MATH 1510
Calculus I
Derivatives of algebraic, trigonometric, and transcendental functions, techniques of differentiation, Mean Value Theorem, applications of the derivative. The definite integral and Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Areas. Simpler integration techniques. Prerequisites: high school algebra and precalculus, including trigonometry.
Instructors
Aliakbar Daemi, Andrew Green, Ari Stern, Blake Thornton, Brett Wick, Cleon Yohe, Dominique Green, Gary Jensen, Jack Shapiro, Jan-Li Lin, Jennifer Shrensker, John McCarthy, John Shareshian, Matt Wallace, Minh Nguyen, Parker Evans, Quo-Shin Chi, Rachel Roberts, Ron Freiwald, Ronald Freiwald, Sanah Suri, Silas Johnson, Yanli Song
Reviews
Genuinely kind and caring prof! I struggled a lot with calc 2, and he ended rounding me up at the end. Can be confusing in lectures sometimes--I often found that there was a clearer or simpler explanation for a lot of the concepts, but he's great about providing resources (recorded lectures!) and highlighting where you can get extra help.
5/8/2026
He is very understanding person. All of his exams were mid 70 range and final was 60 range for his class--no curve. Yikes.
5/8/2026
Lectures were well organized, and he made the content easy to understand. He truly cares about students learning the material and will give you the help you need during his office hours. Also, he's quite funny.
1/26/2026
Had him for Calc 3. Super nice guy, great lecturer, clearly enjoys teaching.
1/24/2026
Prof. Johnson is so sweet and really cares about his students' success. The study guides are almost exactly like the exams and there's a lot of opportunities for extra credit. Subsections were not very helpful for me but you have to go to get credit. Overall very considerate prof with a well-organized class.
1/12/2026
Had Evans for Calc III. Funny guy, clear lectures, and good office hours / review sessions. Don't be annoying and he will be nice.
12/21/2025
He is a fantastic Professor, gave me multiple extensions on assignments and always cared about my mental health. Too be fair, he was a bit of a boring lecturer, and he did spit on my little brothers grave, and he would get angry when people would pack up early. Professor Evans made all of the content much easier then other teachers would.
12/15/2025
He do lectures with humor and will explain any topic on the subject when asked.
12/13/2025
This won't let me select any other class than 131 but I had Professor Evans for Calc 3(Math 2130). He is an amazing professor, tho he did spit on me grandmother's grave, and all of his lectures were easy to follow. This class is not easy if you can't visualize 3D shapes or suck at vectors but the way Evans teaches made it easy.
11/4/2025
Took Calc III with Evans. Great professor, explains things very well, and makes difficult concepts relatively understandable. Very open to helping students if they show that they are willing to learn math. Did spend the first week of the semester to go and spit on my ancestors' graves. Very Icky, but understandable. Overall, great professor.
11/4/2025
Prof. Evans does go fast in lectures, but as long as you're not trying to mark down every last word he says/writes, then he's pretty easy to keep up with. Also, very good 1-on-1 outside of class, so if a lecture seems overwhelming, just go to office hours.
9/10/2025
Lectures are reasonable, if a little fast. Luckily, there are lots of resources outside of class too. I usually still had questions.
5/7/2025
Johnson is one of the better calc professors at WashU, which says little because the math department here is severely lacking. Very test heavy class, but his lectures were pretty good, overall understood the material. Online Fridays every week are a bonus.
3/25/2025
Easy to reach outside of class and personable, but tests were hard and made to be confusing on purpose. Some of the homework took extremely long, and even the math help room couldn't help me. Very frustrating trying to do your best, as the only way to do well on tests was to learn the theory behind the math, not just doing the problems correctly.
1/9/2025
Super accessible outside class, very willing to help you learn what you need to learn. Do not be afraid to contact him about stuff outside class it will significantly improve how you feel over math material
12/27/2024
This class is very test heavy in general, but that is not specific to Johnson. Johnson is a nice guy but you can tell that he is pretty odd. At the beginning of the year, I found myself pitying him more than anything else. I feel like the most helpful part of this class is his Friday video lectures. Might as well not go to the classes.
12/18/2024
Not as hard as people perceive it to be. A lot of opportunities to raise your grade, review homework & past exams, go to office hours, and review lecture notes. One class was group work. If you don't have pre calculus understanding the class covers a bit at the beginning but it'll pick up. Ppl complained bc they thought it'd be like HS math lolz.
12/18/2024
Super friendly in class and takes the time to explain topics in depth.
12/13/2024
Do not take this course if you have never taken Calculus, this is a fast-paced course with no time to ask questions. Whenever a student has asked questions he will make you feel embarrassed in front of the whole class. He writes notes extremely fast and, he expects you to know Calculus, this class should be a review for people who have taken calc.
12/12/2024
He goes a lot into the "why" something works. If you don't like that you might not enjoy him as a professor, but he is such a good. I really liked taking Calc with him.
11/19/2024