Should I take Calculus III?

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I am going into my sophomore year of college in the fall. I am still deciding on a major between biology, chemistry, or biochemistry and molecular biology. I am also hoping to go to dental school. I am leaning towards chemistry because so far I have enjoyed it more than biology. I got credit for AP Calculus AB (got a 4 on the test) and went right into calculus II my fall semester of freshmen year. I ended up getting a B+ in the class. I feel like calculus III would help me with upper level chemistry classes and the two semesters of physics, but I'm nervous I might screw up my science GPA. So my question is do you think calculus III would really make a difference in upper level chemistry classes, the two semesters of physics, and the DAT or can I get by without taking calculus III. For my school it is not required for chemistry majors, but it could count towards the major if I do take it. Or do you think it might be more useful to take an intro level statistics course? Thanks!

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Don't do it. The basic calc requirements for physics are that you understand the concepts of derivatives and integrals. Not much if any Calc III will actually benefit you in those classes. I haven't taken upper level chemistry classes, so I can't help you there, but I myself was in the same situation you were. I ended up deciding on Biology after taking Calc III and regretting it (I also enjoyed Chemistry much more than Biology at first).
 
Why take the extra class if its not in your degree plan or prerequisites for dental school.
 
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Take it if you have the time in your schedule and you want to take calc 3. It is not necessary for dental school admissions.
 
Calculus lll won't help you for DAT. I can't speak for upper chemistry. Algebra l is all you need for chemistry math.

If I remember, there is engineering/ calculus base physic and regular noncalculus base physic.

Depending on your comfort level, pick and choose the physic.

I will take statistic. There are good applications related to sci and business. Some people grew up fearing math as if it was a monster.

Fear no math.
 
Only take calc 3 if you're feeling frisky. You will not need it in your upper division courses. Most of the classes I took that required some calc (calc-based physics and physical chemistry) used very fundamental concepts like integration and derivations. Instead of taking calc 3 just take another upper level science course of your choosing.
 
Hahaha I love the comments on here. I was a biochemistry major and only required Calc II. When I finished Calc II, I debated on taking III since II was still fresh in my head. I decided to bite the bullet and take it anyways in case I switched to chemistry - you need Calc III for PChem at my school. III, aside from integrals, is nothing like II and more closely related to I. It's actually pretty easy/straightforward until the latter portion of the class (Green's/Stoke's/Line Integrals). Taking Calc III before taking Calc-based Physics made it SO much easier. I ended up picking up a double major in physics. In terms of the DAT, there will not be anything directly related to Calc III on the test. But after taking that linear algebra, differential equations, PChem, and all the math-based physics classes, I will say that the more math reasoning you have, the easier it is to spot the correct answer on the DAT.
 
Definitely take that statistics class over Calculus III, as the future DAT's QR will test concepts from stats rather than from Calculus III. Calculus III starts out easy but towards the end (vector calculus), it gets really difficult. However, this class can help you in the future as concepts from it are encountered in physics courses like calculating magnetic flux if you are taking a calculus-based physics.
 
Ask people who have take Calc III at your school how they felt about the course and the professor. Unless you NEED it or genuinely enjoy math courses, I wouldn't be taking it. If it's a prerequisite for a major you might pick, then definitely take it while Calc II is still relatively fresh. It still wouldn't hurt to ask your classmates how it was, though--then you'll at least know what you're up against!
 
As far as physics is concerned, calc III won't help you unless you take the calculus based physics course rather than the algebra based. So there is a chance taking calc III may help if you do the calc based physics, but probably not a notable help. Many dental schools require that you have 1 or 2 math courses, one of which being basic calculus, so why take the hard route to accomplish this especially if it's not in your degree requirements?
 
I personally took engineering chem and physics (I was a biomedical engineer my first 2 years) and took calc 1, 2 and 3 and here are my thoughts:
-I am personally really good at calc, and got an A in all 3, each is 4 credits! so they boosted my sGPA and evened my Bs in bio, unfortunately math isn't in your BCP :(
-in terms of difficulty, they go like this easiest to hardest: 1-3-2
-as for content relevancy, calc 3 won't help you in ANY way for the DAT QR section, nor in chem (even upper class courses), just a little bit in engineering physics (not at all in general physics)
-calc 3 could get really complicated, it's pretty much calc 2 but in 3D!

now you need to know that all these information could not be relevant if your school has different course difficulties or relations to other courses..

good luck
 
Thanks for all the responses! For now I think my plan will be to save the space in my schedule for an upper level biology class or a statistics course since I have little knowledge with that type of math. The intro level physics courses at my school require calc I and II, so I think I will be okay without calc III since I don't plan to take more than the two semesters of physics.
 
I personally took engineering chem and physics (I was a biomedical engineer my first 2 years) and took calc 1, 2 and 3 and here are my thoughts:
-I am personally really good at calc, and got an A in all 3, each is 4 credits! so they boosted my sGPA and evened my Bs in bio, unfortunately math isn't in your BCP :(
-in terms of difficulty, they go like this easiest to hardest: 1-3-2
-as for content relevancy, calc 3 won't help you in ANY way for the DAT QR section, nor in chem (even upper class courses), just a little bit in engineering physics (not at all in general physics)
-calc 3 could get really complicated, it's pretty much calc 2 but in 3D!

now you need to know that all these information could not be relevant if your school has different course difficulties or relations to other courses..

good luck

Not at all in upper division chem? You must not have taken Physical Chemistry.
 
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