The lectures are very clear, and her work on the board is very clear and understandable. She has a somewhat thick Russian accent, but you can still understand her. Her quizzes haven't been the easiest, but she teaches the material well. Friendly.

I agree, the questions on her tests are not trivial, but at least she's a very clear lecturere. She really spells everything out for you, but she also expects a lot on tests.

I don't know why people say her tests and quizzes are difficult. I find it quite easy if you do tons of problems to solidify your understanding. The only funky part about the grading is that most of her quiz has only 2 questions so it's hit or miss.

This teacher rules! She is a very good teacher and is easy to understand. Her quizzes really aren't that hard at all... definitely can do fine w/o studying for them. Lecture goes by fast and she is very very funny in her own way.

Very amusing sense of humor, partially due to her strong Russian accent and her personification of mathematical concepts ("do not discriminate against e, it has a right to exist"). Lectures move very fast, but she explains topics clearly and ef

Wow, 1st teacher I've had in years who has managed to bring the fun back into math. If you have to take 1B, take it w/her! Full of youthful energy. Passionate about teaching math. Has more energy than I do by the end of the day. Likes to play with doll.

She teaches really well. But it's graded on an absolute scale, not a curve.

awesome grandma-type lady, cute accent, good sense of humor, knows her math, great at explaining difficult problems, gives "cookbook recipe" solution methods, easy tests

her tests are very accurate with the material she covers. accent may be a prob at times but her explanations are clear once u get past that

She's an excellent professor and I like her personality. Her quizzes and tests correlate with her lectures. But I think what made the class hard was the time limits on the quizzes and tests. And the way the questions are graded is either a hit or miss.

Very organized, funny lady. Quizzes and tests were easy as long as you did the "Ratner problems" on the hw. No proofs, just a bunch of problems. She's very passionate about math and teaching. Oh and convergence/divergence. yeah

She's the harshest grader ever...no curves. It would be really hard to get an A in her class. But her lectures are awesome.

Without a doubt, the best math teacher I have ever had. I actually learn the material during lectures! The quizzes can be harsh, (if you make a little mistake on a quiz, you'll probably get 20/30 or less) but it's all good. She's great!

nice professor:)

Very fun and entertain. knows what she is doing and loves doing it.

The material is hard, but she is so nice. I love her lectures, but I just wish the grading was easier.

She is very funny and a great lecturer. Really wants her students to learn the math. Grades on an absolute scale!

Really good lecturer, but very difficult material. She is not easy, but fair. If you have to take Math 1B, do it with her.

I came out of this class with a great respect for math, and for the professor. Prof Ratner is one of the rare group of profs who teach with passion and zeal, but make no mistake: her class is difficult. You better keep up, or sink. But no matter what, you'll come out knowing SO MUCH MORE!

I learned a lot in this class, but oh man, the grading is EVIL. She takes off 6 points for any "high school mistake" and 4 for any "due to math1a" keeping in mind that a lot of questions on midterm are 10pts, this is really harsh. Quizzes and midterms in general are very hit or miss.

She controls all the sections, writes all qizzes and MTs. The same material is lectured on in both lecture and in section by the GSIs so you get same lecture with 2 view points. Tells you what type and how many questions will be on quizzes/mt. Pulls questions straight from notes and hw for mt.

Ratner is a really, really small cute Russian lady, but one tough prof. You can't study for exams simply from the book, b/c her problems are usually A LOT harder. Her strict disciplinarian style keeps her very organized and on top of things. I think the curve is so tough simply to keep the reputation of math 1b being one of the toughest classes.

No Curve, Midterms are hard, but managable even if you do the hw. Final is tough, no doubt about it. She has instated a grading policy in which a consortium of different mistakes (forgotten limit signs, a missed negative sign) can cost you BIG points. Ex. avg on first midterm was 30/60. As well, the day of the first exam was the drop decline.

There's no doubt in my mind that she's one of the best professors on campus for math. There's no curve, but 85% is still an A. For once I did not need to study the book to understand the materials, her lecture notes were just perfect. She tells you what'll be on the quizzes, making hem so easy to do. If you study your notes, you can do great on MTs

Try not to make any "high school mistakes" on midterms because she lookes very closely on those and it's true, if you're taking this class, you should know the basic rules and how to appy them. Her final is definitely very challenging, and there's no curve, but as long as you GO TO ALL of her LECTURES and study her notes A LOT, you'll do very well!

this class lives up to its reputation as being one of the hardest and most failed classes on campus. Her problems are unbelievable difficult on the 1st midterm for integration. her quizzes are tough but somewhat managable. 2nd midterm was not as bad but still needed alot of studying. The final was unbelievable but with much studying, i did fine.

Professor Ratner is one of the best teachers I've ever had. She was very clear and everything about her class was very well thought out. Her homeworks really helped you learn, and class was always exciting. On the other hand, this class was ridiculously hard. You don't take upper-div H math classes for the ease, though.

