What was the hardest Calculus for you?

[shamieh]

Just curious which Calculus class was hardest for you all? I got a B in Calculus I and I am not doing so hot in Calculus II at all lol.(Bow)

 

[Dustinsfl]

Just curious which Calculus class was hardest for you all? I got a B in Calculus I and I am not doing so hot in Calculus II at all lol.(Bow)

Calc 2 tends to be difficult for most students.

 

[shamieh]

I mean I was literally one point shy of an A in Calc 1... I seriously murdered that class, and the way Calc II is going i almost feel like I should withdraw. I know it just takes studying and hard work but the concepts are just so much more deeper than Calc 1 It feels like a foreign language lol.

 

[Jameson]

Assuming you are talking about something similar to the US classification of Calc I-III, then I actually found Calc III the hardest. Calc II has some difficult integrals and series topics but Calc III involves multivariable functions and new concepts that were really challenging for me. It depends on the person and professor teaching I suppose.

 

[shamieh]

We also aren't allowed to use calculators at all, we weren't allowed to use them in Calculus 1 either. Did your teachers let you use Calculators in the Calc classes?

 

[Jameson]

We also aren't allowed to use calculators at all, we weren't allowed to use them in Calculus 1 either. Did your teachers let you use Calculators in the Calc classes?

Yes, I took Calc II in high school a long, long time ago. If you don't have calculators though it isn't as bad as you might think since the teacher must make the calculations simpler. If you're doing a Riemann Sum approximation of an area, for example, it shouldn't be full of decimals and ugly functions.

 

[shamieh]

Yea, and it usually isn't that bad. I only need up to Calculus III though and then I will be done with my Math.

 

[MarkFL]

I agree with Jameson, although most of the people I have spoken to say Calc II is the most difficult of the three. I found the multi-variable and vector calculus to be more difficult to digest.

 

[Fantini]

I'm siding with Jameson and Mark, multivariable calculus was the toughest. The computations by themselves can be nasty, but the concepts are even harder. Understanding that a curve has no two-dimensional volume takes time to digest at the time, even though it makes total sense. :)

 

[Ackbach]

What I've found is that if you can easily visualize things in 3 dimensions, then Calc 2 will tend to be the toughest. If you have a hard time visualizing in 3D, then Calc 3 will tend to be the toughest.

 

[Fantini]

Can you elaborate on your first remark? How can easily visualizing things in 3D will make things harder?

 

[Ackbach]

Can you elaborate on your first remark? How can easily visualizing things in 3D will make things harder?

Easily visualizing in 3D doesn't make any calc harder. I can understand your confusion! All I meant was, that for people who have a hard time visualizing in 3D, Calc 3 will often be their hardest calc. For people who easily visualize in 3D, Calc 2 will often be their hardest calc.

 

[Saitama]

I have often heard of Calc I, II and III on the forums. What do they mean? Are they some kind of course? If so, what's the syllabus or topics covered in each of them? (Thinking)

 

[shamieh]

I have often heard of Calc I, II and III on the forums. What do they mean? Are they some kind of course? If so, what's the syllabus or topics covered in each of them? (Thinking)

What do you mean you've heard of them? You never took them?? lol. Yes in universities here in the U.S. it goes from Calc I to IV. Calc I is basic stuff, takign derivatives, concavity, equation of tangents, areas, related rate problems etc. Calc 2 is impartial fractions, rotation of axis, surface volume, decomposition, improper integrals etc

 

[Dustinsfl]

What do you mean you've heard of them? You never took them?? lol. Yes in universities here in the U.S. it goes from Calc I to IV. Calc I is basic stuff, takign derivatives, concavity, equation of tangents, areas, related rate problems etc. Calc 2 is impartial fractions, rotation of axis, surface volume, decomposition, improper integrals etc

Impartial fractions? You mean partial fractions?

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What do you mean you've heard of them? You never took them?? lol. Yes in universities here in the U.S. it goes from Calc I to IV. Calc I is basic stuff, takign derivatives, concavity, equation of tangents, areas, related rate problems etc. Calc 2 is impartial fractions, rotation of axis, surface volume, decomposition, improper integrals etc

Look at the table of contents here
http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-James-Stewart/dp/0538497815
In calc 1,2,3, you general cover 6 chapters each. Many schools use this textbook so this will give an idea of what is in the different variations.

 

[Dustinsfl]

I mean I was literally one point shy of an A in Calc 1... I seriously murdered that class, and the way Calc II is going i almost feel like I should withdraw. I know it just takes studying and hard work but the concepts are just so much more deeper than Calc 1 It feels like a foreign language lol.

I think calc 2 is harder for most students due to the revolutions of solid section. You have to setup your integrals not just integrate. Some calc 2 courses have basic series which is very simple analysis which can be challenging. Other courses may have series in calc 3 making that part challenging in calc 3 as well. I never ever had an issue with 3 since it was just calc 1 in 3d to me.

 

[shamieh]

I think calc 2 is harder for most students due to the revolutions of solid section. You have to setup your integrals not just integrate. Some calc 2 courses have basic series which is very simple analysis which can be challenging. Other courses may have series in calc 3 making that part challenging in calc 3 as well. I never ever had an issue with 3 since it was just calc 1 in 3d to me.

COMPLETELY AGREE! It literally took me like almost a week just to understand what I was actually solving/doing with the solid of revolution rotation problems.

 

[MarkFL]

COMPLETELY AGREE! It literally took me like almost a week just to understand what I was actually solving/doing with the solid of revolution rotation problems.

It just depends on the person I guess...I saw the solids of revolution as a simple extension of the definite integral where instead of "lines" being summed, we now have disks, washers, or shells being summed in place of the lines.