Luna, George  

Mathematics

1.64/4.00

70 evaluations


MATH 117


Junior
Withdrawn
Required (Support)
Feb 2000
Dr. Luna is definately an HP fanatic. All the students in my class, however, have TIs and are somewhat lost when he demonstrates how to do certain problems on his HP. He only has ten quizzes and a final exam to grade his students by and this sucks. He doesn't grade homework ("due to budget restrictions") or give partial credit on quizzes--even on problems that take several steps. Dr. Luna may be an excellent teacher for higher math courses, but does not relate the material adequately for students in 117.

MATH 141


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Dr. Luna does use an HP calculator extensively. This is one of the best calculators on the market, so it's good thing to learn. Dr. Luna tries to do more than just lecture. When explaining new material, he'll ask the class from time to time if they have questions or if there is something they don't understand. Most people in my class never spoke up, though. He also makes himself avaliable for help almost constantly. He has extensive office hours every week in which he welcomes students to come and ask questions. Another way to get help is to email him with your questions. He'll respond quickly. I really like Dr. Luna because of this. You can always get help if you ask for it. Many people in my 141 class and especially in my 142 class now complain about him being too hard and that he makes it not fair by only having questions on quizzes that you can solve with an HP. I just want to say to all of those people: START LEARNING!!! Don't gripe all day. All his questions on his quizzes can be done without the aid of the HP. I have an HP and another graphing calculator. I can do all the work nessesary by hand and with simple calculations. I've done well on all the quizzes and can do all the problems without the HP. The people that say you have to have one are wrong. These people that complain just aren't prepared enough. I hate it when people bag on a teacher when they simply aren't prepared. Dr. Luna is an EXCELLENT TEACHER in my mind. He makes you think. He is tough, but aren't you at college to learn? I wish the people in his class that complain all the time would get a clue and recognize that they have a very good professor that actually cares about the students. If you want to actually understand Calculus and get a good grip on it, I suggest Dr. Luna.


Freshman
D
Required (Support)
Feb 2001
This class put a bad taste in my mouth. I thought all math teachers were like this but I am glad they are not. I hope for eveyone else's sake that Dr luna retires soon. he only teaches from the calculator and the computer. Concepts are not important. DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY.


Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Feb 2001
IF I had an Hp I would have been ok but I did not and I was lost the WHOLE quarter. I would definitely not recommend him to anyone.


Freshman
B
Elective
Feb 2001
The only way I did well in this class was because I used an HP 48 through high scool. You need to get one for this class. If you don't, you will most likely fail. His tests are curved which is good but other than that I learned NOTHING!


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
I took this same class in high school just six months earlier where I got an A. When I took Dr. Luna, I got a C only because I studied my butt off. I can only reccommend that you don't take him.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
I heard the warnings about Dr. Luna and I still had to take him because I was 12th priority. I took it CR/NC thinking it would be best. What a waste! I never had better than a D through the whole quarter.

MATH 142


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
1. GET AN HP NOW. Luna is a major HP fanatic. He solves most of the HW and in class problems on his HP. If you don't know how to use one, don't worry, Luna has no objections to teaching you. . .even during class time. 2. As far as MAPLE goes, if you are a beginner, don't worry with some practice, Luna will terach you how to use it. I never had my own copy, but just learned from the lab. There is usually one lab section a week in his class. It would be to your advantage to grab a copy of the student release of MAPLE and become familiar with it because he lets you use it on the final. HOWEVER IF YOU DONT KNOW MAPLE, DON'T WORRY, YOU CAN LEARN IT IN LAB. 3. NO MIDTERMS!!!!!! This is a major plus. You grade in this class will be based on 10 weekly homework quizes (you worst is dropped)and the final. The quizes are straight from the homework. Use of an HP on all the quizes is a must, it simplifies them immensly. The only concern in this class is thata you must keep up on the homework, however it is not collected. 4. My only gripe is that Luna only assigns even problems in the text. However, he alsways shows you how to solve a problem on your calculator so it is expected that that is how you will check your answers. 5. Luna is an excellent professor if you are a student who is willing to ask him questions and willing to learn how to use the HP. He is always willing to answer any questions.