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Don't let her cute, grandmalike appearance deceive you; her class is really hard! However, if you really want to learn, take her class, because she's an excellent professor. Watch out for the final though, it's much harder than either of the two midterms.

professor ratner is the best! she teaches so clearly and makes solving problems so much easier. and she tells you what is on all the quizzes and midterms. the quizzes are relatively easy. the midterms weren't hard at all. you just have to make sure you do problems from the review sheet she gives you. and pay attention in section. it helps so much.

Final was very difficult. Her lectures are kinda fun because she has a bit of a sense of humor. Really expects you to know the basics from 1A before you go into this class. If you make stupid mistakes on test questions, she takes off a lot of points. Despite all this, I thought she was a good teacher.

Her lectures are really helpful, you'll never have to use additional material because she teaches you everything you need to learn. Her midterms and final are really difficult but she gives you plenty of problems to review before each. She expects you to know the basics and will take off lots of points on midterms for stupid mistakes.

If you've never taken AP Calc in high school prepare to be challenged. Homework assignments in the Stewart text bare no resemblence to the midterms or finals. The midterm and final problems are MUCH MUCH harder. However, she is a great lecturer and funny.

ratner often says in her class, "be direct, be straightforward." That is her class. The material and problems may be tough, but if you practice doing them, you get a feel. don't be intimidated. she is very straightforward and won't give you anything that you hvaen't seen before either in review sheet. just practice, this is coming from a math sucke

This class is very, very challenging every for students who come from a full year of AP calculus and Math 1A. Ratner is brilliant and hilarious. You will learn and suffer lots in this class, and the ride is worth the hard work in my take.

Good teacher, fair tests, except for the final which was a step above the midterm. And what is up with the grading system? Like your grade is 40% midterms, 40% final, and 30% quizzes. And if you get the wrong answer for some stupid little mistake, but know all the concepts, you still lose a lot of points.

I would go to class because it was a comedy show. I laughed a lot, and she is very pleasant. Explains the material clearly. Helped me develop a more intuitive understanding of the material, which I like. The class requires some studying to get an A.

i liked her teaching style. coupled with the fact that i had a good gsi, i understood the material in class very well. i liked how she gave lots of examples in class. tests were fair

Ratner is an excellent teacher, always very clear and funny at times. She grades extremely strictly but it's good for you, she challenges you to excel and that's what most of us did. One of the elite at Cal...don't wimp out and skip her just because she's too hard.

She's awesome. Lecture was a blast... she's smart, accomplished, a great professor and there's only on drawback: no curve! She's pretty crazy when it comes to grading, but if you alreay are okay with the material, are good at math, or learn quickly and memorize well, take this class!

Her class is definitely hard, but she is amazing professor. Her midterms aren't bad if you know the material and do the review, finals harder. Go to lecture, once you're used to her accent it's like a show. Go to office hours, she is extremely helpful and will answer all your questions. Try to get a good/nice GSI, it really affects your quiz grade.

Incredible teacher. She knows the material extremely well. Her lectures are crystal clear and memorized (she uses no notes!). She is very nice and approachable at office hours. She is strict with her grading but at the same time very fair. She's not an easy A, but she's fair so if you deserve and A you get an A... if you don't you don't.

very nice lady. all smiles in class. MTs are okay. But that final was HARD! must have a good G.SI

Ratner is my favorite math professor to date. She holds students to a high standard, but her lectures are so perfect that a textbook is barely necessary. 104 with her was very difficult, though. I probably could have gotten a better grade with a different professor, but I definitely would not have learned nearly as much as I did!

math vun b. Stewart hw problems are easy but she includes a few of her own that are much harder. weekly quiz is usually pretty fair, but midterms are def hard. she will be the hardest professor at the 1b level, but you will learn more for it, if u want to really work for the A take her if not take one of the other professors,

Amazingly dedicated teacher. Demanding, but very clear and fair. Her accent and jokes make this class a fun one for some, while her accent the material makes it terrible for others.

If you can get past the Russian accent, as well as some difficult work, Ratner is a great professor. She teaches mostly through example problems, and commonly her examples appear in the homework and on the exams. She is also very nice, funny, and extremely intelligent!

Okay, first thing is that Ratner is hard, she will challenge you for sure. She revolves around knowing the "tricks," but her tests are fair because she expects you to study hard. DO YOUR HOMEWORK and don't expect to get an A in this class, though it's possible. She is the best lecturer I have ever had, and that's what makes her class so great.

This is the best math teacher I've ever had. Never needed to touch the book, her lectures were crystal clear. No curve, but if you got an A in 1A you should do fine provided you go to all the lectures/discussions, do & understand all the homework and all the review she provides. She even says exactly what will be on quizzes/tests ahead of time.

