2.5
Quality2.9
Difficulty57%
Would Retake83
Reviews57%
Would Retake
83
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
10
4
14
3
20
2
17
1
22
What Students Say
“There are 3 exams plus a comprehensive final”
AE280 - 3.0 rating“3 exams (20% each) and a cumulative final (40%)”
AE280 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
6%
Textbook Required
64%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.92 avg changeRatings by Course
280
5.0
(1)EM280
5.0
(1)AE320
4.0
(3)E280
3.1
(20)ENG280
3.1
(8)Difficulty by Course
AE340
5.0
AE304
5.0
AE301
4.5
ENGR295
4.0
AE280
3.7
Reviews (83)
He's really shy outside of the classroom. His exams are basic.
Easy course w/ no learning. Previous exams identical. e280 =plotkin, no chioce
Very intelligent as well as helpful. Teaches the important points.
couldn't explain how to open a door
he is too easy, just go to test bank
No Comments
dont go to class, dont do hw, just work old exams
easy A!
No Comments
No Comments
This class is a great summer class. Study the old exams and you will get an A. Very helpful prof. after class.
No Comments
Rude to students in office hours. Confusing in class. Recamend just learning from book and study old tests. Better yet take the class at a community college.
Good instructor with clear and precise method for teaching. Class is a little easy because you always know exactly what will be on the test...he just moves some numbers around with old problems he has given on previous tests. Study the old tests!!!
Like everyone says study old test, catch up on sleep by not going to class, don't waste your time doing the homework, and best of all don't buy the book.
Easy course if you study the old exams. If you really want to sit through class, he gives some great equations, but it is otherwise a sleeper.
First off ... very rude to people during office hours. I saw someone else experienced the same thing I did. But the class is a cake-walk. Find someone with a previous test and you will be set. Homework is virtually worthless.
i agree, homework is pointless. study the old tests, memorize them actually. if you can do those, you will do well. easy matieral, would have done better if i understood the teacher. find a study buddy that understands if you need help.
No Comments
Formula: 1)Go to class, the book is very complicated and the tests are made to be easy using his methods. 2)PRACTICE, do homework and old tests, more practice=better grade. He is very clear, but pretty boring, Easy good grade.
This subject is flat out boring. Go to class to see the concepts, study old tests and you will do fine. Teacher is laid back guy and wants people to do well.
Book is useless. Pay attention in class and do the homework. Study old test.
Class is not dificult. Like everyone else says - study old tests. It helps to study old tests before the lecture because it makes the lecture material more clear. Good class for summer - no cumulative final like there is during the academic year
this a a boring class but if you do the homework you will do fine. good thing is that he knows what he is talking about and is always in the office to give help.
Boring teacher! its hard to stay awake in class! very easy to pass the class he posts last semester's exams and all you have to do is to make sure you know exacly how to do all the problems on that test and you will get an A in the class!
Boring class and professor. The book is crap too. Just get the solutions to all the old exams and final, learn those problems and you will at least pass the class. I learned the material from lecture, but most people find him incomprehensible.
Horrible. Gives very hard tests, and won't tell you what is going to be on it. One page of notes that he gives you for the tests, in a class that is basically entirely equations. Refused to help students learn from mistakes on HW before taking the tests. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
His class is boring, the book is worthless, If you are naturally good at math, this class will be no problem for you, if not, avoid him. but if you must, ask around and get old tests to study off of because he changes his tests very little. I learned almost nothing in this class.
Overall he was a pretty good teacher. Most people who do poorly in the class don't study old finals. Didn't do homework and studied old tests for about 5 hrs. night before the test and got a B+.Yes, he is boring, but he diffinately gives you a fair chance at getting a good grade.
Avoid him like the plague!
this guy is so ridiculously perfect for this class it hurts. take him for sure
Study the old tests. The book is useless and confusing. He was usually pretty helpful and nice. Boring material, boring class.
Plotkin cannot teach Low Speeds. He continuously talks about his own book and talks down the book we get to use. The tests are practically impossible. Try to take Conly, it’s your only hope of doing well. If you are stuck with Plotkin, be prepared for a stressful and frustrating semester.
Hmm, well, Dr. Plotkin lectures with a (permanent)smile on his face. Oh yeah, and the giggle's, gosh, I went to class every day just to hear them. Don't do the homework, in the end, it's only 3 points added to your final grade. I recommend studying old exams a week before the test, easy A just doing that. Don't buy book, I never open it!