Sophomore
Withdrawn
Required (Support)
Feb 2001
I have had two math proffessors at Cal Poly. I thought the first one was bad. NO WAY compared to Dr. Luna. The only good thing about his class is that he curves it, so Ive heard because I didnt finish the course. I dont recommend him to anyone.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Support)
Aug 2001
What is MAPLE?


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Nov 2002
Luna's a good guy that teaches pretty well and gives really easy quizzes with no midterms. I definitely recmmend him.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Dec 2002
Luna is a good prof. His class is interesting because calculators are used along with computer programs. I like having a quiz every week and homework due 3 times a week, this makes you keep up with the material. Take him if you would like something a little different than the majority of cal polys math profs.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Jan 2003
Luna is a funny guy. He knows what he is talking about, and he really loves the material. Sometimes he is a little difficult to follow, and a little boring, but if you get through it, its fine. There is a quiz every week, and you drop the lowest one. These are pretty easy, you can use your calculator on most of them. There's homework every night, but it wasn't too bad. The final is pretty easy if you have a general understanding of everything. If you are semi-intelligent you should do fine.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Feb 2003
OK, this guy has no style. He always has pit stains and something looming in his nostril. He's a great teacher though! Take him at all costs! He was the best math teacher I have ever had. A lot of work, but a lot of gain. He really likes purple.


Sophomore
F
Required (Support)
Jul 2003
Luna puts far too much emphasis on out of class learning IMO and spend too much time doing problems rather than explaining concepts. I didn't like his class, but he knows his stuff, just not how to teach it well. Since he gives no partial credit in class, he gets none here.

MATH 143


Freshman
Withdrawn
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Luna did not fail me, but I'm glad I got out before he could! If all I had to do was learn Math 143, I'd be ok. But he made us learn to use an HP48G calculator that I didn't even have the slightest idea how to use, and on top of that, he made us try to learn another program called Maple V. If you can use either of these, go for it. If you haven't even heard of them, I highly recommend taking a different math teacher. I know I won't be the last person to call him an HP LUNAtic.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Aug 1999
Luna is the Engineers Mathamitician. He teaches you how to solve problems efficently and deals with as much of the aplication of math as he can.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2000
Overall Dr. Luna is not that bad. If you do the homework, you will be able to do well in the class. You take 10 quizes and a final. He does not collect the homework, but the problems on the quizes and the final come straight from the problems that he gives for the homework. If you know how to use your calculator and have prior experience with Maple, the class becomes extremely easy. With this, however, I came across my only major problem in that there was no partial credit on the quizes or final. To help this out though he does curve the grades.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
Yeah, Luna, the computer guy. I actually enjoyed this course, and I dislike math. Luna focuses less on number punching busywork, and more on how the math can be applied. He figures that any descent calculator or computer can do all the math for you, but if you don't know why or how the math works- its usless. My advise to you is to get really good with Maple (the computer program), I never bought the HP calculator, and did fine. As long as you know maple, and pay attention in class, you will do fine. Good luck.


Sophomore
F
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
This guy bites. Most everything said previously about Luna's use of the HP and Maple are true. I won't recommend you to learn maple and the hp as fast as you can cause its very difficult(almost impossible?). I tried to before i took his class but its harder than it sounds. Being a TI user i had a hard time finding different functions. Luna likes to show how to compute problems through a HP emulator which he shows on the overhead. However, he presses all the buttons so quickly its impossible to follow. So you're left there wondering what the fuck just happened. Maple is alright. But once again, if youre not familiar its easy to make syntax errors and your shit wont compile or will come out wrong. The quizes are dumb too. No partial credit what so ever. It's either hit or miss. My friend and I studied all night before quizes and the best we could do is get C's. I never got 0's on quizes in my life but Luna makes the impossible possible. He doesn't explain things as clearly as one would like. The tone of the class was go home, learn the shit yourself(if you could), do the homework and then I'll babble incoherently for 50 minutes. No direction. The best analogy i can make is that of a train ride staright to hell. Once you get that initial feeling of being lost it increases exponentially because Luna stops for no one. Do yourself a favor, if you're stuck with this guy wait another quarter, it's not worth your GPA dropping a shitload. peace out


