Exploring the Challenges and Rewards of Calculus II: A Student's Perspective

[Turion]

We learned integration, sequences/series + taylor series, and multi-variable calculus in 1 semester. I'm so overwhelmed for the final today.

 

[WannabeNewton]

Good luck man! I'm sure you'll ace it :D!

 

[leroyjenkens]

Yeah, I think Calc 2 should be split up into 2 classes. I almost failed it.

 

[Astronuc]

We learned integration, sequences/series + taylor series, and multi-variable calculus in 1 semester. I'm so overwhelmed for the final today.

That's about right. I did that in my senior year of high school. The first semester was more or less limits, derivatives and differential calculus.

Best wishes for success on the final!

 

[AlephZero]

Similar to Astro - did all that (and simple ODEs and PDEs) before university.

If you have a "no child allowed to get in front" education policy - oops, I mean "no child left behind", I guess it follows that bright kids get used to learning at a snail's pace, and that too much content gets left till too late.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Similar to Astro - did all that (and simple ODEs and PDEs) before university.

If you have a "no child allowed to get in front" education policy - oops, I mean "no child left behind", I guess it follows that bright kids get used to learning at a snail's pace, and that too much content gets left till too late.

Then you can get placed in calc 3 when you hit college. Not everyone is going to have the rigorous math background to go lightning fast through all the material, so the bright kids, such as yourself, can just go ahead and skip ahead, instead of expecting everyone else to keep up.

 

[aquitaine]

Similar to Astro - did all that (and simple ODEs and PDEs) before university.

If you have a "no child allowed to get in front" education policy - oops, I mean "no child left behind", I guess it follows that bright kids get used to learning at a snail's pace, and that too much content gets left till too late.

It was like that long before no child left behind, our K-12 system has been based on the lowest common denominator for decades.

 

[Mentalist]

To the topic question I say, depends upon the student. Some learn faster, others slower. Seems like even though it is a challenge for you, you like the course. But, I learned that the final cannot really test you on everything evenly, most of the finals will have some pockets of problems from earlier tests, and ultimately test you more on later material. Study wisely if you haven't taken it. If you have taken your final, I hope you did well!

 

[Lyrassia]

We learned integration, sequences/series + taylor series, and multi-variable calculus in 1 semester. I'm so overwhelmed for the final today.

Jeez! That seems like a load!

I certainly hear that Calculus II is harder than Calculus I & III, simply because of everything that is covered in only two semesters. Especially since you're in other classes. For some people Calc II is a breeze, but for others not so much. I'll be taking Calc II next Spring, so I'll get a feel for it. Hehe.

 

[Mentalist]

The hardest section for me was the trigonometric functions, I did well in Calc. I by remembering some basic patterns of them, and then calculus II is where we had to deal with these functions more in terms of integration, and one of the tests was all about integrating trigonometric functions. That was my lowest score of the semester which was a 78%.

Aside from that, integration apps, series/sequences, intro to DE and multivariable calculus, were the easiest compared to trig. for me. I am not a math whiz like some people in this thread either, so...

I took away a lot though and my favorite section was series. Primarily because of Euler's formula. Hopefully you don't look much into it before taking the course next spring, and you too will probably be just as excited as I was in regards to that.

Just buy a trigonometry book and study it before Calculus I (I'm assuming you will be taking it in the fall).

 

[Lyrassia]

The hardest section for me was the trigonometric functions, I did well in Calc. I by remembering some basic patterns of them, and then calculus II is where we had to deal with these functions more in terms of integration, and one of the tests was all about integrating trigonometric functions. That was my lowest score of the semester which was a 78%.

Aside from that, integration apps, series/sequences, intro to DE and multivariable calculus, were the easiest compared to trig. for me. I am not a math whiz like some people in this thread either, so...

I took away a lot though and my favorite section was series. Primarily because of Euler's formula. Hopefully you don't look much into it before taking the course next spring, and you too will probably be just as excited as I was in regards to that.

Just buy a trigonometry book and study it before Calculus I (I'm assuming you will be taking it in the fall).

Trig is very important in calculus if you ask me. It's almost like a second nature. :p One should take a trig course before calculus to greater enhance their ability.

Euler's Formula is one of my favorites too, Mentalist! Even Leonhard is an interesting dude!

Quite strangely, people come up to me saying that they thought Calculus was easier than Algebra, or the other way around. I must admit I struggled with Algebra/Geometry early in high school, but even in high school math was a joke. Simply because my brain didn't grasp the concepts and the applications until later in high school.

The key thing to remember is to always have a positive attitude, even if you fail a test or two, or three. If you have the passion for something, as well as the ability, it'll get you far in life.