Spring 2027

Precalculus

Precalculus course covering properties, graphs, and transformations of elementary functions, including trigonometry, to prepare students for calculus.

offering recorded5 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Philip Gustafson

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Fernando Al Assal

The course included weekly quizzes that students found easy if they studied, and exams were reported to be almost identical to the practice exams provided.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Solve equations and inequalities using algebraic and trigonometric techniques.

  • Interpret the properties of functions, including their domains and ranges.

  • Graph, transform, combine, compose, and solve for the inverse of functions.

  • Interpret and graph polynomial, rational, exponential, and trigonometric functions.

  • Define the sine, cosine, and tangent functions with respect to the unit circle and other geometric objects.

  • Interpret and graph radical, logarithmic, and inverse trigonometric functions using restricted domains.

  • Model and analyze real-world problems using functions and their properties.

  • Support solutions and arguments by applying mathematical concepts and reason to justifications.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

MATH 96or placement into MATH 114. Not open to students with credit forMATH 113.

MATH 114 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027
Historical instructors & teaching patterns

DAVID H CAMACHO is recorded teaching in Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DIANE RIVARD is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

FERNANDO AL ASSAL is recorded teaching in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JUSTIN SUKIENNIK is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PHIL GUSTAFSON is recorded teaching in Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PRERNA GERA is recorded teaching in Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHAOSAI HUANG is recorded teaching in Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SIMON SCHULZ is recorded teaching in Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1750
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 306Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 307Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 308Classroom Instruction0 / 00

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Fernando Al Assal

Students described the class as easy and straightforward, noting that the instructor provided many examples during lectures which helped with exam preparation.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.78 GPA, 41.0% A/AB (n=134 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.18 GPA, 60.4% A/AB (n=465 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.62 GPA, 31.0% A/AB (n=155 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Fernando Al Assal

The course included weekly quizzes that students found easy if they studied, and exams were reported to be almost identical to the practice exams provided.

Past student reviews · Fernando Al Assal

One student found the instructor slightly awkward but noted he was always available to help, contributing to a positive learning experience for those comfortable with math.

Topics

  • Elementary functions: polynomial, absolute value, radical, rational, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric.
  • Equations, inequalities, and function graphs.
  • Trigonometric equations, identities, and geometric significance.
  • Formulating, analyzing, solving, and interpreting mathematical and real-world problems.

Skills

  • Solve equations and inequalities using algebraic and trigonometric techniques.
  • Graph, transform, combine, compose, and solve for the inverse of functions.
  • Define sine, cosine, and tangent functions using the unit circle and geometric objects.
  • Model and analyze real-world problems using functions and their properties.
  • Support mathematical solutions and arguments with reasoned justifications.

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.25 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
MATH 114 · Spring 2027

Precalculus

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:600:011600",
    "course_id": "MATH 114",
    "course_uid": "course_65e8e94bbd9a434f7539af0a",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "011600",
    "source_subject_id": "600",
    "title": "Precalculus",
    "credits_min": 5,
    "credits_max": 5,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "1c0ccdad4e515e3e55bca9f9f3554a5612b649a9d7ec5395005c9431de82b900",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}