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
Dr. Luna has got a bad rap from people who don't understand how to use technology. If you think that you'll be going out in the workplace and finding out how to solve for a solution you need by hand, find another teacher. Luna expects you to learn how to use Maple and a calculator. You do not have to have an HP calculator. If you take your weekly quizzes in the math lab, you will be able to do your work on maple, but just because he expects you to get an answer to 4 decimal points, doesn't mean you can't learn how to solve it by hand. Most people knock Luna, because they do bad on the quizzes. These same people also have to tell you that they didn't do the homework, and they didn't try to learn Maple. If you have problems, all you have to do is go talk to him in his office hours. Luna has to be one of the most approachable teachers around.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Apr 2001
What a bunch of whiners! How can you screw up the algebra with a calculator or Maple? Why aren't you checking your answers like he tells us? You can do everything without an HP but you got to get it right.


Freshman
D
Required (Support)
Dec 2001
NO NO NO NO....... if had to sum up his class in 4 words that's what i'd say. That pretty much sums up his class. It's a maple oriented class, so it doesn't help you if you do'nt konw what you're doin. His class is teaching you how to use the computer to computer series and sums so when coming to a problem that he doesn't show you how todo in class, youi're pretty much screwed cuz he doesn't show you how to do it for that kinda problem so it's pretty much just use you're calculator or the compute rna dhope that you get a right answer. Personally I've had good and bad math teachers, but I must say, he's prolly the worst.


Freshman
D
Required (Support)
Jan 2002
Ok, first off he teaches you this very cool prgram called Maple, the only problem was he did it while teaching us calculus, so I didnt learn either of them very well. My main gripe is that he assigns homework, does not collect it, does not go over it, and he assigns only even problems. If you need motivation (like a credit) for doing your homework like I do, then dont take him. I am currently retakin the class with KATO who I highly suggest so far.


Sophomore
F
Required (Support)
Feb 2002
this guy is smart, hates questions, can't answer them don't bother w/ office hours. The best thng about this class is you can know the math but you'll still fail if you don' t know how to use maple!!!! and don't take the the class unless u ALREADY know how to use it!!! i tried to do all my quizes (no exams just every tues a quiz!) by hand but he made them impossible to do w/o the comp.... i broke down and bought the 120$ program but it was too little too late. do what ever it takes to avoid this moron!!!! he doesn't curve either.


Junior
C
Required (Major)
Apr 2002
Not a difficult class since I used Maple to check my answers. It helped stop me from making stupid mistakes. Graphing really helped me understand the material which is something I was never forced to do before. He always answered my questions, but you have to ask him and do the homework.


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
May 2002
He doesn't use the HP anymore, but I have used a 48G since high school and he was very helpful in showing me some tricks for 143. The graphs in Maple made me focus on what was really going on instead of just memorizing formulas.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Jun 2002
Quizes once a week, no homework, no midterms, and the final. I really thrived in this environment with no homework and the help of Maple. Judging by the rest of the scores in my class though, (check out his website http://gluna1.cosam.calpoly.edu for more info) this mix doesn't work for everyone. The few times we weren't in the lab room, Luna looked lost without Maple. Here's the key some people here seem to have missed: Luna doesn't teach with Maple every quarter. You have to look in the schedule for a note about the Macintosh component. Without Maple, Luna is a little below average, and I wouldn't recommend him. With Maple (especially if you have any programming experience) the class is a breeze.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Mar 2003
If your major is CPE or CSC, or you are not completely allergic to computers, take this guy! Easiest A I ever earned in a Calc class. No midterms, one quiz a week, and homework is not collected. All you have to do is try enough homework to understand all of the concepts and save all of your Maple worksheets, and you've got an A. He lets you use Maple on the quizzes and finals, which makes it much easier. He's also very helpful during office hours if you don't understand something.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2003
I have two words for this professor, he sucks. It was a easy class, but once you are done with it, you look back and you realize that you didnt learn anything. If you like computers, it's that much easier for you, but if I were you, I would only take this guy if you ablsouly have to


