2.0
Quality4.2
Difficulty33%
Would Retake131
Reviews33%
Would Retake
131
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
131 total ratings5
10
4
12
3
19
2
27
1
63
What Students Say
“Learned very little from him”
AMAT433 - 1.0 rating“Definitely a very niche lecturer”
MATH275 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
25%
Textbook Required
85%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.04 avg changeRatings by Course
AMAT413
4.0
(1)MATH377
4.0
(4)CALC251
3.5
(2)AMAT415
3.0
(3)DIFFERENTIALEQ
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
275
5.0
MATH251253
5.0
CALCU251
5.0
MATH311
5.0
DIFFERENTIALEQ
5.0
Reviews (130)
No Comments
I thought I enrolled in calculus. all I saw were DYSfunctions ...
No Comments
HOLY CRAP STAY AWAY!!
No Comments
No course plan, no definite dates on midterms and assigments. Makes it very hard for busy students to plan their schedule accordingly. Inability to answer student's questions. No enthusiasm what-so-ever. STAY AWAY!
this prof sucks!! he uses his "method" where he just changes the numbers during the question and just gets the approximate value. what a dipsh!t...i mean c'mon, if you're gonna teach, you might as well teach
You know its kinda hard to learn when your prof just talks into the board every class and changes random numbers to get the right answer. If your registered in his class and there are no other open classes wait till next semester.. its not worth it
Read between the lines, it's all As. I'd take a course with Larry again anytime.
Terrible, doesn't care about students at all and has even said that in class.
No Comments
Doesn't make sense, he just mutters into the board. Incredibly hard tests, he actually tells us he is trying to trick us. Hate him
What a complete jerk. Why the hell does U of C keep him on the payroll? No one deserves to be subject to this kind of torture, and it's proffs like him that put UC at #46 out of 46 Universities in Macleans. I learned nothing in this class. Even though I passed, I have nothing to show for it.
I took his class in F03 dam was he hard. But he curves his exam. Assignments was super hard. Final was super hard as well. STAY AWAY.
This prof is terrible. He berates you if you ask even a simpe question. The first day he told someone they should not be in the class and that they're high school background was weak because they had not memorized the cosine law.
His method of going over precalculus made it look like the hardest thing in the world. The rest of the course was alright -- good marks on quizzes -- and the midterm was fair. However, the final was remarkably cruel and unnecessarily difficult. Not recommended.
Final was extremely hard, but quizzes aren't so bad. Textbook didn't help a lot for the final, because it was just too hard. The good thing is he bell curve's his marks, I think a 70ish will give you a A or B+ in his class.
This prof moved that class along at a fairly good rate, as long as you are coming from a math background. If you struggled with Math31 his class will probably move too fast for you, and he seems annoyed when asked questions during a lecture as aposed to the tutorial.
This prof marks his exams pretty easy. He is very hard to understand in class, too smart for me.
Ridiclious prof. His method of teaching is painful, he's unclear and teaches things outside the curriculum. I dislike him so much, I drew a picture of what he would look like if he lost more hair and had scoliosis.
I am currently in his W05 class and I can't understand most of the stuff he writes on the board. One day he got very angry and said the F word when describing computer programmers who stay up till 3 in the morning drinking jolt cola and filling their programs with bugs. Mr Bates is insane.
He sucks
This guy could not explain arithmetic if you put a gun to his head. He sounds very angry. I think he is angry about the cruel joke his parents made when they named him.
He is super smart, too smart to regular students. He prefer hard exams, but fair for the final grade. If you think you are good on math, good on self-studying, he is the right person. Never feel frustrated during the course, even you mostly will.
bates is an awful teacher...he completely disregards his students' questions and appears annoyed constantly...honestly the hardest prof i've ever had...avoid him at all costs
On the true and false section of our midterm the question said "do not simply write T or F" I took that as show your work because space was provided. I showed my work but put the letters T+F in the spaces provided and he marked them wrong. When I went to see him about this he did nothing. His tests are very hard. He looks like Larry David.
