<p>i am going to be an econ major so i realize that i can take the easy (easier) way out and just take math 102. however, should i take 103 instead? i averaged a 97/98 in my bc calculus. that class was never really hard for me, but by no means do i have a inherent talent when it comes to math. my main concern is my gpa though. should i take the risk to take 103 or just stick with 102? or do i even need to take either? i can satisfy my requirements with stat right? i would greatly appreciate any recommendations or advice!</p>
<p>Stat does not complete your requirements for the Econ major – you will need to take either 102 or 103.</p>
<p>As for which one is easier, it’s tough to say since obviously I only took one of them. My 102 professor is the only professor at Duke to have taught both classes, and he made it very clear to us that one is not easier or harder than the other. Both are going to be curved so you’ll be competing against your classmates either way. It also looks like there is more than 1 section of 102 this year and they are blocking the final exam, so grades will be assigned in pretty much the same exact way in both classes. </p>
<p>I will say is that 102 will have a good chunk of linear algebra (almost 1/3 of the course) whereas 103 does not (although you will cover spherical coordinates and some other topics that 102 doesn’t touch). Take a look at some linear algebra and try to get a feel for whether or not it’s your thing, because it will be a substantial part of 102 and your grade.</p>
<p>I don’t think a block final means that grades are assigned the same way in each section. IIRC, and this is assuming things have not changed in the math department, the reason block exams are conducted is so that the performance of each section can be gauged relative to all the students taking the same course in the same semester. In doing so, the curve in each individual section can then be set so that the cumulative distribution of grades across all sections will resemble something like a normal curve. </p>
<p>Essentially, what happens is that the math department knows that even though everyone takes the same final, they get different midterms and homeworks and quizzes in each section depending on the teacher, and so everyone’s the grades will differ based on how easy a section is. Furthermore, they know that finals typically (depending on how the teacher weighs it) do not count enough in the final grade to make a huge difference, so theoretically, one could get a really easy prof, get good grades, bomb the final, and still get a good grade in the end. So, to equalize things for people with harder profs, they do a block final and each section’s average on the final (or maybe median) is compared to the overall average across all sections. Then based on that, the number of A’s, A-'s, B+'s, B’s, etc for each section is set. So, if one section has an average of 93 and the overall average is 89, that section’s prof will have more A’s to give out.</p>
<p>Yeah, maybe I wasn’t clear in my wording. In the past, there has only been one section of Math 102 taught by Bray; thus, the final exam wasn’t blocked and the assignment of grades at the end of the semester was based on (and only on) where you stood on the curve when Bray lined up all the point totals. This year, there is more than one section of 102 and it has been added to the list of blocked math exams, so I assume that grades will now be assigned in 102 the same way they are in most other math classes (using the process SBR described above).</p>
<p>The reason I mention all of this is because, in the past, people have perceived 102 as being easier because 1) you’re competing against less students and 2) you’re not a disadvantage if you have a “bad” professor who doesn’t prepare you well for the final…well, because there was only one professor. Now that the grade assignment is (presumably) done in the same way in both 102 and 103, the whole idea of 102 being easier is completely irrelevant. Unless, of course, you happen to be good at linear algebra, in which case 102 probably will be easier than 103 for you.</p>