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Apr 2003
I consider myself pretty good at math, but this professor made me realize that being good at math doesn't help when the teacher doesn't explain much. I had a 92% going into the final, and ended with a C. If you can put in the time to go to lecture and read from the book to learn, then you will pass. I would not recomend this teacher if you really want to learn how to do math.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Apr 2003
I can understand coming out of this class and not learning anything if you rely on the maple worksheets. But like other said before, if you at least try the HW and goto his office hour (he doesn't use maple there!) you can learn a lot. I sat with him for the whole hour asking questions. HE was very helpful and responds to e-mail much more rapidly. If you learn by doing tons of problems by hand, this isn't the teacher for you. In truth you don't have to learn maple at all! Just copy what he puts up on his sheet and there you go! You have the worksheet, and when it comes quiz time just change the expression and re-evaluate the entire worksheet and it spits out the answer! How much easier can it be? Just make sure to save all your worksheets and the class is a breeze, also do the homework because some questions from HW appeared on the quizzes. Also if you have a friend, get their old quizzes, because they are really helpful for studying. The final is hard, and no partial credit, but the class is majorly curved so it should be an easy A or B if you keep all your worksheets, I hope he teaches DIFF EQS soon. I would reccomend him if you have a heavy load and don't want to do a lot of work


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
May 2003
Professor Luna is not just the worst professor I have had at Cal Poly, he is the worst teacher I have had in my entire educational career. Its one thing to be a semi-sorta genious, but you have to be able to relate the material in a half way appropriate manner to the students. I have an extensive back ground in computers, but for student's without any background with Maple, fear him. He doesn't teach the material, he teaches Maple, and how to manipulate Maple to get the answer he desires...unfortunately, he doesn't teach the concepts, or how to do the problems.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Jul 2003
He really knows his stuff and the Technology component made the course easier with the graphing.


Sophomore
F
Required (Support)
Jan 2006
No partial credit, 1 midterm too late in quarter to withdraw. Wouldn't compromise with me that if I aced the final he would give me a C- instead of a D+. Retook the class with a new professor and got an A.

MATH 206


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2001
Dr. Luna is by far the worst math proffessor I have taken anywhere. I may receive a C in his class but that is only because no one else knows what is going on either. There is absolutely no partial credit because work is not required to be shown on the tests. You must rely on Maple or an HP to be able to fiure this stuff out. When I asked him why there is no partial credit, he told me that we shouldn't get credit for procedures that involve previously learned material. But if we mess up while trying to find the right answer with an algebraic mistkae so to say, the answer is wrong and we get 0 pts on that problem. He is only teaching here because he has a Ph.D. in Math. If he has a teaching credential you wouldn't know it. The HW is nothing like the quizzes. He is very unaware of student difficulties and does not care if we understand the concepts or nott. He just cares about if he is able to put it into his HP.


Freshman
B
Elective
Feb 2001
One heck of a nice guy but I think he needs to pull his head out of you know where. I was luck enough to have an HP and that is how I passed. Otherwise I dont know what I would have done. Stay away from this guys classes.


Sophomore
D
Required (Support)
Feb 2001
Dr Luna doesnt present material very wel at all. The guy before me put it perfectly. I wish I'd had an HP.


Sophomore
D
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
Dr. Luna may very well be the worst professor I will ever [not] learn from in my life. I taught myself more of the course in one weekend than Dr. Luna taught me in all 10 weeks of the quarter. PLEASE ADVISE: DR. LUNA IS A FAILURE. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS!


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Mar 2002
If you are computer illiterate don't take his course. He uses Maple and you are allowed to use it on the quizzes and final. He posts examples and grades on his website. There were some proofs in the form of True False questions, but they were usually easy. He really knows his stuff, but you better show up to class and do the homework.

