‘18.06: Linear Algebra’

Table of contents

  1. Course Info
  2. Realistic Prerequisites
  3. Subject Matter
  4. Course Staff
  5. Lectures
  6. Problem Sets
  7. Exams
  8. Resources
  9. Grading
  10. Advice to Future Students

Course Info

Class Size 254
Hours/Week 9.4 (92 responses)
Instructors Steven Johnson
Overall Rating 4.1/7.0

Realistic Prerequisites

  • The content of 18.01 and 18.02 was a necessary prerequisite.
  • Some students said programming experience was helpful.

Subject Matter

  • Students described the course as broad, foundational, and theoretical.
  • Applications of course content are discussed in lecture as well.

Course Staff

  • Mixed reviews.
  • Some students felt very supported by course staff, as they were approachable and gave extensions.
  • Others found their TAs were unwilling to spend time to help with problem sets.

Lectures

  • Students found the lectures fast and difficult to follow.
  • Students preferred recitation to lectures for understanding course content.

Problem Sets

  • Challenging.
  • Some students found the problems using Julia as especially hard, given their lack of coding experience.
  • 13 psets were assigned throughout the course.

Exams

  • Students found the exams difficult and hard to complete within the given time.
  • The review sessions before exams were especially helpful.
  • Some students spent many hours studying to prepare.

Resources

  • Students used Prof. Johnson’s handwritten notes and Jupyter notebook.
  • The textbook, Introduction to Linear Algebra, by Prof. Strang was helpful as well.

Grading

  • Students felt that grading was incredibly transparent, as Prof. Johnson gave cutoffs for each exam.
  • Some students did not like that exams made up 75% of the overall course grade.
  • The final was worth 40% of the overall grade.

Advice to Future Students

  1. ”Try not to fall behind!”
  2. “Go to office hours and Math Learning Center nights.”