<p>So I'd like to transfer as an economics major and I see as a pre-req I have to take math1a,1b, and 1c which are all 3 levels of calculus.</p>
<p>I'm wondering how different is 1A from 1B and so on. Also are these difficult classes? I see myself ok at math. I got B- in both semesters of precal in high school. I just don't want to get into something that I can't handle</p>
<p>First level of calculus is easy in my opinion. The second level is much harder and the third just slightly below the second in terms of relative difficulty.</p>
<p>To give you an idea, I got a 5 on my AP Calc A/B test to test out of the first level without trying very hard at all. I then got my only B to date in the second level of Calc and then an A in the third level. Hope this was helpful.</p>
<p>Oo thank you! These 3 classes are the ones I seem to be worrying about the most</p>
<p>^^Agree with Lipper. But I took all my Calc classes online so they were super easy :)</p>
<p>Hard to say, for some people different ones will be easier than others. In my case I agree with the above that in terms of the most difficult course that would have to be calc2 followed by calc3 and then calc1. Here’s sort of a general description of the classes without using any terms:</p>
<p>calc1 - learning the concepts of calculus and basic techniques.
calc2 - expanding on techniques
calc3 - using techniques of calculus for 3D spaces</p>
<p>imo your precalc performance isn’t indicative of your calc performance. some of the things like polar coordinates don’t show up until calc2 too. That being said, I think if you don’t consider yourself good at math, you may struggle a bit. Math is still math.</p>
<p>I think Calc2 is the hardest. Maybe because my prof. was picky.</p>
<p>Calculus 2 is easier than Calculus 1 unless your professor throws odd questions at you from left field… mine gave us such basic, fundamental, questions(that were sort of like proofs, but not really) that my brain basically **** itself trying to find things that weren’t there. Also, my life changed for the worse for Calculus 2, so an A in Calculus 1 while working hard and a B+ in Calculus 2 while being quite distracted mentally makes me think that Calculus 2 is easier…</p>
<p>I received an A in Calculus 1, and a B+ in Calculus 2… nearly an A…</p>
<p>Calculus 1: intro to limits, derivatives and integrals. Pretty easy class.</p>
<p>Calculus 2: more advanced integration techniques and applications + sequences and series. This class requires you to be on top of your algebra and trig skills (what you learned in Pre-Calc) to manipulate functions into more easily integrated forms, sequences and series can be tricky but are pretty cool</p>
<p>Calculus 3: expands the concept of derivatives and integrals to 3 dimensions + vector calculus. The multi dimensional stuff is actually pretty easy in its execution but sometimes visualizing the problem can be a bit tricky. Vector is a bit tricky but very doable.</p>
<p>In terms of concepts the difficulty goes 2>3>1 , but your professor will make a lot of difference, my calculus 3 professor is a lot pickier then my previous 2 so while I easily got high A’s in 1 and 2 I’m fighting to hold onto my 91% in 3.</p>
<p>Hope this helped.</p>
<p>Thank you all of you!
You guys all seem like genius’s with such high grades in calculus lol (this is not sarcasm)</p>
<p>lol, I first tried to take Calc 1 online - feeling confident that my prior success in algebra would be met with more online…</p>
<p>WRONG! Got in over my head, dropped the class. </p>
<p>Second try: Got a C. This teacher was hellbent on us doing those limit as h -> 0 of (f(x+h)-f(x))/h proofs, you know, the ones where you spend 2-3 pages doing that? He put those on tests -_-</p>
<p>Calc 2: Integrals: Got a B. It was my favorite class at the time, and seemed a real breeze compared to calc 1. I probably would’ve had an A had I not started the semester off so badly.</p>
<p>Calc 3: Multivariable/analytic geometry: Got a B there as well. When we first started getting into the 3d objects my head spun and I thought I’d never pass the class, but at some point it all clicked. However, it required tons of effort. Still, doable.</p>
<p>I’ve gotten an A in all of my math classes but granted I’m a science major. I thought that econ was heavily based on math so to the OP: I’d be careful that you don’t get in over your head and you might even be placed in pre-alg again depending on your math placement test. </p>
<p>For anyone who might be interested… I took my math classes at Coastline Community College in Orange County and they’re all UC transferable and you only have to show up for a Saturday midterm and final or you can get the exams proctored as your school. The good thing about the system they use is that every single problem has an elaborate step-by-step guide with how to solve it online and you don’t have to buy the book because an online version comes with your online class access. I don’t remember much about the Calc 1 class. For Calc 2, there are end of chapter quizzes (which you can take 3 times) also that are identical to the questions in the homework (diff numbers) which are also identical to the test questions. You’re allowed to bring a notecard and everyone in the class just copied the same exact quiz questions onto it. For Calc 3, there is barely any homework because the problems tend to be a little bit longer. Total of 7 multiple choice quizzes that you could take 3 times for the best grade. Professor gave out a midterm review and the exam was approximately 12-15 of the exact same review questions (with diff numbers).</p>
<p>Oh and your online access is about $60 for a whole year so that covers 2 semesters :)</p>
<p>It’s all about your professor. Calculus is a very difficult math series, relative to what’s available for underclassmen. Having a skilled professor with a solid syllabus, who doesn’t try to push the class too much, will result in an easier class, no matter the material—single variable integration/differentiation, multi-variable and vector methods, or anything in between. Having an unskilled or inexperienced professor with a relatively new syllabus, who tries to push the class despite being out of his or her depth, will result in an incredibly difficult class.</p>
<p>I was in the latter situation for Calc 3 at a CCC last semester. The teacher told me straight up his strength is doing math, not teaching it. Because of a rotation policy at this campus, he hadn’t taught Calculus for several years, I think. He pushed us with very conceptual lectures and gave homeworks that were designed by the CourseCompass website, which meant sometimes they were incredibly difficult because the computer has a hard time understanding what is or is not difficult for a student. On one of the tests, three students passed and six students failed; one of the homeworks was made extra credit because when we all complained about it the professor tried doing it at home and gave up.</p>
<p>The teacher makes ALL the difference.</p>
<p>killmyentourage: You lucky dog! At my college, all of the online math classes are usually taught by the same teacher; he doesn’t answer any questions and tends to give you your test grade about 3 weeks after taking the test XD </p>
<p>The coursecompass ones aren’t quite as bad because you can abuse them, but yea… I’d suggest finding the best teacher through the review sites for calc 1, it’ll help a lot.</p>