Question about calculus??

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pre-dent

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Hello everyone, 😀

I have a simple question. What do you all think about calculus?? I have heard that it's a super hard class. I am not sure what to think since others (very few) have said it's not bad. I will take calculus soon and I would like to know what I can expect. I was told that if I am good in my algebra, I could do calculus without much of a problem. PLEASE LET ME KNOW, THOSE THAT HAVE TAKEN CALCULUS.


Thanks
Mel 😀
 
pre-dent said:
Hello everyone, 😀

I have a simple question. What do you all think about calculus?? I have heard that it's a super hard class. I am not sure what to think since others (very few) have said it's not bad. I will take calculus soon and I would like to know what I can expect. I was told that if I am good in my algebra, I could do calculus without much of a problem. PLEASE LET ME KNOW, THOSE THAT HAVE TAKEN CALCULUS.


Thanks
Mel 😀
Calculus is totally different than what you have studied in algebra; it is the backbone of physics. Everything is spinning around sigma summation and using that to calculate something that is one dimension above what you have started. As long as you stick with the calculus for bio/science instead of calculus for engineering, then you will do just fine.
 
just do as many problems as u can and do all assigned hw problems and its really not bad at all.. i surprised myself w/ it becuse i thougth it was going to be difficult too. dont stress its pretty simple
 
calculus was a breeze for me.....if your good in math, it shouldn't be too bad for you....in my four years at college, i never really found any class "super hard" with the exception of organic chemistry...my brain just refuses to understand it.
 
I did calc I II and III.

Calc II was for Engineers and Physicists, and that was harder than either of the other two. I agree with a post from above, stick with the non-engineering ones.
 
calculus I wasn't too bad. Basically, you just learn the different techniques of differentiating and integrating, which does get slightly complicated by the end of the semester. The 2nd semester calculus does get pretty confusing conceptually though. I don't know if you have to take the advanced stuff. I had to take it becuase I was an engineer. The key to calculus is repetition. the more practice you do, the better you get at tackling the different types of integrals. It really isn't that bad.

good luck
 
I enjoyed calculus. It is probably the easiest course I've had. The ideas are pretty simple-read the section of book and do the homework. If the prof doesn't assign problems then get the solution manual and make sure you work problems. It's not too long before you'll be pretty good.

You may want to check out www.ratemyprofessor.com to make sure the prof isn't a complete sadist or otherwise not a person to take for any class.
 
i didn't know about the ratemyprof site. mondo cool. i'm about to go back for my prereqs, so quite helpful. 🙂 do most students know about that site? it looks like its catching on. the problem: profs might start checking it and make adjustments.
 
The concepts aren't too bad, it's just the amount of work and time you have to put into the class that makes it seem difficult. The class starts off with some basic concepts but quickly moves on to some harder ones. I got a B in calc 1. My dentist said she got a c in calculus. My doctor got a b in calculus, and my vet got a b also.
 
I liked calculus I, although calculus II wasn't a fave of mine.
 
jmick101 said:
Calculus? You planning on going to Harvard?


Hello everyone,

To jmick101: No, but my major requires that I take calculus I and II. I would love to avoid it but I can't. 😡 I am a Biology major with a minor in chemistry. 😀



To everyone else,

It's not physics based calculus it regular cal, so based on what everyone has said I should be fine
I knew about the website ratemyprofessor.com and it's awesome!! My school is small so I don't have much of an option. I have had a chance to choose great professors from this website though. 😛


Thank you everyone for your feedback. LOVE YOU ALL!! 😍

Mel 😀
 
shinji said:
As long as you stick with the calculus for bio/science instead of calculus for engineering, then you will do just fine.

Haha! Thanks for making engineers sound smart! 😉 I didn't know that there was a difference of calculus (for bio vs engineering majors). Hmm, I thought calculus was pretty standard universally. 😛

Anyways, def do many problems when you take your calc class. Calculus was required for my major too, but whether it has anything to do with dentistry or not, it's something some have to take. Honestly, I didn't do well in my calculus class, but I got through it, so just do problems and practice. Good luck! 🙂
 
pre-dent said:
Hello everyone,

To jmick101: No, but my major requires that I take calculus I and II. I would love to avoid it but I can't. 😡 I am a Biology major with a minor in chemistry. 😀

Well, if calculus doesnt work out for ya, the History major is a fine way to go.
 
Just stay away from calculus for engineers....I took Calc I, II, III, and IV and I would say IV is where it started to get tricky, but I still did great in all of them. Stick with regular calc and you should be fine!
 
Calculus I is very simple, just gotta every once in a while. Calc II everyone says ridiculously hard. People who plan on being a Math Major, dont do it because it is too hard for them.
 
i love Calculus i got 100, and 99 on my Cal(engi) I and II finals so i am going to say "its not hard." 😎

ps: okay, cal II was alittle hard i freaked out at first, but cal II is the fun one of the two.
 
Calc is tough. My university only offers one type of calculus and unlucky for me its known campus wide as the 'engineering weed out' class. So for bio majors like me, we are screwed (second attempt this summer- didnt fail, just didnt want a B). Just study hard, do problems, and hope for the best. Good luck.
 
I think it is dependent on the person. I'm totally a math person and I enjoyed Calculus I, II, and III. Lol, that sounds totally nerdy I know. Calculus III though was actually really cool...with the z axis (actually helps me with the PAT) Yeah well, back to what I was saying...You like math? If so, calculus won't be bad at all. You hate math? Well, it'll probably suck for you about as much as my history classes sucked for me. I hate history. 🙂
 
Calc is not that bad. It's just time consuming to do the problem and repeat the type of problem until you can get it right. It's about repitition because Calc I and Calc II have types of problems. Though that's one class I'd never want to sit through again.

:luck:
 
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