MATH 241


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Aug 2000
The way the teacher talk makes you understand nothing. No partial credits, final i got 22 / 100, 2 outta 10 problems. Only turn in a sheet of paper with answers, the work you do goes in the trashcan. Luckily the average of the class was 30 / 100. I started math in Cal Poly with Calculus2, received an 'A', for Calc3, 'A' also, Calc4 (Luna Teaches) 'C-'. I spent the full 3 hours on the final and still only got 2 outta 10. This teacher teaches via 3d Calculator and MapleV, and when you get your quiz answers wrong, he says, all you have to do is press a few buttons on your calculator and you'll get the right answer. I'm a very good computer // technology person, but unless you're a 3d graphing calculator user for like 5 years... i don't recommend you taking this class... unless you don't mind dropping 2 grades like me.


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
Having a Ph.D does not mean you know how to teach. This is proven by Dr. Luna. He needs to freshen up on his teaching skills rather than the HP and Maple manuals.


Junior
F
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
I am not bitter because I got an F. I am bitter at why I got an F, I attended class religiously and did the HW and studied. This proffessor can not teach math


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
This professor is not for the faint of heart. I bought an HP 49G and can still barely use the thing. I did, however, get my hands on a copy of Maple for home (Godsend). If you can get a copy of Maple, and you're good at math, then you will survive. If math or technology is at all hard for you then stay away. For those of you still interested, Dr. Luna is pretty good. He is more conceptual and less number-crunching oriented. He is very realistic and applies the subject to real world problems and solutions. I liked his classes, but I can see how they'd kick a lot of students asses. Good luck.


Junior
B
Required (Support)
Apr 2001
You can use a TI. I did and it helped me check my answers.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Nov 2001
If you could not get an A or a B in Luna's class you suck scrotum. He lets you use a computer program that shows you the answer to every question he asks on a quiz or the final. Learn maple and you can easily ace the class.


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Dec 2001
Well, what can I say about Dr. Luna... In terms of personality and social interactions he is lacking big time which makes his explantions of the math topics pretty hard to follow. If you have heard anything about Luna already its probably that he does the intire class on a computer. Its a math class yet only one lecture a week is done outside of the computer lab. I suppose it is more practical to learn Calculus on the computer since thats how you will do it if for some odd reason you actually have to use this shit down the road. However, thats not how you will do it in the next level math class which means if you don't take Luna for all your math classes youre gonna be screwed as soon as you have to go back to pencil and paper math. I took Luna for 143 and am now taking him for 241 and have signed up for him for 242 since I would have no chance at passing a "standard" style math class. For a Computer science or computer engineering student like myself he works out pretty well. Its not too hard to get an A (although I haven't got one yet out of sheer lazyness). He is a descent teacher but be prepared to take him for the rest of your math classes.


Sophomore
D
Required (Support)
Dec 2001
If you have never programmed in your life before DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR. He failed a lot of students this quarter and was a terrible teacher. Learning off of a computer gets you no where. I suggest taking somebody else. Don't just enroll in this class because everything else is full and Luna's class isn't. BIG MISTAKE! Just crash another class in the beginning of the year.


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2002
This is absolutely the worse math course I have ever taken, in either high school or college! I'm very familiar with and skilled in calculus- but Luna is so focused on using Maple to solve everything that the class is more about being able to use a computer program and less about understanding the calculus. (Looking at my grade, I'm obviously not great at using the computer program.) It was also very difficult for me to approach him with questions over the material; it seemed like he felt any and all questions were stupid, I really didn't like his attitude towards students. If at all possible, take this course with some other professor!


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
I had him for 143 and 241. He doesn't use the HP, but does use Maple. He works out the problems on the board and then uses Maple to check the answer. Maple can draw the regions of integration and is essential to knowing what is going on. If you like drill and spoon feeding take someone else.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2002
Learn Maple right away. Use it on quizzes, on tests, and on homework. You don't have enought time or space to do them any other way. The class was very thourough. What was not covered in class was definitely covered on the final exam.