Very bad professor, today he did 5 different topics in 75 mins period, i could not follow at all, and then he got stuck on this one problem and he pretends he knows it all. After that class i went home and switched to a different professor. And his name is funny ass hell, no wonder he's crazy.
Avoid this class at ALL costs. He is easily one of the worst profs at the University. In order to study for his Finals, you need to throw out HIS notes, and use your old Highschool Calc ones. He makes simple concepts we learned in HS so complex, you actually get dumber by taking his class.
The class is actually not supposed to be that difficult according to the outline and text. You SHOULD have at least taken linear algebra and calculus 3 and 4 to just keep up with him. An A+ in calc 1 & 2 + $600.00 for a private tutor = D. If you need this class drop out and change your program because you will not pass unless you are a genius.
This guys has got MAD skills and killer hair style. if you like math, you better love him, and if you hate math you better love him. you know what..he should be in the army man! rock on bates!
Bates isn't a bad professor, but he's not terribly good at teaching. I think he forgot that he was teaching a first year calculus course and so threw in a bunch of stuff that was too complicated for the class. His lectures are all right, although a bit confusing at times. The midterm was easy, but the final exam was impossible and ridiculous.
His stories are hilarious. But you've gotta follow along very closely during notes or you'll get lost for like the rest of the course. He teaches stuff thats a lot more complicated than students are required to know for the course. But he knows that and all the marks are scaled at the end so don't fret. If you don't know ASK! He's willing to help!
He is often harsh and sometimes has a convoluted way of explaining simple topics. He does, however, have good stories
what an idiot......
I was almost delayed for a whole year because of this course. i like the guy in person but the way he teachs is awfull... He assums 2 much , he treat us like we are graduate Mathmaticians the exams were ok and his grading is the best thing about him I got 6/10 on a quesiont that i completely answered wrong so don't take this cours with him...
If you want to cry yourself to sleep every night, he's the prof for you! His notes are NOT easy to understand, and he does not use the textbook at all. Lectures are a waste of time, and you'll walk away feeling frustrated, and having nothing. Switch to another prof while you can. I used to think Calc was easy, but not anymore. :'(
I used to love calc. He was intimidating. The only way to do good in that course was to have enough time on your hands to figure out what the heck his notes meant, and be lucky enough to find a TA willing to spend enough time with you. SWITCH OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!
He is an interesting speaker, a bit harsh, sometimes goes way off topic, but I never felt drowsy in his class. His assignments are pretty hard. Take home midterm and final but don't get too excited about that. He will help you out if you need it.
Pretty decent guy but not the best teacher. Notes are difficult to understand. Hard tests, hard assignments, but if you go see him, he'll do his best to make it clear for you. That's pretty much the only way to get a good grade in his class.
soooooooo useless - he blabbed about absolutley nothing that was on the final, a total waste of time!!!
He is like Einstein of Math. He writes fast and then chokes on the chalk dust. he erases the blackboard like theres no tomorrow. On my first say of classes he stared at us for 10 minuts and then just started writing on the board. His mind is above us. We're not worthy.
Bates goes off on so many tangents, erases the chalk board constantly, gets mad at us, but doesn't realize he's doing it, Tells us to look at the board even though we're already looking at it, makes things ridiculously more complicated and you won't learn a thing. Take my advice, enjoy the first class with him and laugh it up, then switch out!!!
not good
I think that Professor Bates makes the course harder then it should be. His tests are HARD. He tries to tell stories so that you remeber things, which is helpful for some. I am scared to ask questions because he can be intimaditing at times. He is a nice person but not the best teacher.
His tests have nothing to do with the lectures. Hard to follow where he is going with his ideas. His questions are pretty hard.
This prof is the worst prof you can have for math, his teaching skills are very poor and he thinks that we are all genius If your not a brilliant mathematician get out while you still can, his quiz,midterm and final are all hard, but curves them in the end
Get out now.
Terrible teacher, not worth going to class, very hard midterm and exam although it is curved in the end.
Talk about a way to kill your ego. Tests are hard, but curved, so as long as you show tons of work you'll do fine. Missing class is not optional, and if you want to get anything over a B, you better be a genius or go to every lab and tutorial. That being said, my TA couldn't do some of the questions he assigned. He is entertaining, though.
he is the worst prof i have ever had, i had a 88 % in high school, and came out of the class with the worst grade i have ever had, i recommend that anyone in his class switches classes.
