Skip to main content ‘18.06: Linear Algebra’
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 | 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
- ”Try not to fall behind!”
- “Go to office hours and Math Learning Center nights.”