There's a lot of hype circulating around that she's ridiculously hard. THIS IS NOT TRUE. If you do all the homework and the review sheets you'll do just fine. Some questions on exams come straight from HW or review sheets, and she even tells you what types of problems will be on the tests.

Prof. Ratner is the BEST math teacher I've had in my life. People thinks she's hard, but the truth is, she does expect a lot from her students only because she has given you every resource to meet up to that expectation. if you do all the homework, go to lecture, and study her packages, i can't believe you can't get an A

She is seriously the best math teach I've every had in my life! Trust me, I've had a few awesome math teachers. She is so adorable! All the things she says, they're hilarious. You can tell that she tries very hard for you to understand. Her lectures are so clear and detailed. I HIGHLY recommend her! Fav class! That's something for a math class :D

Take this class if seeking Engineering or Hard Sciences. Very clear. Best math teacher I have ever had. Go to her lectures - shes funny and has a great accent. Get an A in this class by understanding all extra homework problems, midterm reviews, and quizzes. Very Structured and "straight forward".

Professor Ratner is seriously the best professor I have had in my three years at Berkeley. The way she so elegantly and beautifully presents the mathematics is hard to find at Berkeley. This was, however, by far the hardest class I have ever taken and will probably be my lowest grade, but the amount the I learned more than compensates.

She is an amazing lecturer once you get passed the Russian accent. Best one I had so far. Was really lucky since other professors I've seen really suck. Class was really hard; you have to really understand the material to pass the class. Do extra problems to practice, especially HER problems because those will be on the test if not harder.

She doesn't curve grades. She has no problem failing people who do slightly worse than the average. As an NCAA athlete I had a competition conflict w/ midterm -she refused to work with me on it. Team was depending on me to come but she said she would fail me. Administrators from math and athletic dept. tried to go over her head but to no avail.

Ratner is pretty awesome. She's got theorems named after her and everything. Great lecturer with a cool Russian accent. The midterms weren't too bad, but the final was so ridiculously hard that it was almost funny. Pretty great class.

hardest class ever. difficult teacher but you learn a lot if you take the time and effort. she's amazing, with her own theorems and whatnot. do all extra problems, go to office hours, NEVER miss lecture and you'll be solving problems no one else can solve. final IS conquerable even though it was ridiculously hard. take this class with an easy load

Ratner is a wonderful professor; you never need to touch the textbook. But, her class is pretty hard. The midterms are manageable, but the final is RIDICULOUS- I have never had a final that hard that I have tanked so badly. Only take this class if you are really good at calculus or are prepared to have your GPA lowered.

She is by far the BEST math teacher ever. I absolutely loved her class. She made everything perfectly clear. her midterms were easy and based on practice problems. her final was harder but doable if you did all the practice problems. work hard and you can get an A and learn a lot! Im' going to miss her class!

Best math teacher I will ever have. She truly understands how to teach math. She doesn't throw a bunch of random, irrelevant material at you; she proves the theorems then does examples. Her midterm problems and final problems come STRAIGHT from the extra problems she gives you. I went to EVERY lecture. Yeah, she's that good.

She's not that hard if you just remember every example and every homework problem. She's a joy to take, you'll know exactly what's on the tests before you get them. She standardizes all GSI sections so you don't have to worry about getting a hard/bad GSI. Tests aren't curved but since you know what's on it before hand, you can get an A

I don't really like math all that much but Professor Ratner is truly a math genius. She definitely knows what she is doing and if you go to lecture and pay attention you will too! Granted the class material is quite difficult. She has a great sense of humor and it's easy to pay attention to her.

Excellent professor, sometimes her accent is a little hard to work around, but she genuinely cares about her students. She tells you what is on her tests and quizzes, and the homeworks are not unreasonable. A joy to have her lecture

Great teacher. Her accent is a little strong, but it's decipherable and it's math anyways not English. She teaches clearly, but challenges the students. Definitely not the easiest teacher for math 1b though

Extremely enjoyable and helpful lectures. Sections with GSI were very well organized and purposeful. She thought that the second midterm was too easy and gave us a final of enormous difficulty. It was a painful way to end the semester, but I still rate her highly. Prepare for weekly quizzes and long problem sets. Do them!

The best math professor I've had at Cal. Her midterms aren't bad, but her final is extremely difficult. Don't let her accent intimidate you from taking the class. She's not that hard to understand, and she really knows how to teach Calculus!

Study well ahead of time. It's over if you get behind in class.

She is literally the best prof I have ever had class with! She made everything so clear and although intimidating, she wants you to grasp the essential ideas. Too bad she's retiring soon... Hope more people could enjoy her class! FYI, she does NOT curve so... despite a 50% average on MT, 88% is an A. :(

Clear power points and lots of in class opportunities to apply the material. It's a difficult class but it's worth it