Get out of his class now! You will do poorly, unless you are a mathematical genious. I had a 93% in high school and came out with a B, while students I was helping in other classes were getting A's. He is incomprehensible and a terrible teacher altogether.
I got a 95% in Math 31 in Highschool. I got a C plus in his class. He makes it really hard to learn. He gives examples that aren't part of the curriculum. I think i got 35% on the final yet i still passed somehow. The first question on the final was... Using Archimedes Rule figure out... Who the hell is Archamedes?
Seriously, he is THE WORST PROF EVER. I HATE HIS CLASS WITH A PASSION. It is the only class that I go in knowing stuff, then come out knowing nothing. He gives no examples and has an obsession with Archimedes. Last week, he yelled at us like it was our fault that everyone was doing bad. I think he hates the world. DO NOT ENROLL
This guy is fricking awesome. Pulled off an A+ in his class. Very interesting lectures. You get to learn about Archimedes, building cookie jars out of pentagons, and how pi was discovered, to new a few, and his a funny guy. I would definitely take another Bates class and i recommend you do too.
This guy is incredible. His jokes are hilarious, though sometimes bordering on inappropriateness, nevertheless, he makes every class extremely interesting. What else can I say about this man? Dr. Bates is a joy to have as a professor and I am so glad that I stayed in his lecture despite some of the rude comments made about him on this webpage.
He gave us a cheat sheet for the final, we thought heck yeah. Turns out his final was crazy hard and the sheet was useless. Unless you are willing to learn it on your own find another prof.
If Larry David was a math teacher, this is what it would look like.
SAVE YOUR LIFE.. AVOID RIGHT NOW OR ELSE.. YOU WILL REGRET EVERYTHING..EVERYTHING. Get out now when you can or else.. you're going to suffer MISERABLY.
Dr. Bates is the effing bomb. Dr. Len Bos Bowed out of teaching 413 a month before lectures. Furious. Convinced I would fail, FML. BUT, Dr. Bates listens to the class' needs, is incredibly fair, and passionate+knowledgeable about so much in the academic and practical world. I learned more from him than I did in the previous four years of my degree.
I checked him here before I went to his class, and I regret that I didn't trust the comments below. Which planet does he come from? I mean seriously, he post questions on sample final that you will never see on the final. I dropped together with almost half of the class. It's nothing about you are good at math or not,u dunno what he's doing.Dont.Dont.Dont!
Never take a class with Larry Mary Bates. Lectures were absolutely pointless, his method of teaching is to teach the hardest concepts the math can be used for. Like actually, takes the curriculum and teaches grad studies math to try to explain it. He made calculus absolutely incomprehensible for a 1st year course. tests and assignments ridiculous.
I am not exactly sure he knows we are a first year Math class. His lectures show no structure or quality of instruction. Truly a terrible professor. My favourite example of his ineptitude is when he is doing an example, gets the answer wrong, declares that the example must be wrong! Please, save yourself and run screaming the other way! Please!
AVOID him unless you plan on learning the material COMPLETELY BY YOURSELF. He NEVER teaches what we actually need to know for exams, and spends every lecture telling bad jokes and constantly makes random historical references. His notes make NO sense and you can never tell where he's going with his ideas. Also, he completely WORSHIPS Archimedes.
He is DELUSIONAL about the level of his MATH 251 students. He spends lectures doing INSANELY HARD proofs that you have likely NEVER HEARD OF and will likely NEVER NEED TO KNOW. He tells us to SAVE TIME by computing a theorem/formula ALGEBRAICALLY instead of MEMORIZING them (takes twice as long). He NEVER does examples that will help on exams.
I really do "enjoy" Larry's lectures. They're entertaining and all. The downside is you don't learn a single useful thing while in attendance. The lectures are strictly good for mathematical inspiration. As everyone says this guy raves about archimedes. I basically quit going to class and now teach myself with the textbook. Not that fun.