Junior
C
Required (Support)
Apr 2002
Many people complain about having to use Maple for his classes but it is a very powerful program. Once you get to know it it becomes very useful, since Dr. Luna lets and encourages you to use it on tests and quizzes. The material is not the most exciting in the world (like nearly any math class) but he presents it well. He is very helpful during class and especially helpful in office hours. Get to know Maple, and you will have no problem with his class if you put the work into it. Overall an above average math teacher.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Jun 2002
Luna's class is based entirely on how well you can use Maple and how much of his lecture you managed to translate into Maple worksheets and save on your lab computer. Every lecture is in the lab, as are the quizzes and the final. He lets you use a calculator and Maple for every test, so as long as you've got everything saved, and have at least a passing understanding of what's going on, you should do fine. Nine quizzes, dropping the lowest, no partial credit, and huge curves are what Luna is about. Call the classroom "The Loony Bin" and you'll make me proud.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Jun 2002
Professor Luna was great, but requires a change of thought for many. He teaches with a math program called Maple and yes, you can use it during the quizes and final, and yes, you can do virtually all of the work on Maple. However, that is only half of the story. Prof. Luna requires exact answers with no mistakes. This meanss that you need to know how to do the math , not just plugging in numbers, because one mistake on maple and you get a zero. Maple was an awesome tool, but only if you learn to do the math by hand first. Prof. Luna doesn't go over the homework that much in class, nor does he grade it, but he is very helpful during office hours and will make sure that you learn how to do the problems first by hand, and then on maple. If you are reluctant to change, don't take this class, but otherwise it is a great class.

MATH 242


Junior
C
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Luna is an ok teacher. Its not stated in the course descriptioin but an HP calculator and a copy of Maple on your own machine are a definite must for this class. He uses the HP religiously in class (using it for visual demostrations and even teaches students how to solve DiffEqs with it (during class time). I sometimes felt uncomfortable because I owned a TI. Concerning Maple: LEARN IT! When I took the class with him you were allowed to use Maple on quizes, tests, and even on the final. Do not think you can just do the homework and do fine. He purposely gives you questions on his quizes that are too hard to solve manually in the given amount of time. Your must learn how to solve the problems using Maple. I suggest making up worksheets in Maple that solve particular types of problems. In conclusion, I felt that I learned a little bit about solving DiffEqs and a lot about Maple and HP calculators. I feel like I learned more about solveing DiffEqs in MATH 318.


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2001
Get an HP and Maple or you are screwed! He does nat care about his students o their understanding of the material. I would urge people not to take him so maybe he will be fired.


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2001
He is terrible.


Sophomore
D
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
George is not in tune with his teaching skills or the problems that students have in his class. He was not helpful in office hours either. He basically told me to get an HP. He said that they are necessary. Do not takke him for math.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
I think the only reason I got a B is because I am a Math major. His quizzes have no partial credit. When I confronted him about this he said, "why should I give credit for algebra?" Yet, we get zero on the problem if we make an algebraic mistake and come up with the wrong answer.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Apr 2001
This guy is tight. Class is straight forward, do your homework, check your answers with calculator, Maples and your done. He makes math very simple and easy to understand. And all that computer Maples is great for further engineering courses


