Registration: Calc III, ODE, Physics 2, Statics & Engineering

[Chunkysalsa]

Okay so registration is coming up and again its time for some tough decisions that will severely impact the upcoming months.

I am currently an EE student taking Calc 2 and Physics I. Next semester I was planning on doing Calc 3 and Physics 2 and in the summer taking ODE and Circuit analysis.

This all seemed fine until I realized one thing. What happens if ODE and Circuit analysis fall upon the same time slots. Since it'll be in the summer there is only one section of each appropriate course. Looking back at previous summers there's a pattern of both classes being offered early mornings. If I get lucky they'll be at slightly different times. If not I've messed up my fall semester by not having circuits done. Of course there is always always the option of taking the course at the local CC but that's just a pain in the ***...

So long story short should I do the following schedule next semester. Note that I've had time difficulties this semester but I also work 20 hrs. I hope to knock down my work week to about 8hrs less, which with commutes and such ends up with almost 10 in my pocket. I've gotten As in Calc 1 and 2 pretty easily and I have a B in physics I (which is among the top in the class)


Calculus III (4 Credits)
Ordinary Differential Equations (3 Credits)
Calculus Based Physics 2 w/lab (5 Credits)
Statics (3 credits)
Intro to Engineering (2 credits) //No real idea what this class is going to be, its something new.


Total of 17 credits. Sounds pretty insane to me v_v with two maths and two physics.


The last option is to move statics out the way, it suffers a similar morning fate as the other two but holds no real repercussions further down the line. Now I know a lot of this depends on me but I honestly don't know what to expect (in terms of difficulty and time investments) of most of these classes. I can sort of predict physics and calc but not the other two.



So thank you to anyone who read that long boring story and can offer any advice and personal experience. Just like some opinions so I can pick a choice that has been well thought out.

 

[nlsherrill]

Okay so registration is coming up and again its time for some tough decisions that will severely impact the upcoming months.

I am currently an EE student taking Calc 2 and Physics I. Next semester I was planning on doing Calc 3 and Physics 2 and in the summer taking ODE and Circuit analysis.

This all seemed fine until I realized one thing. What happens if ODE and Circuit analysis fall upon the same time slots. Since it'll be in the summer there is only one section of each appropriate course. Looking back at previous summers there's a pattern of both classes being offered early mornings. If I get lucky they'll be at slightly different times. If not I've messed up my fall semester by not having circuits done. Of course there is always always the option of taking the course at the local CC but that's just a pain in the ***...

So long story short should I do the following schedule next semester. Note that I've had time difficulties this semester but I also work 20 hrs. I hope to knock down my work week to about 8hrs less, which with commutes and such ends up with almost 10 in my pocket. I've gotten As in Calc 1 and 2 pretty easily and I have a B in physics I (which is among the top in the class)Calculus III (4 Credits)
Ordinary Differential Equations (3 Credits)
Calculus Based Physics 2 w/lab (5 Credits)
Statics (3 credits)
Intro to Engineering (2 credits) //No real idea what this class is going to be, its something new.Total of 17 credits. Sounds pretty insane to me v_v with two maths and two physics.The last option is to move statics out the way, it suffers a similar morning fate as the other two but holds no real repercussions further down the line. Now I know a lot of this depends on me but I honestly don't know what to expect (in terms of difficulty and time investments) of most of these classes. I can sort of predict physics and calc but not the other two.
So thank you to anyone who read that long boring story and can offer any advice and personal experience. Just like some opinions so I can pick a choice that has been well thought out.

Intro to engineering will be easy, I hear the engineering students at my school talk about that course all the time. As far as advice, well I am pretty much at the same level of studies as you are/will be, but maybe my opinion will still be worth it.