Tests are ridiculously hard and have NOTHING to do with the lectures, so there really is no way to prepare for them, which is great news because tests are the only things you get marks from in his course. Unless you already know everything there is to know about calculus I strongly urge you to take MATH251 with any other teacher.
AWESOME.
Worst Prof Ever!!!
This guy is awful! His quizzes are hard and don't make sense! His notes are useless he never actually shows you how to solve anything! I just wrote the final with was so hard and pointless! Never take this guy!! I wish I would have looked him up before entering the class be because I would have changed profs.
He definitely knows what he's talking about but.. can't quite communicate it clearly for students. Tests/Midterm are fair. Just wrote the final, most of the questions were fair. Overall, don't listen to him, you'll probably be more confused. But if you study when you need to, you should be fine.
Nice guy and will try to help if you ask, but doesn not know how to pass on concepts. Really hard quizes (2 questions each) midterm terrible (4 questions). DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU ALREADY KNOW THE MATERIAL!
Do you want to pass your Math class, which is a requirement? Do you want to make a good GPA? Do you want to enjoy your math class if you love math? Do you want to praise yourself instead of cursing for taking a stupid prof? If you answered YES to all of these questions, DO NOT, AND I MEAN DO NOT TAKE THIS PROF!!!
Dear GOD! All my friends are explaining hoe each their calc class is and i cant even understand him! Waiting to drop out...
He's actually really good. Just listen to what he says and try some practice probs from the txt and you'll be fine. =)
As it has been said, this is not the professor to take if math isn't your strongest subject. I did very well in high school math and could barely keep up, some of his explanations are extremely complicated. However, he is a nice person, he will answer your questions and try to help you understand if you ask. Good stories and jokes as well!
If you are considering taking his class, stop reading this and choose another before they fill up. That being said, if you end up in his class due to an unfourtunate situation, don't panick, there are no assignments, do the practice reviews and try to avoid suicide. He sucks, but if your stuck with him, man up and you will pass. Barely
Best calc teacher ever. I know many will complain about his roundabout way of teaching and his tests, but they are fair if you copy his notes and do the practice quizzes/problems given. He is very enthusiastic about math, knows more than he can possibly share, and once you catch on to the fact there is a method to his madness, your left speechless.
He does make the lectures interesting as well as clarify some confusing stuff in the textbook, but his teaching is very abstract. If you a straightforward learner when it comes to Math, you will struggle in his class. Taking good notes as well as practicing the practice questions are the keys of doing well in this class.
switch if you are unable to dedicate time to study for this class. his notes are too complicated than the topic actually is. better off with the textbook. math was my best subject in highschool but when i'm in his class, i feel like i'm a language class or something.
No assignments, only quizzes and tests actually makes this class easy to pass if you do the work. I never did, but have managed to pass everything anyways. Lecture material tough to follow at first, but once you let it sit, it starts to make some sense. Going to the tutorials really helps as well. I'd gladly take another class with him.
He is a very enthusiastic and entertaining prof to have, however it is sometimes hard to follow him in class. If CALC 251 is your requirement, and is the last math coarse you will ever take, then take him. There is not much work(quizzes/midterms are easy, final gets a little harder), and what you already know form high-school will do you just fine!
This class was HARD! However, he is not such a hard marker considering how incredibly difficult he made the tests.
I took calculus in highschool and had no problem understanding the material and doing extremely well. After taking his class I understood less calculus than I did going in. His lectures are abstract and confusing and if you ask him a question he is unhelpful and condescending. Beware the final - half is proving archemedes theorems.
Very boring. Hard to understand. Was not help. Loved to do theory, and not much calculation stuff. Loves talking about his projects he does. Ended up dropping the class after.
Brutal Prof.
Bates is the BOMB! Sure he might be a little ecentric in his teaching ways, bu once you go home and actually review what he covered in lecture it seems to make sense. Great guy kinda strange but really nice and approachable. Only thing that bothered me was his obsession with Archimedes, but it adds humor and excitement to an otherwise full class.
Very entertaining lectures, but notes are very challenging to understand fully. Needs to work on emphasis on the important theorems and more practical examples. Approachable when you ask for help, but make sure you know what to ask. Knows his stuff and is very excited to teach, but misses the mark on the execution.
