ENORMOUSLY important math course question

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>I tried my best to read all of the (many, many, many) threads on math course selection at Duke, but I couldn't find a concise answer to my question.</p>

<p>For an Econ major, I need 3 years of Econ, I should get a 5 on AB and place out of the first, but for the other two:
Math 32, Math32L, or Math41?
Math 102 or Math 103</p>

<p>*I am good at math, but I really don't like it very much and I have no unquenchable desire to take the best/hardest/most challenging calc imaginable; therefore, which would be the most manageable/least oriented towards math majors (aka math geniuses)?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>(From what I've read 102 is a simplified 103, primarily for econ majors, so probably that one, but for 32/41 I'm lost)</p>

2

<p>Well Math 32 and Math 41 are really different. They both encompass a lab component that goes along with it, yet the difference between the two is that Math 32 is Calc I, whereas Math 41 is Calc II. Thefore, Math 32 is kind of like AP Calc AB all over again, whereas Math 41 is AP Calc BC. If you want more info, google “Duke mathematics” and it will take you to the math department’s homepage. From there you can look at the differences between the courses, what they recommend for placement, and you can also look at syllabi for courses that teachers have updated. I realized that the syllabus for math 41 was almost exactly the same as the syllabus that I had for AP Calc BC. Either way, I’ve heard from people that regardless of if you take Math 32, Math 41 or even Math 103, the amount of time you put in will be the same no matter what.</p>

3

<p>If you have Calculus AB credit, you can go into either Math 32 or Math 41. It will -not- let you register for Math 31 OR Math 32L (Math 32L can only be taken after Math 31L, and there is apparently a difference). The difference between Math 32 and Math 41 is not too bad, actually. Some key differences:</p>

<p>1) Math 41 allows you to use calculators on everything except the test. You’ll also spend quite a bit of time using computer algebra programs (specifically Maple). In Math 32, you aren’t not allowed to use calculators on anything.
2) Math 32 is designed to directly follow Math 31, so for those who have taken AP Calculus, there may be some disconnect. Most Math 32 topics are not covered in AB Calculus, as it is designed solely as a second semester course.
3) Math 41 is designed to be a follow-up to either AB or BC Calculus. Therefore, if you took AB Calculus, about 60% of the class is review and the rest of it is learning at an accelerated pace. </p>

<p>I took AB calculus and went into Math 41, which I enjoyed. For next year, they are trying to emphasize Math 41 more than my year, which they only offered in two small sections as a test run. Also, the Math 41 professor is amazing and one of my favorite teachers at Duke. He takes some getting used to, as he puts a high level of emphasis on learning theorems and proving theorems as well as Maple, but he’s very personable and easy to track down for extra help. The workload is low when there isn’t a test nearby, because he doesn’t not check homework daily. (Though he does check it eventually.) Therefore its easy to off put homework, but its also easy to get behind. </p>

<p>For those who took BC Calculus, I’d recommend taking Math 41 as well, especially if you took it as a Junior and did not take any math classes as a senior. Math 41 will provide a pretty nice, if a little fast-paced review. If you took BC Calculus as a Senior, you can consider going into Math 103, which is far more time intensive.</p>

<p>Now, looking at Math 103 and Math 102. </p>

<p>Math 102 is the economics’ major math. However, if you decide to switch your major, your Math 102 credit DOES NOT work for any other major. So only take it if you are positive you are sticking with economics. </p>

<p>Math 103 is a very time intensive class, especially at the beginning. I easily spend 15 hours a week on math homework (averaging 4-5 hours a day, 3 days a week). This does not include the extra 7-8 hours I spend studying before midterms. However, this varies person by person; I know some people who can finish each night’s homework in a bit under 2 hours if you go to the Math Help Room (or even one girl who finishes it in an hour). However, the concepts themselves are not particularly difficult to understand until the end of the semester, which by then, you’ll be used to the work load. </p>

<p>Also, you’ll here this phrase a lot so just be prepared to work hard: “I thought I was good at math until I took it at Duke.”</p>

4

<p>As far as Math 41L goes, do you recommend me taking it as a premed student? I took Calc AB as a sophomore, and Calc BC as a junior and don’t remember any of it (I have yet to figure out how I got a 5 on the AP exam). I know that for med school they want calculus, but will they count high school credit? I heard from a friend who took math 41L that is was much harder than math 103 because of the way the class was taught and the way the professor was. So I kind of shifted gears a bit and am now considering not taking any math at all except for biostatistics 102. Does that seem okay?</p>

5

<p>As a premed student with AP credit, you are not required to take any math classes to graduate. You are, however, required to take a Quantitative Science for a general graduation requirement, but this can be fulfilled with any math or statistics class. </p>

<p>My roommate is premed, and she is only taking the statistics class since she took BC Calculus. If you do want to take Math 41, you sound like you’d be ample prepared to do well in it. Those I knew who took it after taking BC (even with a year’s break) found the class to be a pretty good review.</p>

<p>Either way, I don’t think you can really go wrong as premed. I personally loved the professor for Math 41 (though I hated him at first), but he does take time to get used to.</p>

6

<p>Take 102/103; you don’t want to live through Duke ‘Calc BC.’ If I am not mistaken, econ requires math 102/103 anyways. DO NOT TAKE CLASSES THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY ‘TAKEN’ FOR AN ‘EASY’ GRADE. It won’t be easy; I promise.</p>

7

<p>I’m taking AB not BC, I would skip 32/41 if I could lol.
So yeah 41/102 sounds like my way to go.</p>

8

<p>How are you checking out course descriptions? Is there like a course catalog or bulletin? Please help!</p>

9

<p>Here are some link about math courses: </p>

<p>[Duke</a> Mathematics Department](<a href=“http://www.math.duke.edu/first_year/placement.html]Duke”>http://www.math.duke.edu/first_year/placement.html)</p>

<p>For a more general source, you can use this:</p>

<p><a href=“https://duke.courserank.com/duke/main[/url]”>https://duke.courserank.com/duke/main&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You can’t find any detailed information about the courses without a NetID but you should be able to read the course descriptions.</p>

10

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<p>Honestly, you don’t need to worry about this stuff yet. The course catalog is not available to you until you get your NetID sometime in May, and you might actually need access to registration before you can look at the synopses, which won’t happen until bookbagging opens up in June. My guess is that the OP has been browsing the Duke Math/Econ department websites. If you’re interested in requirements and all that good stuff, just Google “Duke [enter the department here]” and there’s probably a “first-year placement” or major pathway page on there somewhere (and some departments like Math even have class descriptions/suggestions). You can also look here: [Course</a> Synopsis Handbook](<a href=“http://www.aas.duke.edu/reg/synopsis/view.cgi]Course”>http://www.aas.duke.edu/reg/synopsis/view.cgi) and use the drop-down menu to look at previous years’ synopses, but for some reason starting with Fall 2010 you need to be in the Duke system to look at them.</p>

11

<p>haha actually I have the '08-09 course book :smiley: I snagged it when visiting Duke last summer.</p>