Math Courses

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
1

<p>for someone who has taken the math series:</p>

<p>what is the difference in difficulty among the different courses in the math20a-c series? </p>

<p>i'm assuming that it gets more difficult as you proceed from a-c, but sometimes higher levels of a given topic can be easier than lower ones, so i'm wondering if that's the case particularly for b & c. i've already taken ap-calc bc and did well in both the course and the ap test. at the same time, i don't want to take too much on my plate, so i'd prefer an easier course.</p>

2

<p>It actually doesn't increase in difficulty. College courses don't work like that. You just move on to different topics, possibly more detailed ones. But difficulty doesn't really factor in. Read the course descriptions and decide which one you feel you need to take. They are all hard if you are bad at math, and they are all easy if you are good at math. There is no in between.</p>

<p>20A. Calculus for Science and Engineering (4) Foundations of differential and integral calculus of one variable. Functions, graphs, continuity, limits, derivative, tangent line. Applications with algebraic, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions. Introduction to the integral.</p>

<p>20B. Calculus for Science and Engineering (4) Integral calculus of one variable and its applications, with exponential, logarithmic, hyperbolic, and trig-onometric functions. Methods of integration. Infinite series. Polar coordinates in the plane and complex exponentials.</p>

<p>20C. Calculus and Analytic Geometry for Science and Engineering (4) Vector geometry, vector functions and their derivatives. Partial differentiation. Maxima and minima. Double integration</p>

3

<p>From what I understand, 20A and 20B essentially comprise of material present in AP Calc BC. 20C is multivariate.</p>

4

<p>A lot of also depends on how well you understand each particular topic... I felt that 20B was the hardest and that 20A was the easiest, but that was just me...</p>

5

<p>"I felt that 20B was the hardest and that 20A was the easiest"
that seems to be the general consensus</p>

6

<p>B > C > A in terms of difficulty</p>

<p>then..</p>

<p>D/F > E >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> B</p>

7

<p>what about 10 vs. 20? i know 20 is for science/engineering and 10 is for other majors, but (correct me if i'm wrong), unlike in high school, acceptance into graduate school is based on the grades earned, not necessarily the course difficultly. Then, what's the benefit of taking 20 instead of 10, if 10 is easier, other than the fact that you'd probably get more out of 20?</p>

8

<p>well, you're kind of on the right track. if your major also requires any course further on in the 20 series (D/E/F), then it'd make sense for you to start off in the 20 series.</p>

<p>however, the switch from 10C --> 20D isn't unheard of. my suitemate did it after she declared a chem major, and had no problems in it.</p>

<p>20 series profs will expect you to know the material covered in the prereq, so a whine of "but we didn't cover this in math 10X!" isn't going to fly with them.</p>

9

<p>I'm guessing you're a premed, huh...</p>

10

<p>i'm guessing a majority of the paranoid prefrosh on this forum are premed :)</p>

11

<p>lako19 are you sure because i've heard that linear algebra is easy peezy, as in easier than a-c</p>

12

<p>thanks for the replies, but is there a distinct advantage of taking 20 over 10?</p>

13

<p>20 is more flexible with majors, more interesting (imo) and probably a better idea if you're going for, say, a ph.d in economics, especially since there's more math along the way for that major anyway.</p>

<p>10 series is a cake.</p>

<p>i'd agree with the above; b > c > a...i hate series and areas of polar coordinates and whatnot.</p>

14

<p>yeah those two topics were what made 20b hard at all imo</p>

15

<p>Is D/E/F really THAT MUCH harder than A/B/C ? </p>

<p>I would assume the linear algebra in the earlier post is part of the D,E,F topics covered.</p>

16

<p>for a pre-med student, then, would you suggest taking 20 or 10? i'm assuming that i won't have to take calc again, so is it logical just to take 10 series?</p>

17

<p>being a pre-med does not dictate which math series you should enroll in -- your major does that.</p>

18

<p>well, i'm a bio major</p>

19

<p>still not good enough. there is no single "bio" major at this school. </p>

<p>of the 9 majors offered by the department of biological sciences, at least 2 require that you take the math 20 series.</p>

<p>(do your research!)</p>

20

<p>general bio. haha..don't worry, i have done the research and from what i remember last, general bio only requires A-C, so does 10/20 make more sense?</p>