<p>If anyone here took Calculus | & || in college And possibly also AP Calculus AB then I'd love to hear your insight!</p>
<p>I took AB in high school and barely passed the class so i definitely didn't score well on the exam. I started college this fall with Calculus |, barely passed with a C but I noticed some topics i never learned . I took AP about 2 years ago in my junior year of high school so most of it was familiar but I don't remember the L'Hospital rule, Mean Value Theorem or a few other things. There's still a waiting list for Calculus || but I intend try going even though I feel I'm not ready since I barely passed last semester. (About half the class dropped by the end of the semester!)</p>
<p>I looked at the chapters for Calculus || and I remember some topics from AP with arc length so I'm not worried about it being impossible but I'm thinking there's a chance i could fail. </p>
<p>So I'm wondering if Calculus || is more difficult/challenging than Calculus |? And is it just me or did AB calculus overlap a little into Calculus ||??</p>
<p>Most places I know of have calculus as a three semester sequence. I never took calculus AB in high school but I know what the curriculum generally covers. In the three semester sequence, calculus 1 covers basic limits, most standard techniques and applications of differentiation, and an introduction to basic integration, usually up to u-substitution. Calculus 2 tends to cover the rest of known elementary integration techniques, applications of integration, infinite sequences and series, and an introduction to conics. </p>
<p>Calculus AB covers most of calculus 1 and the first half of calculus 2. Most people say that calculus 2 is the most difficult class ever, but really I think it’s just that people tend to go into calculus 2 without knowing any of their formulas and they have incredibly poor algebra skills. Things like synthetic division or long division from high school algebra WILL come back in calculus 2. Solving basic systems of linear equations WILL come up. The Pythagorean trig identity WILL come up. These are the reasons people fail calculus 2 because they cannot remember the central ideas of their previous math classes and expect it to never come back.</p>
<p>To return to an earlier question since I can’t easily go back and type this in on my phone, there are certain things your high school teacher left out in calculus AB because they wanted you to understand the central idea of calculus without cluttering up some of the ideas. Sorry for the out of order typing. Lol.</p>
<p>L’Hospital’s rule is not on the AB syllabus (it is for BC though). The mean value theorem, however, is, and has been tested before (for example, see the 2011 AB FRQ#4d). Arc length (if I remember correctly) should not be on the AB syllabus. It looks like you might have had a nonstandard selection of topics when you took AP Calculus in high school.</p>
<p>So for your questions:
Many people think Calculus II is quite a bit more difficult than Calculus I.
It should, unless you go to some top school where they cram everything into one semester.</p>
<p>That is not always true, bomerr. I took AP Calculus BC in high school, took calculus II in college and I didn’t learn a single new thing. </p>
<p>OP, are you relying on your past knowledge of calculus to carry you through your calculus courses? Use your past knowledge as background knowledge. Learn the material as if it is your first time learning it. Pay attention. Learn. Study. Get tutoring if you need to.</p>
<p>I took Calc AB in high school and went right into calc 2 in college. I got a 5 on the AP test and an A in calc 2. I personally think calc 2 was just a big application of calc 1. It was all either about differentiation or antidifferentiation in some indirect way. I had a horrible teacher for calc 2, but I still didn’t find the book too difficult to follow. I thought it was pretty straightforward, so I think you’ll be fine OP, as long as you know how to derive and integrate.</p>
<p>I heard of a different opinion: Many students have troubles with some topics in Calc 2 if their high school Calc preparation is not solid. The calculation steps tend to be more complicated. So if you are not good at calculation, you may need extra practice.</p>
<p>In the end, it all depends on the instructor: he or she could make it easy or hard. Better to ask someone in your own school who has taken the class taught by the same professor.</p>
<p>Ya I’d expect it to be harder since its the next level but some people say its not if your know calculus | really well. </p>
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<p>My professor is going to the same and she lectures well but not entirely in depth unless asked to explain the steps. I will review derivatives & integrations before class starts hopefully. </p>
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<p>Lmao I sure am! I thought it’d be easier that way than learning everything all over again. </p>
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<p>Wow I didn’t know AB covered more than Calculus |. I always thought it was equivalent and BC was Calculus || I didn’t even know there was a calculus ||| until I started college.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely try to read the textbook instead of getting by in the class. And review what I learned last semester.
Thanks everyone! ツ</p>
<p>@Niquii77, depends on the teacher I guess. I took a Calc AB course before Calc 1. We covered the information in a lot more depth during Calc 1. The equations required more trig substations (e.g. half-angle), we had the delta-epsilon proof, a lot of derivatives and integrals by definition, applied problems like work, etc. Just going off my prior AB calc knowledge I would have gotten a C+ or a B- in the course.</p>
ForeIN, I didn’t even realized you posted this! Lol hence the “OP”…</p>
<p>Anywho…DON’T DO THAT. </p>
<p>I am telling you. You’re making it harder on yourself. Relearn the material. Reinforce the background knowledge in your head. It will pay off. Trust me.</p>
<p>You should consider retaking Calc II if you barely got a C. If your C was high, though, chances are you’ll be fine. Still make sure to study a lot for Calc II, though, as it is usually considered harder.</p>