Absolute worst prof I have had at the university. Talks in circles and teaches theorems and not concepts of calculus. AVOID at all costs.
This guy is utter useless.I had to teach myself the whole course.My 0.02 Never go full Bates!!
This guy has no idea about syllabus.Waste of time overall.Don't take his class,because exam will not be from material in syllabus or notes.
Worst prof i have had at U of C this far. Doesn't follow his syllabus, assignments are extremely hard, learn next to nothing from lecture. Pals who have taken other profs for this class say it isn't that bad. I am an AMAT major and have no idea what is going on. Got A's in Calc I & II. He expects that you know WAY more than you should.. ridiculous
Very funny and nice guy. Just doesn't know how to teach. Expects tons of background knowledge and does examples to inspire you to be interested in math so you go practice it rather than helping you learn it so you understand it.
Awful Professor. Arguably the worst at the University of Calgary. You learn nothing in his lectures so be prepared to learn almost entirely from the textbook. Only assigned 3 assignments all term out of the agreed 6 and those assignments are incredibly hard. Avoid at all costs.
Lectures are incredibly interesting, but he has a hard time teaching it to some. His style is different than most profs, but is fair as long as the class communicates with him. In hindsight, assignments were a pain but taught you more than anything else since nobody has the time to actually practice outside of class.
If you are undergrad, yes his stuff can be very challenging and he is not really approachable. Once you are in grad school, he is a very cool guy! his courses are still difficult but he makes them interesting. I love Dr Bates.
Never going back to his lecture again. Most of his material doesn't cover any of the textbook and did not help for the online assignments. Try going to other lectures from different professors, before your mark drops.
Ah, Bates... Definitely a very niche lecturer. You have to actually be interested in CALCULUS to enjoy this class, not just there to learn how to do the problems. He is very in depth in the theory, and seriously animated when he talks, so it's always a fun (yet a bit intimidating) time.
Assumes you know absolutely everything from previous math courses. Lectures are not organized, goes through topics really fast. If you are really good at math, I think he'd be a good prof but if you are average at math, he is really hard to follow. Learned very little from him.
Terrible professor, cannot understand the language he's talking.
While Bates is ... eccentric he is super passionate and genuinely wants you to succeed. He WILL extract his pound of flesh from you by grading you quite hard but it's for your benefit as if you can do the assignments you WILL ace his examsprojects. And you have the option of taking the final or doing a term project!
Dr. Bates is a fantastic lecturer, but be prepared to be at your sharpest when attending his lecture. His lectures are fast-paced and interesting. While he could spend more time on the explicit content of the course and going through examples, that would cut into his best quality, which is adding context (history & art) to the mathematics we learn!
He always goes on random tangents. Dosent teach anything. Switch elsabrouty
Professor Bates is by far and away THE WORST professor I have ever had to deal with in 5 years of post secondary education. His lectures are irrelevant and you're probably better off not going to class since he'll only confuse you more. Switch out of his section if you can.
His lectures are skippable, but absolutely hilarious and will teach you more than one thing about the history of mathematics. He's almost sort of computer-illiterate were it not for the fact that he's smart and uses a Linux-derived OS. Extremely helpful on a personal level, just set aside an hour for any personal help. Hilarious!
Usually off topic and does not teach curriculum. Be prepared to teach yourself.
Professor Bates is a very oddball teacher. He often wastes 15-20 minutes of lecture time telling you completely pointless stories that do little at all to enhance your knowledge of the course material. He Explains things very poorly and expects you to know everything. If you have him, make sure to swap to Elsabrouty's lecture instead!!!!
Not a very good prof. If I could I would change my schedule completely to get someone else. During lectures, he oftentimes goes off on tangents and it's hard to understand what he's talking about, so they're not very helpful. He tries teaching through theorems, and putting them in practice is very difficult. Would not recommend.
