Retaking Calc 2 Exam: Is it Worth the Effort?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around a calculus exam where students performed poorly, prompting the professor to offer a retake option. The exam covered topics like integration by parts, trigonometric substitutions, and partial fractions decomposition. One student scored 76/100 and is uncertain whether to retake the exam, citing the tricky nature of the problems. The consensus suggests that retaking the exam is advisable, as it provides a learning opportunity and the potential for a higher score, especially if only the best score is considered.
benEE2018
Messages
27
Reaction score
1
hey everyone so i just took my calc 2 exam and the whole class basically bombed it. the professor is giving us a chance to retake the exam or to keep the score we had the first time around. the exam is on integration by parts, trig sub, trig integrals and partial fractions decomposition. i got a 76/100 the first time and don't know if i should try for a higher grade. the thing is i know how to work the problems out but the exam problems are a bit tricky and can confuse. eg instead of the integral e^2x sin 3x dx he'll put a 26 insde which comes back because u have to multiply the 26 to get back the original integral and it gives very big numbers questioning if u did it right. should i retake the exam in hopes of a higher grade or keep the 76? thanks sorry if this isn't a homework question
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Yes, retake the exam. All tests are learning experiences. Look to the Monte Hall three-doors problem.
 
Rule of thumb: If they will only accept the higher score (most do it like this), then ALWAYS retake the test. It can only help!
 
TL;DR Summary: I want to do a PhD in applied math but I hate group theory, is this a big problem? Hello, I am a second-year math and physics double major with a minor in data science. I just finished group theory (today actually), and it was my least favorite class in all of university so far. It doesn't interest me, and I am also very bad at it compared to other math courses I have done. The other courses I have done are calculus I-III, ODEs, Linear Algebra, and Prob/Stats. Is it a...
I’ve been looking through the curricula of several European theoretical/mathematical physics MSc programs (ETH, Oxford, Cambridge, LMU, ENS Paris, etc), and I’m struck by how little emphasis they place on advanced fundamental courses. Nearly everything seems to be research-adjacent: string theory, quantum field theory, quantum optics, cosmology, soft matter physics, black hole radiation, etc. What I don’t see are the kinds of “second-pass fundamentals” I was hoping for, things like...
Back
Top