<p>I am in math 1b now, should I sign up for math 54 or 53 next semester? Math 54 would fit my schedule better and has a higher rated professor. Is it normal for people to take 54 before 53?</p>
<p>id take 54 first while 1b is fresh in your head, because there are 1b topics that are carried on in 54 according to the descriptions. and it fits your schedule better and you have a higher rated professor. 54 and 53 are independent of each other.</p>
<p>53 is very related to 1b. in fact it's obvious that 53 and 1b are more related b/c both are calculus classes, while 54 is not. in 54, the last third on differential equations is the only part that relates to 1b. furthermore, you get a tiny intro to diff eq's in a small chapter in 1b, right?. go with the crowd, take 53 first and don't listen to the bogus post above this.</p>
<p>You could take 54 before 53, but it would be a dumb idea. 53 is multivariable CALCULUS, so you want to take it right after 1A and 1B (single variable calculus). 54 is linear algebra, an entirely different subject that only utilizes calculus sparingly. If you take 54 first, you will probably be considerably rusty once you have to return to calculus for 53.</p>
<p>You can also take both at the same time, if it fits your schedule.</p>
<p>Many of my friends are taking Math 54 next semester, before taking 53. But yeah, I would agree that you'll be a little rusty when you take up calculus again in 53.</p>
<p>wow i was totally wrong. bad speculation...haven't taken the class but i was told that you could practically skip 1b and go straight to 53 so i assumed 1b material isnt very prevalent in 53. </p>
<p>but anyways...why the hell do they say that there are so many 1b(at berk) topics not covered in AP calc 1b that are needed for math54?</p>
<p>Misterreach:
My Math 53 professor told me that most of 1B (sequences, series, differential equations) are not used in 53. So 1B is indeed related to 54 more.</p>
<p>1B involves more series and differential equations than Calculus BC, so skipping 1B may require some self-teaching of those parts, as I was told.</p>