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Mar 2002
i felt that luna's class was pretty easy. first off, so many people complained about his HP teaching style, that he nixed it for teaching on maple. you can solve pretty much every diff eq in the class on a ti-89, and if that won't do it, maple will do it. i feel that this class is really, really easy to get an A in. hell, i failed the final (130/240 points) and still got an A :) Well, that's after a huge curve, anyway. A's went down to 80% (i had perfects on all but 2 quizzes so i had a 98% going into the final) and C's went down to 50%. passing his class shouldn't be hard, but getting the A's and B's might be tough if you're computer illiterate, or something. anyway, i don't really recommend him if you want to learn how to solve diff eq's. i can't remember a damn thing from his class. i just hope it won't bite me in the ass in 318.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Apr 2002
OK so here's the deal. I took 241 with George and got an A. I had never seen Maple before in my life and I never did any of the homework or took any notes or anything. All you do is sit and pay attention in class and make the Maple worksheets for the quizzes and final. But don't screw up because there is no partial credit and that is what killed me in 242. On one quiz I accidentally put in a 2 instead of a 4 into Maple on one problem, ended up getting a 6 out of 30, which then resulted in my getting a B. Basically don't make stupid mistakes. And you won't know ny of the material either, just how to do it on Maple. Take him if you are looking for an easy class, but not to learn Math. I'm glad we don't use any of the stuff from 241 or 242 in 318.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Feb 2003
I took Dr Luna class three years ago. I saw how low his grade is on polyrating and just wanna throw in my two cents. Dr. Luna used Maple exclusively when I was taking the class because we had class at 8AM and noone else use the lab room (we were using Maple V at lab, and I had Maple IV at home). Anyways, I thought the class really wasn't that bad at all because diff eqn at this level is mostly about learning the different procedures to solve a type of diff eqn, identify the type of question you have, and then you use those procedures to solve the problems. So once you understand those procedures, the calculations are almost trival, and I think that's why this class is great with Maple. (I think he said this in lecture 'cause I don't think i can come up with that.) I did really well in the class because I had all my Maple worksheets where i can change the initial conditions and coefficients easily using variables so i can just change the numbers and got the answers for my quizzes and tests. This took a bit of time to set up but really pays off for the quizzes and tests. Though I don't remember any specific methods anymore (it's been 3 yrs and my major don't use anything from the class), I do know where to look up info if I need or i can do it Maple (which is what you will probably do when you are working). All in all, Dr. Luna was not a bad prof. He should be pretty easy if you learn to use Maple right away and learn to use it wisely (use variables for all the calculations).

MATH 244


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Jul 2005
BLITHERING IDIOT!!!!! I know a guy who reported this guy's dumb butt to the dean ten years ago for doing the same things that made his class so miserable this year. One midterm, no partial credit, barely any partial credit on the final, quizzes every week, that's your grade. The no partial credit thing absolutely killed, because most of the questions on the midterm depended on your answer to the question before it, so one little mistake early on guaranteed you a C or lower on the test. He uses some ridiculously useless computer program and types slower than my mother, which I don't get, the keys are all in the same place as a typewriter, he should have learned to use one of those back in the day. He can't teach math for crap, he's boring, and he wears the same sweater every day. Avoid his class at all costs.

MATH 318


Junior
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2001
I cannot put it more simply than to say that Dr. Luna is the worst math teacher at Poly. That was unanimous from all of my friends as well. I can't stress this enough not to take him. You will be frustrated for 10 weeks. I guarantee it.


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
I am lucky to have gotten the grade I got in Dr. Luna's class. I do not know the maerial any better than at he beginning of the quarter. I am going to retake te class with someone else just to relearn it.


Junior
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2003
This guy sucks for this class. I have read reviews for the other classes and will believe that he is better for them because Maple is much easier to use for those basic functions. Having said that, Maple gets A LOT harder for these higher classes because you have to learn a lot more functions and learn how to use them in very abstract manners. I would much rather take this class from a teacher that gave consistant notes and lectures. He teaches with a chaotic mix of styles and methods. If you know Maple well it is a good class because he lets you use it on the quizes, but otherwise steer clear if possible.


Junior
B
Required (Support)
Jul 2003
Look, I wish someone would have told me what I am going to say before. If you take MATH 318 then Luna isnt a bad teacher BUT SAVE EVERY WORKSHEET YOU DO IN CLASS! BECAUSE YOU CAN USE THEM ON THE QUIZES AND FINAL! You dont even have to do ANY homework. Just go to class and understand the maple commands. When the quizzes come around just plug your problem into the worksheet and you get your answer (but make sure you understand the worksheet in case you have to change it for the quiz). Luna doesnt really give a damn about the students. That assmuncher doesnt even give PARTIAL CREDIT! Thats kind of gay if you ask me. Just remember, go to every lecture so you can get the maple commands. If you are reading this luna, KISS MY BOTT! I read every section and did the problems by hand BUT that shit doesnt help! COPY COPY COPY THE MAPLE WORKSHEET IN CLASS AND GET AN A. Luna knows he is a crappy teacher too so dont bother telling him.


5th Year Senior
F
Required (Support)
Aug 2003
Take a diff prof...seriously!

JOUR 905


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2016
he sure does like his women, wet!!