A REAL MANIAC, HIS TEST ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO PASS. EVEN GRADUATES COUDN'T PASS. TELL U WHAT GET READY TO GET USED TO 32 AND 12 PER CENT ON HIS TEST, BUT HE LL PASS U IF U SHOW UP TO CLASS. JUST SHOW UP AND YOU LL PASS, DON'T BOTHER DREAM OF AN A IN THAT CLASS
Boring, Boring, and Boring
No Comments
Boring teacher. I never went to class and got a B, Mainly because I didnt study for the final. All of his homeworks are the same as everyother year so if you get those you're set for homework. Study past tests and you will get an A or a B on every test. EASY CLASS!
you have a better chance to get an "A" by attending the MEP worshops than to attending his class. His classes are way too borring. These workshops help me to pass the class when I was lost by Dr. Plotkin. remember MEP is the way to go.
boring class, make sure you take good notes, book is useless i thought. didnt even buy it. just made copies of the homework problems an solutions. pretty easy class over summer.
This guy can't teach low speeds. Boring, writes sloppy, and is not helpful when you ask him for help. Tests suck. Unavoidable unfortunatelly.
will put you to sleep. Class in general is set up poorly. Engineering department decided to cram all these loose end topics into 1 class and it doesn't have the continuity that was desired.
Material is not interesting. Plotkin admits it's not interesting but says it's a necessity. I hear going to the MEP workshops really helps but I don't know because I went to class instead. I don't think 4 hrs of workshop time is needed to get an A. Plotkin is helpful IF you ask him the right questions. I got an A in the class, probably the highest
This class is really boring so you have to motivate yourself. Plotkin is funny and nice, and does his best to point out the easy way to solve problems. The book is TERRIBLE and doesnt have enough sample problems and doesnt explain anything well, so you have to rely on SAMPLE TESTS and the lectures to really get anything.
Do the practice tests. I got a 95 98 and 88 on the tests got an A in the class. Do the HW and make sure to get the solutions to them. study them and you will do well on the tests.
Class is not as hard and boring as everyone makes it out to be. If you find it boring, maybe this isn't the major for you and you should be weeded out. Exams are straightforward. If you don't know what you are doing, don't try to bs; he will chop you at the knees. In the end, depending on what effort you put in, you'll get the grade you deserve.
Material a little dry at times, but all in all, straightforward class, especially for a grad level one. One mid-term and one final. About 4 homeworks. Either you get it or you don't.
Subject is interesting. Plotkin makes this class extremely easy. Material and exams are straightforward.
Go to lecture, take the notes, you don't really need to pay attention. Always do the HW and the practice tests. You do that, should get an A.
keep in mind diff eq is naturally hard. while plotkin only asks simple problems on exams, his lectures are impossible to follow and he skips many steps in both his class examples and his homework printouts. he posts homework in a hallway instead of on blackboard, students spend hours copying. do prac exams and the hw; anything above 55 is a C
The book used for this class is not that great, but you will need it a lot. I don't think anyone had a clue what this guy was talking about in class. His lectures were all over the place. He does posts past exams to use for practice, and gives soft questions on the exam. Don't expect to learn much in his class, but passing shouldn't be a problem.
The book for this class isn't very good, but you will need it. The lechtures are all over the place and very confusing. If you really want to be confused, ask this guy a question. On the other hand, the class isn't very hard. A past exam is posted before every exam, and all exam questions are soft questions. So take it as you will.
He is Impossible to follow in lecture and a tough grader on tests. The homework (or book) is not helpful (or required) so your basically on your own to learn. 100% of grade is on 3 Midterms and Final (20-20-20-40). Does give you close examples of what you will see on test, but not an easy class.
EASY CLASS IF YOU DO HOMEWORK AND PAY ATTENTION
He wasn't a horrible prof, but not great either. I didnt go to half the classes and passed with a B. The test are challenging, but if you do the practice test you will be fine.
This guy is TERRIBLE, our entire engineering department is terrible, he doesnt clarify anything and you are left spending countless hrs online trying to learn the subject material... hes the only one who teaches this class so suck it up and pray for the best
Goes by the book. If you are a visual note taker, avoid this class. My notebook after one lecture was filled with nothing but formulas with no coherent steps or instances to use them. 2 midterms and one final, each have a small amount of questions so if you miss one there goes 20 points.
If you want to pass the class with an A, you should really consider going to every single class, listen to him, take notes and do the homework, if you are stuck, you can go ask him and he will be more than happy to help you. Exams are based mostly on his notes and the equations he provides. I always like taking Plotkin classes
Worst teacher in the engineering department
Boring lectures and doesn't know how to teach. Don't bother going to his office hours, he doesn't help at all.
