<p>So, I've been pondering what courses I'll take next semester (first semester of college), and I was wondering what kind of conceptual "leap" exists between AP Calculus AB and Calculus I at a top LAC? I will take a calculus placement test this summer to determine what course I should go into; however, I would like some foresight. What kind of differences can I expect between high school calculus and college calculus? </p>
<p>I've consulted my physics teacher who is only five years older than myself, attended the same high school, had the same AP Calculus AB teacher, and attended NC State University (Engineering school). He scored a 4 on the AP Calculus AB exam, skipped Calculus I at State, and failed Honors Calculus II (although on the curve, he technically got a C). He advises that I should definitely retake Calculus I.</p>
<p>I’m also wondering the same thing between Calc BC and Calc II and III (I’m going to take the AB test even though I’m in the BC class and retake Calc II). What is the difference in diffculty from Calc BC to II and III?</p>
<p>I don’t see any reason to retake if you’re really good at Calc I. Same with Calc II. AB should prepare you for calc II, and BC should prepare you for III.</p>
<p>I’m dominating AB right now, but I’m retaking Calculus from the beginning. If I get raped by the class, at least it won’t be Cal 2. If I dominate it, then hey, it’s a GPA boost.</p>
<p>If you are anywhere near as smart as my impression of you in the last few months has been, you probably want to take at least Calc 2. I got a 5 on the AB exam and started with Advanced Calculus at Haverford and did fine. (Advanced Calculus is a more theoretical version of Calc 3, taught in the spring.)</p>
<p>If by any chance you are placed into Calc 3, go ahead and give it a try!!! Calc 3 is taught by Josh Sabloff in the fall and he is the most amazing math professor at Haverford in my opinion. I am sooo depressed because I can’t take a class with him next semester… Calc 3 might even be easier than Calc 2 because Calc 2 builds directly onto Calc 1 while Calc 3 is pretty self-contained.</p>
<p>You’ll regret your decision when you’re either taking one more class than you want to senior year or are unable to take an elective in the slot that’s been taken up by your extra calc class.</p>
<p>Since Sligh’s question seems to be answered:</p>
<p>Can anyone give info about the difference between Cal I and Elementary Cal I. In the course descriptions it says that Elementary Cal uses business applications, but what does that mean exactly? Any comments would be helpful, thanks. :)</p>
<p>I’d assume that Elementary Calc is applied calc; in this case, applied to business problems. That would include applications of calc & possibly some VERY easy differential equations to finance problems, econ problems, and maybe some operations research problems.</p>
<p>And on Sligh’s original question – a lot of students are very high end schools (like Caltech) retake Calc because the college course is much more theoretical and proof based – and most high school courses aren’t. And from what I hear the kids at Caltech don’t find the calc course a mick even if they have already scored a 5 on the BC test. But, that’s clearly going to vary school by school.</p>
<p>I guess I would agree. I took AP Calc AB (calc I) at my high school, and then took Calculus II at the local community college. The college course was very much proof-based, while the high school course was not. However, I’ve always been a very proof-oriented person (generally requiring a concept or theorem to be proven to me before I feel good about using it), so I had researched the proofs for Calc AB independently. So it wasn’t too much of a jump for me, and I actually greatly prefer a more theoretical approach.</p>
<p>If you don’t understand the <em>concepts</em> in calculus I, like how the definition of a derivative ( ( f(x + h) - f(x) ) / h ) works and the mean value theorem, and the theory behind the rest of it, you should probably retake, just to get more comfortable with a college math course. AP Calc shouldn’t be taught like a high school math course; the problem is, usually that’s how it’s taught.</p>
<p>My AP Calculus AB teacher was fortunate enough to introduce the class to some of the proofs (such as the definition of a derivative, as you mentioned) during lecture; however, she never tested on the fine theoretical points of the material. The AP exam isn’t very in-depth, so that would explain why most high schools run their AP Calculus courses this way. As you said, it shouldn’t be taught like a high school math course - this is exactly the reason why I have been wondering if I should retake Calculus I! </p>
<p>If I didn’t plan on entering a math-heavy major (Economics // Concentration: Mathematical Economics), I wouldn’t bother with this and just take the credit, fulfilling the quantitative requirement for my LAC.</p>
<p>I’d probably just review over the break, and look through some of the proofs and more theoretical parts yourself. Or, take Calc I again at a community college near where you live, assuming you’re not going to be travelling this summer. Most community colleges offer evening/night courses in case you’re working a day job this summer. It’ll reinforce it more than enough for you, and it’ll be pretty cheap. ($40/credit for our local college)</p>
<p>Also, it’s good to know that calc AB has some bleed-over into calc ii. Some of the stuff you do will probably be review at first, which is nice. You won’t be grossly unprepared unless, possibly, you’re going to like MIT or Caltech or somewhere similar.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, JDHarms. We have a very good community college in my county; I am actually take a World Civilizations class there right now. </p>
<p>That’s good to know. But no, I won’t be attending MIT or Caltech. I’ll be attending Haverford College, a difficult school (according to US News & World Report, ranked #10 in LAC category), but it’s no MIT or Caltech, I’d imagine. :)</p>