded on accuracy so just be careful and check before you turn them in. He drops the 2 lowest HW grades too, but that wasn't an issue for most people. They were easier than midterms/finals questions too. Discussions: as others have said, completely useless. We're supposed to do worksheets during discussion, but my TA (Ben) would spend half the class going over the first 2 questions (always SUPER easy) and never talk about the last questions, which is what we actually needed help on. SPAAS does not provide solutions to his discussion worksheets, so you just have to pray your TA is nice enough to give them to you. Ben was not... but he was a very nice, wholesome dude that was always really approachable. The worksheets are also super conceptual and a bit tricky – harder than midterms. Midterms: They are pretty straightforward, but they're only out of 40 points. SMALL MISTAKES WILL KILL YOUR SCORES. He is pretty nitpicky too about some small things as well. One time I wrote down the CORRECT equation with the numbers already plugged in instead of the original equation with variables AND he took a full point off (which is like 2.5% off right there), which makes 0 sense. The averages are like low B's which is pretty standard. After my first midterm grade came out, I was only marked off for nitpicky stuff so I was kinda mad at Spaas. But tbh seeing his beautiful face and nice personality in class the next Monday kinda made me forget about that. FOR MIDTERM 2, he didn't give us study questions or anything also, which was annoying, but he did for midterm 1 and final. Final: SO HARD. He literally told us that it would 70% straightforward and 30% not straightforward the Friday before, so at least he was honest... The test was just extremely conceptual, with true/false/not enough info questions and a weird last thing where you had to calculate cross products using geometric stuff and arc length parametrizations . Although our final grades were curved, ultimately, I got a lower final grade than my 2 midterms, which was pretty upsetting because I had done much better than average on both of them. Honestly, if it wasn't for that how tRiCKy/nOt sTraightfOrWard that final was, I probably could've done much better overall. :((
Fall 2019 - Spaas is a great lecturer and probably the most wholesomest, nicest man ever. I think I have a relatively more unbiased view of his class lol because despite the fact that his final was pretty horrible, I'll probably go through w taking his 32B class again next quarter. Homework: Super easy, graded on accuracy so just be careful and check before you turn them in. He drops the 2 lowest HW grades too, but that wasn't an issue for most people. They were easier than midterms/finals questions too. Discussions: as others have said, completely useless. We're supposed to do worksheets during discussion, but my TA (Ben) would spend half the class going over the first 2 questions (always SUPER easy) and never talk about the last questions, which is what we actually needed help on. SPAAS does not provide solutions to his discussion worksheets, so you just have to pray your TA is nice enough to give them to you. Ben was not... but he was a very nice, wholesome dude that was always really approachable. The worksheets are also super conceptual and a bit tricky – harder than midterms. Midterms: They are pretty straightforward, but they're only out of 40 points. SMALL MISTAKES WILL KILL YOUR SCORES. He is pretty nitpicky too about some small things as well. One time I wrote down the CORRECT equation with the numbers already plugged in instead of the original equation with variables AND he took a full point off (which is like 2.5% off right there), which makes 0 sense. The averages are like low B's which is pretty standard. After my first midterm grade came out, I was only marked off for nitpicky stuff so I was kinda mad at Spaas. But tbh seeing his beautiful face and nice personality in class the next Monday kinda made me forget about that. FOR MIDTERM 2, he didn't give us study questions or anything also, which was annoying, but he did for midterm 1 and final. Final: SO HARD. He literally told us that it would 70% straightforward and 30% not straightforward the Friday before, so at least he was honest... The test was just extremely conceptual, with true/false/not enough info questions and a weird last thing where you had to calculate cross products using geometric stuff and arc length parametrizations . Although our final grades were curved, ultimately, I got a lower final grade than my 2 midterms, which was pretty upsetting because I had done much better than average on both of them. Honestly, if it wasn't for that how tRiCKy/nOt sTraightfOrWard that final was, I probably could've done much better overall. :((
Most Helpful Review
She left already. However, she taught pretty decently. Her lectures were too fast and hasty and made it a little difficult to learn. There was a lot of homework which was still tricky. She showed concern for her students and went overtime in office hours quite a bit. It would have been better if I read ahead in the textbook more. I barely passed the class but overall it was okay.
She left already. However, she taught pretty decently. Her lectures were too fast and hasty and made it a little difficult to learn. There was a lot of homework which was still tricky. She showed concern for her students and went overtime in office hours quite a bit. It would have been better if I read ahead in the textbook more. I barely passed the class but overall it was okay.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2019 - John is a very nice guy, but that didn't mean he was a good teacher. He's a grad student (at least when I took this class), so he doesn't have a lot of lecturing experience. His lectures are often unclear and he writes out proofs and theorems in whole ass sentences, which I personally found very confusing and messy. The tests are tough and it shows in the averages. Scores range from single digits to 100%, but I'm pretty sure the class is curved. He also puts a really hard question on each test where you pretty much have to write a (guided) proof, so you gotta know the material well. If your TA isn't helpful, find the good one ASAP and you'll understand what's going on way more. Expect to teach yourself a lot if you wanna do well on the tests. The curve saved me in the end and but honestly I don't recommend him. This class could be more straightforward with a different professor.