This professor does NOT know how to teach. Half of the class is falling asleep during lectures, and homework is not worth anything. There are only 2 exams plus the final, so if you fail one it's very hard to pass this class. Get ready to teach all of the material to yourself cause he does not help at all!
really bad professor
There are 3 exams plus a comprehensive final. Exams have 5 questions but tripped me up since some werent like the hw or practice exam. I always attended class and did hw but didnt do well on the exams since I felt nervous and pressured (20 pts a question). Marks points off without indicating why or what was wrong. Didnt set students up to do well.
Book is useful halfway through the semester, but after that he starts teaching with his own method and won't give credit if you use another method, even if the answer is right. Exams are similar to his practice exams, but he grades HARD. Miss one step in your answer and thats 75% of your points gone. His lectures are long, messy, and boring. Meh.
His lectures are all over the place and boring. His exams are hard and he's a tough grader.
Easy engineering class. You don't need the book just understand the practice tests and you will get an easy A.
Plotkin was pretty horrible. Don't even bother getting the book since his lectures teach you something completely different (and harder). He only gives you credit on tests if you do it the way he teaches. Doesn't use blackboard and your grade is composed of 3 midterms and the final. I highly recommend taking someone else for this class.
Very tough grader. Messed up a negative sign on a test problem and did not receive any credit for the problem at all.
3 exams (20% each) and a cumulative final (40%). Doable without the book. Gives an old exam 1 week before every exam. Each practice question is EXACTLY what the test will ask, just with different numbers/setups. However, Plotkin doesn't have clear grading criteria. Sometimes he'll deduct 3%, other times he will deduct 10% without clear reasoning.
During lectures you'll find yourself completely lost and it can make you anxious. However, he gives solutions to his hw and old exams and if you just devote like two evenings before an exam to learn the methods, you'll do fine. He gives you everything you need on the exam, you just need to find out how to use it. Much less work than any other math.
Doesn't use blackboard. Lectures are incredibly slow most of the material has to be learned outside of class. Take this class with any other professor
Constantly skips arithmetic steps in his lectures. Unorganized. Often rants about random information, mid-problem. Criticizes class for not correcting him if he makes a mistake. Entire grade is just 4 exams, which only have 5 problems each. Circles multiple equations in one problem. Still wonders why 3/4 of class skips his lectures.
The guy is super hard to follow but as long as you write everything down in class you can figure things out yourself to prepare for the tests which are very similar to the homework and practice tests. If you can do that then getting a decent grade will not take much effort. He rewards the very few people who go to class with info about the tests.
Your best and easier option for AE280 at SDSU
He's a good dude, profound in his respective field. Never took him for AE 280 , but had him for AE 320 and the tests were fairly straightforward (all or nothing could either help or hurt you) made it easier for studying. Overall interesting reads in the textbook exploring Earth orbit transfers as well as interplanetary transfers.
Don't sweat this class, it isn't bad at all. He only changes the numbers on all his tests, so find some old tests and cram the day before each midterm. 50% is passing, so if you actually care about your career you won't have a problem. Only gripe is partial credit, super brutal on that. Just don't be half right I guess.
Plotkin is a good professor that explains in good detail the subject matter he is teaching. Pay attention during lecture, and follow along in the book and you'll learn. He goes at a good pace for learning, and will answer questions if you ask them (loud enough).
Decent Professor. His notes are actually kind of helpful but if you just understand the homework he assigns and the practice exam he gives you will get an A in the class.
Worst prof. Ive ever had at SDSU. Writes down horrible notes that dont make sense on a pad of paper during class. If you can take another prof I recommend it. His tests are hard and if you dont go to class you dont get the notes.
Such an easy A. Just study the hw and practice tests. His tests are very similar, he just changes the numbers.
Stay away from Plotkin! His lectures are useless and completely unhelpful. He copies down all of his notes before class instead of going over the concepts with the class. Exams are very difficult and he is extremely stingy with partial credit. He is an awful professor, you will have to teach yourself the material for this class. Take Chen instead
Plotkin is the worst professor I've ever had. The class is made up of 3 midterms and a final. Plotkin cannot teach to save his life, oh my lord. He writes his notes down on a notepad before class and his notes are illegible. The exams are pretty difficult and he is very harsh on partial credit. His grading is unfair and doesn't make any sense! :(
Worst Professor I have ever had. He does not accommodate for any circumstances, and does not meet for office hours to talk about your exam. Your grade is 100% exams.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
6%
Textbook Required
64%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.92 avg changeRatings by Course
280
5.0
(1)EM280
5.0
(1)AE320
4.0
(3)E280
3.1
(20)ENG280
3.1
(8)Difficulty by Course
AE340
5.0
AE304
5.0
AE301
4.5
ENGR295
4.0
AE280
3.7