MATH 134
Linear and Nonlinear Systems of Differential Equations
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: course 33B. Dynamical systems analysis of nonlinear systems of differential equations. One- and two- dimensional flows. Fixed points, limit cycles, and stability analysis. Bifurcations and normal forms. Elementary geometrical and topological results. Applications to problems in biology, chemistry, physics, and other fields. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
4 of 5
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2020 - I don't think the comments in bruinwalk truly represent Professor Salazar. He is really really nice and warm. He cares his students a lot. He explains things carefully and slowly in lecture. He has two quizzes every week but it is very easy as long as you do all your homework. Exams are easy and are based on homework.
Summer 2020 - I don't think the comments in bruinwalk truly represent Professor Salazar. He is really really nice and warm. He cares his students a lot. He explains things carefully and slowly in lecture. He has two quizzes every week but it is very easy as long as you do all your homework. Exams are easy and are based on homework.
Most Helpful Review
Great Class, very effective and efficient professor. If you are taking this level of Math you should know what your going into. Calculus is a given in this course,esp. differential equations, you need it and you are expected to know it. The midterms aren't bad at all, it is very similar to the sample midterms he gives, average for first midterm was about 70 and 80 for the second, final was tricky but overall do-able. Study the sample tests he gives, and read the book! (the book is awesome, very clear) Also this class is very interesting real world applications. goodluck! Also the homework is free points, he grades by completion not by correctness.
Great Class, very effective and efficient professor. If you are taking this level of Math you should know what your going into. Calculus is a given in this course,esp. differential equations, you need it and you are expected to know it. The midterms aren't bad at all, it is very similar to the sample midterms he gives, average for first midterm was about 70 and 80 for the second, final was tricky but overall do-able. Study the sample tests he gives, and read the book! (the book is awesome, very clear) Also this class is very interesting real world applications. goodluck! Also the homework is free points, he grades by completion not by correctness.
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2025 - this class was one of the wildest math classes i've taken at ucla as an incoming fourth year math major. the class content itself is really interesting, (in my opinion) and i found the content to be engaging and enjoyable primarily when i was reviewing lectures on my own or in discussion (TA was indeed the goat). what made this class really *interesting* was the professor. my first impressions were that he was just a very candid, sharp spoken professor, kind of a no-bs guy. i joined the class late and he was pretty nice and accommodating. however as the short 6 weeks went on, i'd have to unfortunately the quality of the class went down significantly. - so much homework; granted its a 6 week summer course but still has to be commented on. took me multiple days to finish one homework - pace of the class was literally insane: combined with the huge amount of homework, you had to put in WORK to keep up. but since there was so much homework, didn't really need to study a lot for exams. i have to start a new paragraph for the professor. i have nothing personal against him (i know you read these, so hello!!) but i really did feel uncomfortable at times with the way he talked to his students. there was one particular student that i guess really got on his nerves often. i can see why the professor got frustrated at times, but it got to a point where the professor would make really unprofessional and straight up mean comments, like "stop arguing with me" and "you just want to make things hard for yourself" or "stop talking". and i don't know that's kind of crazy for a professor to say to a student?? i don't know the student personally, but i did respect him for consistently asking questions and trying to understand the material. and i think the professor could've handled it way better, but honestly at some point it felt like a humiliation ritual for the poor student. i felt so bad and so shaken by how he talked to the student which is why i'm here. it kind of begs the question of why this professor decided to teach if this is how he was going to talk to some students. to generalize that experience/observation, he does have a really sharp(?) tone? can come off very sarcastic/demeaning. i didn't really bother asking him any questions and just asked my TA/other sources. if you're looking to take 134, i'd highly recommend the class, just not with this professor unless you love a challenge in every way possible. i'm glad i took it as a math major, but as a human being, idk it just rubbed me the wrong way.
Summer 2025 - this class was one of the wildest math classes i've taken at ucla as an incoming fourth year math major. the class content itself is really interesting, (in my opinion) and i found the content to be engaging and enjoyable primarily when i was reviewing lectures on my own or in discussion (TA was indeed the goat). what made this class really *interesting* was the professor. my first impressions were that he was just a very candid, sharp spoken professor, kind of a no-bs guy. i joined the class late and he was pretty nice and accommodating. however as the short 6 weeks went on, i'd have to unfortunately the quality of the class went down significantly. - so much homework; granted its a 6 week summer course but still has to be commented on. took me multiple days to finish one homework - pace of the class was literally insane: combined with the huge amount of homework, you had to put in WORK to keep up. but since there was so much homework, didn't really need to study a lot for exams. i have to start a new paragraph for the professor. i have nothing personal against him (i know you read these, so hello!!) but i really did feel uncomfortable at times with the way he talked to his students. there was one particular student that i guess really got on his nerves often. i can see why the professor got frustrated at times, but it got to a point where the professor would make really unprofessional and straight up mean comments, like "stop arguing with me" and "you just want to make things hard for yourself" or "stop talking". and i don't know that's kind of crazy for a professor to say to a student?? i don't know the student personally, but i did respect him for consistently asking questions and trying to understand the material. and i think the professor could've handled it way better, but honestly at some point it felt like a humiliation ritual for the poor student. i felt so bad and so shaken by how he talked to the student which is why i'm here. it kind of begs the question of why this professor decided to teach if this is how he was going to talk to some students. to generalize that experience/observation, he does have a really sharp(?) tone? can come off very sarcastic/demeaning. i didn't really bother asking him any questions and just asked my TA/other sources. if you're looking to take 134, i'd highly recommend the class, just not with this professor unless you love a challenge in every way possible. i'm glad i took it as a math major, but as a human being, idk it just rubbed me the wrong way.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - Professor Tymochko is super nice and one of the most accommodating professors I've ever met at UCLA. She not only teaches very clearly in class but also posts nicely written lecture notes every time after class. Her homework assignments definitely served as good practice to help me better understand the materials, and she also gave us a 48-hour grace period for each assignment (which was super nice)! We also have biweekly quizzes every Friday (changed from in-person to online) and I think they also helped me better learn the content while keeping me on track. For our midterms and finals, we were only allowed to bring a notecard for our cheatsheet (which could be a little bit of a small space), but the tests are reasonable and nothing was super beyond scope. As long as you put in effort to listen in class and work on the homework, everything should be good. Professor Tymochko also patiently answers every student's questions during her office hours, and even asked us to fill out surveys to gauge everyone's opinions about the course workload and pace. Overall, I would definitely recommend taking the course with Professor Tymochko!!
Winter 2024 - Professor Tymochko is super nice and one of the most accommodating professors I've ever met at UCLA. She not only teaches very clearly in class but also posts nicely written lecture notes every time after class. Her homework assignments definitely served as good practice to help me better understand the materials, and she also gave us a 48-hour grace period for each assignment (which was super nice)! We also have biweekly quizzes every Friday (changed from in-person to online) and I think they also helped me better learn the content while keeping me on track. For our midterms and finals, we were only allowed to bring a notecard for our cheatsheet (which could be a little bit of a small space), but the tests are reasonable and nothing was super beyond scope. As long as you put in effort to listen in class and work on the homework, everything should be good. Professor Tymochko also patiently answers every student's questions during her office hours, and even asked us to fill out surveys to gauge everyone's opinions about the course workload and pace. Overall, I would definitely recommend taking the course with Professor Tymochko!!
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4 of 5
