Incoming Physics and Astrophysics major at Florida State University. My senior year of high school i took AB, only made a 3 on the test but being completely honest i skipped a lot of classes my first two quarters and i believe that if i had been there the whole year i easily could’ve gotten a 4 or 5, it was an easy class and easy test i was just being dumb and psyched myself out of class because i didn’t think i was smart enough to be in the class in the first place. I made a 95% on the math placement test this summer and therefore qualified for Calc 3 with Analytic Geometry. However, this was before my AB scores came out, and my advisor told me i should probably switch into Calc 2 if i ended up getting a 3 on the AB test, which i did. My only hesitation is that if i switch into Calc 2, i will not be able to take the two physics classes i’m enrolled in this semester and be behind in my classes, and on top of that be wasting money. I don’t want to switch into calc 2 but i’m afraid i’ll be behind in calc 3, should i switch into calc 2 and be behind or should i stay in calc 3 and study integration before and go for it? I know calc 3 is special and takes a lot of visualizing but that’s honestly what i was best at in AB and basically what i grew up doing being in art school my entire life so i’m not really scared about that, i’m just worried i won’t be as prepared if i don’t take calc 2. Any advice is welcome.
AB is usually the equivalent of Calc 1 – are you thinking about skipping Calc 2 entirely? And what physics classes would you be taking as a freshman that require multivariable calculus?
http://undergrad1.its.fsu.edu/academic_guide/map-display.php?program=physics-astrophysics
http://undergrad1.its.fsu.edu/academic_guide/map-display.php?program=physics
Both of these majors’ four-year plans start with Calc 1 in the first semester. Wouldn’t being in Calc 2 mean being ahead, not behind?
Yes i would be skipping Calc 2. I’m taking an introduction physics class, “Discovering Physics,” and a studio physics class, “General Physics A.” I don’t know why they won’t let physics students take calc 2 and introductory physics classes at the same time but that’s what the physics advisor told me.
Yes i would be skipping Calc 2. I’m taking an introduction physics class, “Discovering Physics,” and a studio physics class, “General Physics A.” I don’t know why they won’t let physics students take calc 2 and introductory physics classes at the same time but that’s what the physics advisor told me.
Check out the recommended four-year plans I edited into my previous post. Make sure that they are the ones that apply to you, since I found them by Googling, but if they are the ones you’re supposed to follow, I do not think the physics advisor told you accurate information.
And do not skip Calc 2.
I think it has something to do with the studio class but that doesn’t make sense because in the map it shows Calc 2 being taken with the studio class and not before??? you’re right this isn’t adding up, i’ll email another advisor and ask. Thanks for the links i thought i had the right maps but these seem more up to date.
Adding to the chorus: do not skip calc 2. Perhaps you could have gotten a 5 on your AP if you hadn’t skipped class, but you did skip those classes. Calculus is not a hoop physicists jump through. It’s central, and you can’t have a weak math foundation and succeed as a physics major.
Have you tried some old final exams for FSU MAC2311 and MAC2312 to see how well you know the material?
Why would your advisor say that you cannot take MAC2312 and PHYS2048C together? The sample program for the FSU physics major lists them together in the second semester, so if you take them in the first semester, you are one semester ahead in both sequences.
http://undergrad1.its.fsu.edu/academic_guide/map-display.php?program=physics-astrophysics
http://undergrad1.its.fsu.edu/academic_guide/map-display.php?program=physics