Second and third semester calculus in one summer.

AI Thread Summary
Returning to school after a five-year break, the individual is focused on refreshing their calculus knowledge, having previously struggled with Calc II. They are considering taking both Calc II and Calc III during the summer to stay on track for future math courses. Discussions reveal that while Calc II covers integration techniques and series, these are not heavily utilized in Calc III, suggesting that a solid understanding of vectors is more crucial. Some participants share experiences of succeeding in Calc III despite challenges in Calc II, indicating that it might be feasible to skip directly to Calc III. Ultimately, the consensus leans towards the idea that dedication and a proactive approach can lead to success in advanced calculus courses.
tiohn
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I'm back in school after a 5 year break, and need to get back up to speed on my calculus. I took it in high school and did very well on the AP exam, and have taken Calc II twice now, but wasn't even remotely dedicated to any of it, so I got a C both times. I am currently taking a class titled "Introduction to Modern Mathematics" which is required for all math majors at NCSU and focuses on proofs while introducing set theory and whatnot. I am most likely taking Calc II again this summer as a refresher, but just realized that I could also take Calc III as we have two summer sessions. Doing so would allow me to take differentials this fall, along with Intro to Linear Algebra and Intro to Modern Algebra. If I don't take Calc III this summer, I can still take the Linear and Modern Algebra classes this fall, and will merely have to postpone differentials until next spring.

What do you think I should do?
 
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I think as long as you are dedicated, taking both would not be a problem. Our Calc 2 class focused on a ton of integration techniques, and also series. Neither of which we used in Calc 3 (we did solve integrals, tons of them, but they were not nearly the difficult integrals we saw in Calc 2). If your Calc classes are similar I would say go for it.
 
That sounds exactly like ours. I'm actually tempted to just go straight into calc 3 and just pick up whatever I don't recall from calc 2 as I go along.
 
tiohn said:
That sounds exactly like ours. I'm actually tempted to just go straight into calc 3 and just pick up whatever I don't recall from calc 2 as I go along.

Yeah, I got a C in Caculus II but an A in Calculus III. You don't really need Calculus II.

It's funny though. In Differential Equations, you kind of need Calculus II for some techniques and I'm one of the only ones that seem to remember any of Calculus II. Sometimes in the hallways I'll help students with their Calculus II homework. I had a C!
 
the only thing I think you would need from calc II is polar coordinates and integrating using polar coordinates. you don't use series, integration by parts, etc in calc III. knowledge of vectors is far more important
 

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