18.100A
Table of contents
- Course Info
- Realistic Prerequisites
- Subject Matter
- Course Staff
- Lectures
- Problem Sets
- Exams
- Resources
- Grading
- Advice to Future Students
Course Info
| Class Size | 34 |
| Hours/Week | 11.3 (11 responses) |
| Instructors | Xueying Yu (Lecturer), Cindy Y. Zhang (UA) |
| # of Responses to Course 18 Underground Questions | 7/34 |
Realistic Prerequisites
- 18.02 strongly recommended.
- Prior proof writing experience also recommended.
Subject Matter
- Theoretical with a few applied examples. Essential foundation for upper level math.
- Students generally found the material interesting. Some students felt the material was presented too quickly.
Course Staff
- Overwhelmingly positive. Students found the professor approachable, engaging, and caring.
- “The professor is very helpful and emailed me personally to talk over the midterm. I appreciated her taking the time to talk with me, and I was not made to feel bad about my midterm grade, the meeting was purely to help my learning.”
- “All professors and TAs went above and beyond to help me. They are the most caring, approachable and kind people. I cannot speak more highly of them.”
Lectures
- The lectures recieved mixed reviews. Some students felt that the lectures were too fast and assumed too much proof writing background, while others found the pace good.
- Lectures were typically a repeat of proofs from the book.
Problem Sets
- Assigned weekly.
- Challenging but not too challenging.
- The lectures prepared students for the problem sets. The problem sets were similar to problems covered in lecture.
- Prepared students well for the midterm.
Exams
- One 24-hour take-home midterm, worth 25% of the grade. The average was in the 60s.
- Final exam was stressful, worth 25% of the grade.
- Students found the exams difficult. Some felt that more exam practice could’ve been given.
Resources
- The course used a free online textbook (Lebl - Basic Analysis: Introduction to Real Analysis (Vol. 1)), which students found very helpful.
- Lecture notes were also available.
Grading
- Grading was fair and transparent. Grading was lenient on the problem sets and tough on the exams.
- “I am not too clear on the expected grade distribution, but I think the professor did say anything above an 85 - 90 is an A.”
Advice to Future Students
- “Ensure that you get some sort of background in proof-writing before taking 18.100A.”
- “Definitely recommend this class if you want a good foundation in proofs. Well-taught and enjoyable..”
- “If you lack the passion for math this will be a painful class. If you enjoy math this will be a gateway into a wonderful world.”
- “Read the textbook!”