All of the courses you are taking aside form intro to engineering are probably *about* on the same level of difficulty. The semester layout you have seems pretty typical of a physics/engineering major in their second year. I'd say go for it. I mean, its probably not going to get any easier right? Or even if it does, at least you would have "gotten through" that semester, so maybe the next semesters would be better. The good thing though is statics will probably be somewhat of a rehash/reinforcement of physics 1...possibly a little more advanced depending on your school. Other than that those 4 courses will probably be quite different so expect to be busy!

Actually, upon looking at your schedule again I have a question...Do you have to take linear algebra? If so, taking that with calc 3 instead of DiffEQ would probably be better. Apparently there is a little bit of linear in diffeq, and from my experience in Calc 3 now, there has been a few sections where my prof has said "well it would be good if everyone in here has had linear algebra for (insert random topic here)." On the other hand, linear algebra probably would be quite different from the other 3 courses opposed to DiffEq, so that's also something to consider. I have heard they are somewhat equal in their difficulty. I am taking both next semester so I'll let you know haha.

 

[Chunkysalsa]

That's true, this past semester has really been my first real school experience. A point where I really had to push my self. This planned semester will push me even harder and teach me some useful time management/self-disciplinary skills.

The problem of course is work. I already planned on only working only sat/sun, but with this plan I'm not sure I can pull it off. I don't exactly "have" to work, but its nice knowing that I'm prepared for any kind of crisis (i.e. car dying) and that I'll graduate not in debt but with a decent bank account. Gas is expensive for some that commutes like me.


Anyway thanks for the input.



Is there any downfalls in taking Calc 3 and ODE together. Any Calc 3 topics show up in ODE?

 

[nlsherrill]

That's true, this past semester has really been my first real school experience. A point where I really had to push my self. This planned semester will push me even harder and teach me some useful time management/self-disciplinary skills.

The problem of course is work. I already planned on only working only sat/sun, but with this plan I'm not sure I can pull it off. I don't exactly "have" to work, but its nice knowing that I'm prepared for any kind of crisis (i.e. car dying) and that I'll graduate not in debt but with a decent bank account. Gas is expensive for some that commutes like me.


Anyway thanks for the input.



Is there any downfalls in taking Calc 3 and ODE together. Any Calc 3 topics show up in ODE?

Well mind you I haven't taken ODE's yet, but I have a textbook and from looking inside it yes there are topics.

To name a few:
functions of more than 1 variable
partial derivatives
multiple integrals

Where pd's and multiple integrals come with functions of more than 1 variable. I just looked in the first few chapters of the DiffEQ textbook and sure enough all of the things I listed are in there. At my university you can't even take DiffEq until you have taken Calc3, but some schools(like yours) I guess think that you can "get by" without having to have taken calc3.

Although functions of several variables and the above topics aren't really "that bad", for someone who already has a heavy load, being stuck with having to teach yourself certain topics will probably only make things harder. But I can't really say much, I am taking Classical Mechanics(upper level) next semester along with DiffEq and Linear, and from what the upperclassmen have said, there's plenty of this math in there.

 

[Chunkysalsa]

Yea calc 3 isn't required, and looking at an old edition of the book I don't see any partial derivatives or other multi-variable equations in there.

Not to worried about that. I've always been quick at math and if something I don't know shows up I think I can pick it up fairly quick.

 

[Chunkysalsa]

Actually, upon looking at your schedule again I have a question...Do you have to take linear algebra? If so, taking that with calc 3 instead of DiffEQ would probably be better. Apparently there is a little bit of linear in diffeq, and from my experience in Calc 3 now, there has been a few sections where my prof has said "well it would be good if everyone in here has had linear algebra for (insert random topic here)." On the other hand, linear algebra probably would be quite different from the other 3 courses opposed to DiffEq, so that's also something to consider. I have heard they are somewhat equal in their difficulty. I am taking both next semester so I'll let you know haha.

Linear Algebra is not required for my school but I decided to take it anyways. However the problem lies in the fact that I need ODE for circuit analysis and circuit analysis to move on to EE specific things. So I *have* to do ODE spring or summer, with summer being that risky choice.