Spring 2019 - John is a very nice guy, but that didn't mean he was a good teacher. He's a grad student (at least when I took this class), so he doesn't have a lot of lecturing experience. His lectures are often unclear and he writes out proofs and theorems in whole ass sentences, which I personally found very confusing and messy. The tests are tough and it shows in the averages. Scores range from single digits to 100%, but I'm pretty sure the class is curved. He also puts a really hard question on each test where you pretty much have to write a (guided) proof, so you gotta know the material well. If your TA isn't helpful, find the good one ASAP and you'll understand what's going on way more. Expect to teach yourself a lot if you wanna do well on the tests. The curve saved me in the end and but honestly I don't recommend him. This class could be more straightforward with a different professor.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2021 - The professor made this class an amazing experience. His exams were never out to get you since as long as you understood the material pretty well you would get an A on the exams. Professor Suzuki is amazing and I encourage everyone to get him for Math 32A and any other math courses he teaches.
Winter 2021 - The professor made this class an amazing experience. His exams were never out to get you since as long as you understood the material pretty well you would get an A on the exams. Professor Suzuki is amazing and I encourage everyone to get him for Math 32A and any other math courses he teaches.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - Professor Taylor did a fine job teaching in my opinion, and also structured his class in a favorable fashion. Other reviewers are correct in that he would seem to confuse himself at times, but overall he did a decent job at conveying the necessary information. The grading scheme, as has been noted, is 25% quizzes, 25% midterm, and 50% final. Therefore, there is no homework, but the quizzes are based on assigned problems. However, because only five of nine quizzes are counted for a grade, and because of their very straightforward problems, these are not a concern. The midterm was fair but tough, as the problems were nothing surprising but often required some fairly messy work. As for the final, I took mine during the COVID-19 pandemic, so this part may not be applicable to future quarters. My final was take-home, open-notes, and open-book, which obviously will be different than ensuing iterations of this class. The final was 18 pages and 12 problems, most with multiple parts. It would have been very tough to complete in three hours had it been in-person. The problems, likewise, were fairly challenging as well, but this was less due to the concepts being tested and more because of the substantial amount of steps that were required to reach a solution in most cases. Overall, this class was alright, and Professor Taylor did an adequate job teaching. Just know that he definitely does care about "u"!
Winter 2020 - Professor Taylor did a fine job teaching in my opinion, and also structured his class in a favorable fashion. Other reviewers are correct in that he would seem to confuse himself at times, but overall he did a decent job at conveying the necessary information. The grading scheme, as has been noted, is 25% quizzes, 25% midterm, and 50% final. Therefore, there is no homework, but the quizzes are based on assigned problems. However, because only five of nine quizzes are counted for a grade, and because of their very straightforward problems, these are not a concern. The midterm was fair but tough, as the problems were nothing surprising but often required some fairly messy work. As for the final, I took mine during the COVID-19 pandemic, so this part may not be applicable to future quarters. My final was take-home, open-notes, and open-book, which obviously will be different than ensuing iterations of this class. The final was 18 pages and 12 problems, most with multiple parts. It would have been very tough to complete in three hours had it been in-person. The problems, likewise, were fairly challenging as well, but this was less due to the concepts being tested and more because of the substantial amount of steps that were required to reach a solution in most cases. Overall, this class was alright, and Professor Taylor did an adequate job teaching. Just know that he definitely does care about "u"!
Most Helpful Review
This guy is insane, I had to study day and night to barely get a B in his class. It's a good thing I only took two hard classes (his included) and an easy elective otherwise I would have died. He is a VERY caring professor but he is also very young; because of this, I don't think he knows how to teach yet. For example, the first midterm, I think the average was in the low 30's -- he had to give a massive curve because even he thought he messed up on the difficulty level. Basically, if you were to google professor Teran, you will know his calibre of intelligence; and because of this, concepts that are easy in his head cause normal students to cry. If you can't get around taking a class with him, good luck :]!
This guy is insane, I had to study day and night to barely get a B in his class. It's a good thing I only took two hard classes (his included) and an easy elective otherwise I would have died. He is a VERY caring professor but he is also very young; because of this, I don't think he knows how to teach yet. For example, the first midterm, I think the average was in the low 30's -- he had to give a massive curve because even he thought he messed up on the difficulty level. Basically, if you were to google professor Teran, you will know his calibre of intelligence; and because of this, concepts that are easy in his head cause normal students to cry. If you can't get around taking a class with him, good luck :]!
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