I first hated this prof, and it's a hard course, but he's cheerful and funny. Makes the class easier to get through. I've had to take this class 3 times even though there are no tests, no midterms and no exams, but his assignments are HARD. Like AF. You need to understand material thoroughly to do them. No online notes, all done on chalkboa
Larry was easily the worst instructor I have ever had in my life. He jumped all over the place with his lectures and taught things that weren't relevant to the course. He rarely knew what we were being tested on and continually confused students. I came into this class with a clear understanding of calculus and he has only made it worse.
literally the worst Prof i had and will probably ever have. He's actually trash. Very unfair that other students gets great profs like Elsabrouty and actually learn calculus while some pay the same money and dont. If you get him for any courses, either switch out of that class or switch out of that entire block if you're in first year engineering.
Made me more confused about the material than I was before the class
If you can switch profs do it.
If you have a really good understanding on calculus from a previous course, you can get by in his class. But honestly though, if you want a decent grade I strongly recommend attending Elsabrouty's class. Because Bates goes off on tangents, and there are only online assignments. Also, the textbook is quite helpful.
This course is a little abstract just because there are no exams, we write an essay instead. The prof likes to go on tangents often but he cares about making sure we understand everything that we should have learned up to this point in our lives. He really cares about his students but can be a bit rude sometimes, which was no problem for me.
Bates was an amazing prof, he taught the class well by using challenging problems and theorems. His lectures are difficult to understand because of the types of problems he chooses but they are super interesting; combined with his amazing humour it makes for great lectures. If you like challenging interesting problems Bates is the prof for you!
LOL Bates is hilarious, I can understand why some people don't like his teaching style (becuase he makes you actually work) but I enjoy his lectures.
Definitely the most useless professor I have ever had. Never learned anything useful in his class. He talks about the most useless stuff you can ever imagine, and doesn't know how to teach at all.
Terrible Prof
Honestly, if you're not someone who has time to research, and do challenging work on your own, Bates is not the guys for you. He's a decent enough guy, but fails as a prof. We'd be going over review, things I'd already learned, and understood from previous math courses and he'd somehow manage to confuse me. Just a completely awful experience.
I enjoyed his class, but the previous comment is true. Dr. Bates spends a lot of class time talking about things that he thinks are interesting rather than the course material. His stories are interesting but it means you have to learn on your own. Other than that he's great, tests were straightforward and we were allowed cheat sheet on the final.
Most of the course material is from high school calculus but there is a handful of new material that he made very difficult to understand. You have to teach yourself as he is not helpful and goes on random tangents frequently. This course is not hard itself so take it with any other prof. Attendance in his class went from 200+ to less than 40.
Dr. Bates was the first calculus prof I've had that taught the underlying concepts in math, and not just how to do them. I learned a lot on this class, and although he does spend a lot of time rambling in class I still understood lots. Assignments and the practice questions are quite difficult, but the tests are straightforward.
Made me question all the concepts I knew well. Avoid at all costs.
Great professor, he will show you why the mathematics works instead of just telling you what to do. You do need to study on your own though, otherwise nothing will make sense.
All his lectures do is confuse you about topics you already know. The only reason I didnt fail was because the other profs for the class posted their notes online.
He's a funny guy, but he goes on a lot of tangents. If you like calculus, you'll probably like his classes. On the downside, grading took forever and the entire course was graded on 3 assignments and a term paper. Overall a good experience though
He like to demonstrate the inner workings of math, which is good for people who like math. However, his approach isn't systematic, which makes it often confusing and hard to follow.
Avoid getting into his class at all costs.
Well lets just say, I didn't attend a single lecture because the online slides from a different prof were better at instructing.
ahh Larry is a great human, but as a prof i didn't like him so much. If you want to take this class make friends and work together. Larry helps out if you ask him and you will benefit from going to his office hours just not to his class. 50% paper wasnt too bad, he gives you feedback if you ask for it. Overall not the worst class, but not the best
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
25%
Textbook Required
85%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.04 avg changeRatings by Course
AMAT413
4.0
(1)MATH377
4.0
(4)CALC251
3.5
(2)AMAT415
3.0
(3)DIFFERENTIALEQ
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
275
5.0
MATH251253
5.0
CALCU251
5.0
MATH311
5.0
DIFFERENTIALEQ
5.0