<p>well ive gotten a 5 on calc BC but i heard we need to know how to do proofs in this class? ive never done proofs/theories so will this be an issue?</p>
<p>math 51h is the proof class...math 51 is just regular lin algebra/mv calc</p>
<p>^Yeah</p>
<p>Math 51 only has a handful of proofs. I did calc AB and that was enough.</p>
<p>For those "handful of proofs", I don't think you need prior knowledge of proofs to work through them. They will be relatively short, straight-forward proofs, as far as I remember. You'll be fine with your calc background.</p>
<p>I agree with Celest. Don't worry about proofs in Math 51.</p>
<p>If I took Calc AB and did well in the class but bombed the AP (okay, got a 3, not bombed but not enough to place into 51) is there any way i can start with 51? Or is it really necessary that I take the 40 series first?</p>
<p>im pretty sure that the math dept doesnt have any prereq</p>
<p>On the Bulletin for Math 51 it says:</p>
<p>Prerequisite: 21, 42, or a score of 4 on the BC Advanced
Placement exam or 5 on the AB Advanced Placement exam, or consent
of instructor.</p>
<p>Now whether or not the Math department actually forces you to take prereqs I can't say...</p>
<p>Even if they let you in, you might want to consider doing 42 anyway...multivariable calc does a lot with integration by parts and polar, parametric, and vector-valued functions, none of which are especially hard to learn, but it might be useful to see them treated in one variable first.</p>
<p>Rarely, if ever, will you be kicked out of an intro class because you don't meet the prereqs. More often than not they are merely a suggestion, a guide if you will. </p>
<p>If you feel comfortable with the material from AB Calc, than at least go to the first couple weeks of 51. If you end up feeling like it's too much, then drop out and enroll in 40 series. You won't have missed anything in the first two weeks there that you didn't already learn from HS calc.</p>
<p>The math department has prereqs, but they are NEVER enforced.</p>
<p>I think that generally people seem to find that Math 42 is actually a bit more work than Math 51. On the other hand, I know of at least one person who had done AP Calculus AB and done well who went into Math 51 and regretted it. Remember that there will be some people (it seemed like quite a few) in Math 51 who have had multivariable calculus and/or linear algebra before. I know that physics requires the 50 series, and it makes much more sense to just take the 50 series instead of the honors series if math isn't your passion. Economics requires Math 51, and there are probably some other majors that do as well, so students might take it even if they've seen some of the material before. </p>
<p>Personally, I was really worried about Math 51 for some reason, but it turned out to be one of the easiest classes I've taken at Stanford. I have some very bright friends (some are even engineering majors!) who would disagree. They all did well in the class, it just took more work.</p>