How hard is Multivariable Calculus?

Hi,
I was an electrical engineering undergrad and I had to take a bunch of calculus. Multivariate calculus is a challanging course. However, if you've taken differential and integral calculus you should be fine. Like all other math classes, it takes some discipline to work through homework problems. Keep up with the class, do the homework, and get an A. In my opinion, math courses are the easiest way to raise the science GPA.
-Will

 

I didn't think it was that bad, really. But I'm a little... odd... I didn't think pchem was that bad either. Advanced calc, tho? SUCKED.

 

i didn't find it too difficult either, but i tend to be able to conceptualize that type of logic so it may have helped. i did find that it helped me immensely in my second semester physics (for engineers). i didn't take differential equations or linear algebra before that course and it didn't seem to matter. but, as always, i think these courses do depend entirely upon the teacher . . so ask around before you sign up with any particular prof. good luck!

 

Multivariable calc is easy, assuming you understand calc I and II. If you sucked at those then it will be hard like they were. Multivariable calc is really just doing calc I/II over again with more than one variable (uhh... multivariable) but the procedures are virtually the same.

 

I didn't find it too difficult, but it was something that I had to do homework for every night, so I was kinda forced to stick with it. I personally found it easier than calc II, but I'm sure our courses will differ.

 

I don't know, and can't contribute any constructive insight aside from stating the fact that it sounds about as much fun as complete rectal exam.

 

I liked it and thought it was an okay class. Just do the assigned work and pay attention in class, you'll be fine. If you can take it with a math software that is nice too. I took a Maple based course and it was more work than the no Maple course but definitely was a useful skill for my later engineering courses.

 

The class sucked. I hate math and not very good at it, Multi-variable for some reason i had to take for my major (biochem) still not sure why. I really believe all math is practically useless except since the overwhelming majority of people will just use it to balance a check book. Ive goten 3 C's and below in my whole college career and they all have been in Math. Math has no relevence to anything at all

 

You forgot the sarcastic smiley, right?

 

UGH...shudders. That and one other (both classes were not essential for pre-med, but essential for my major) class DESTROYED my BCPM GPA. DESTROYED, I tell you. If I had it to do over again I would switch majors solely to avoid that class.

 

It really depends on who is your teacher. My teacher walked in the first day and told us that he thought he was going to be a gynecologist in college and was really bad at math but it was really simple (he was from Africa and went to school in France with a thick accent.) The class wasn't that bad, but we had no idea what was going on when he was around. He would commonly refer to cos and sin as the "cosinus" (which was a term that incorporated all the trig functions except tan). If our tests were verbal, then everyone would have failed.

So make sure to get a teacher that speaks English!

 

I took 6 calculus courses and I thought multivariable was easier than any of them except first quarter differential calculus.

Oh for those lamenting how worthless this class is, you BETTER kick it's butt if you're planning on taking p-chem.

 

It is basically Calc I with multiple variables. Most problems aren't really anything TOO new just a rehash of the basics of derivatives and integrals.

dot and cross product is the only really new thing.

 

it was a completely useless class. I am an engineer and have never used that crap.

 

Calculus III is just like Calculus II except now you're looking at x, y and z. It got a little harder towards the end with curl and stuff, I definitely don't remember too much about Calculus in general but I found that the less I tried to understand, the better I did

 

Thanks, but no thanks. This class was definitely harder than pchem...and I did not kick calc's ass, but I did pchem's!

 

It's the only C on my college transcript (and I was a biochemistry major)....

 

Is Multivariable Calculus another name for Calculus III??????????/ I'm confused huge time!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I'm asking because Dot product and Cross Product is taught in Calc III during the first chapter of Calc III!!!!!!

 

Yes.

 

Just took my final in Multivar, ended up getting a solid A in the course. The difficulty really depends on the professor's preferrence. The professor I took made the course about moderate IMO, but I've heard about some professors that really make the course really HARD (like 60% average grade), and some that make it a blow off. Most the course is an extension on calc I, until the very end where you do line integrals / flux integrals and the 3 big theorems.

 

Ok. That makes more sense. I've never heard Calc I, II, and III referred to by these weird titles you guys are referring to it as. Always been referred to as 1, 2, and 3.

I was looking at the first chapter of Vector calculus to understand Dot product and Cross product so that I could understand a couple of Physics concepts. It seems easier then the stuff we learned in Calc II.

We have our Calc II final this Wednesday. Its on stuff related to Taylor series and things of that nature. I hate it. I was looking at Calc III info and it seemed a lot easier.

 

On a 1-10 scale? Probably a 3, 4, or 5 out of 10 (depending on your professor).

I had a hard time visualizing some things in 3+ dimensions...that was the only hard thing about the class. And that never came up again in ODEs, PDEs, etc. (which I thought were easier).

 

Yeah that part of calc II sucks. Don't worry Calc II is the hardest of the three.

 

Well, the difficulty is best expressed not on a linear scale like this, but as the slope of the line tangent to a sine curve...

 

i was an engineer until this semester. difficulty 4. do the practice problems until you understand them and can do similar ones, thats all there is to it and nothing more.

i agree with brett that 2 was the hardest and least intuititive i think

 

I say it again do not take it. It is utterly worthless you will most likely never have any need for anything you want to do. most math is worthless once you get past simple deriviatives you will probally never need it. If you do get a calculator to do it for you.

 

It's not that tough (3/10) compared to Calc 1 or 2. Linear algebra and differential equations got a little tough when it started to get into the math theory, and all that heat and wave equation stuff. I just can't believe how long ago that stuff was.