<p>Does the Academy have distinctions between Calculus I, Calculus II and Calculus III? If so, what materials are covered in Calculus I? How fast do they go through this stuff? I'm in Calculus I in high school right now and we're just finishing with antiderivatives and areas under the curve (about 5 chapters into the book). I heard that they go super-fat through the material down there. Good thing I know about the 2nd, trace button to find the area. They probably take your calculator away on tests I imagine!</p>
<p>Actually, you'll find that Calc I and Calc II are not a whole lot different than what you're taking right now. Each one is one semester long.</p>
<p>They don't give it to you any faster than anywhere else. It's just that you have a whole lot more on your plate than the average Joe at Podunk U.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, I happen to have my Calc III textbook right here. Hold on...</p>
<p>OKAY! Let's see. Judging from the hilighting, we covered Vector Fields, Infinite Series (God, I HATED those damned things! Converges! Diverges! ARGH!!!), Inverse Functions, Line Integrals, Green's Theorem (Who the hell was HE?) and Directional Derivatives.</p>
<p>There will be a quiz next post. Be prepared! ;)</p>
<p>As for calculators, I believe they do not allow programmable calculators, but that can vary from professor to professor.</p>
<p>I had one guy named "Machine Gun McCoy". He was one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse I mentioned somewhere earlier. That SOB had us MEMORIZE THE TABLE OF LAPLACE TRANSFORMATIONS. THE WHOLE FRACKING BOOKLET!!! :mad:</p>
<p>Believe it or not, I did it. I even scored a "B" in his class (after having gotten a "D" the first time I took it with someone else).</p>
<p>Wow...that's sick</p>
<p>I sat in on my mid's calc class while I was at the CVW. They were using the exact same book as me, and were just slightly ahead of where I was. Nevertheless, the CDR handed me a quiz for fun, and I got a 100 on it. It was on vectors and all that junk.</p>
<p>The class was a THOUSAND times more engaging and stimulating than my 200 student lecture will ever be!</p>
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The class was a THOUSAND times more engaging and stimulating than my 200 student lecture will ever be!
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<p>I'm SO glad I never had to sit through one of those....</p>
<p>you have no idea...</p>
<p>my chem class is pushing 350....</p>
<p>Ok so are you saying that the professors actually teach calc or do they just send the Mids into their rooms with the books to teach themselves?</p>
<p>My current pre-calc teacher in high school is not that great of a teacher so I go home every night and teach myself the curriculum. Is that how it is in USNA?</p>
<p>Confused, is that you again?</p>
<p>Zaphod...what are you talking about?</p>
<p>Ditto ditto.</p>
<p>From my (extremely) limited experience with the calc at USNA:</p>
<p>It seemed like I was back in high school, but with an even smaller class. The prof taught the class exactly as would a high school teacher. It started off with a quiz, then went into the next lesson. I had a great time...and I really don't like calculus.</p>
<p>From the above posts, I don't see where anyone could have been led to believe that Z was suggesting that the profs don't teach. Where someone got that myth...I have no idea...</p>
<p>Yea sorry I'm crossing threads here. It's from a former thread "The rumors of Chemistry!!!".</p>
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My teachers in HS say that when I go to the academy, the proff's won't help me, and I'm going to have to figure everything out on my own...Is this true?
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<p>I got it now...:)</p>
<p>I take back my ditto.</p>
<p>For a second there, I thought he may have been some else pulling our collective leg. My bad.</p>
<p>He's just a bit hyperactive! :D</p>
<p>My daughter had the same experience during CVW. Sat in on a calc class and was surprised that she felt comfortable with the material presented. Aced the quiz to her amazement. She has been "blessed" with what many call a hard calc teacher but, after CVW, she's been praising this lady ever since. Hard to find many high school teachers today who truly care about getting the information across to the student.</p>
<p>I'm kind of concerned about physics. She hasn't been exposed to any thus far. They used this class as the "weed out" course at my college. Seems I've heard chem is the "biggie" at the Academy.</p>
<p>wvdad....my kiddo has never taken a Chem class...but AP Physics and AP Bio....it's the CHEM we're concerned about....so I think you're ahead of the game from all the stories on this forum</p>
<p>wvdad, welcome to the world of academy parents! LOL We can tell you straight up that you'll STAY concerned. Oh well. Its our new job. USMMA kids go to school for 11 months out of the year so we've got kids who do Physics I & II in this 11 month span. Its a killer! There is one light at the end of this tunnel. They have alot of help at the academies. Study groups, extra instruction, even the prof.'s go out of their way to tutor if need be. It might be bad if there is a prof. that she can't understand though... She'll do fine. Hope & pray alot! :)</p>
<p>That does seem to be a recurring theme from posts of current mids. IF you want to make it, they will find a way for you TO make it. I truly feel that even with the rigorous, daily demands of Academy life, the learning environment at any of the Academies has to be better than your normal institution of higher learning. But then, I AM a "little" biased. :D</p>
<p>Kind of goes with a little news article I recently read about a young person's "work ethic and humility". Sound familiar to anyone? :)</p>
<p>ughhh Chem...</p>
<p>any tips or 1st hand experiences on how much should be known before hand?</p>
<p>ColbyBus - from other posts and what we've gleaned from three trips to the Academy, chem is tough (if your not a chem geek! :D). Sis has AP chem now with an A/B average but, IT IS NOT her forte. :p</p>