Random Freshman Questions

<p>hey people, i just have a bunch of all over the place things to ask. I'm in art/sci and im totally not positive on what i want to major in, or do with my life, so im super nervous about closing off doors by picking the wrong courses etc. so my first question has to do with math...</p>

<p>if i were to take math 140 would i have to take 141, or could i do 140, and then 151? (basically do we have to take the corresponding higher level) Im thinking about doing pysch, but the maths i have to choose from are 139 (cant do, already taken calc) 140 or 141, AND 141 or 151. 141 is supposed to be a nasty course so taking 140 then 151 would be my preference. obviously ill ask an advisor later but if anyone knows do tell!</p>

<p>next...what happens with people who arent 18 during frosh week? my boyfriends 17 till october, and has a fake, but if he puts 17 on his registration what happens?</p>

<p>and finally...what are all the other art/sci's looking at taking this year? I could use a little comparing. same goes for anyone in gardner...</p>

<p>thanks so much</p>

<p>hmmm....</p>

<p>Isn't it, 139, 140 141 for those without a background in calculus?
140, 141 for those with a background in calculus?
150, 151 for those who want a challenging course?</p>

<p>IIRC, 150 is like 140 and 151 is like 141, only tougher as in tailored for those who are mathematically inclined.</p>

<p>I'm curious about the 17 thing too...</p>

<p>For the love of god don't take 150-151. Either do 140-141 then 222 in the summer or skip to 222 entirely if you did Cal 1 and 2 already. 150-151 is 3 courses in calculus (single variable differential, single var integral + series, multivar differential and integral) put into 2 semesters. Most of those who come in 150 think they've seen everything already (hence they get lazy) but don't know calculus 1 half as much as they should. Then they get into new material they haven't seen before and realize the pace is much faster than it appeared. Consequently leading to disaster and disappointment come exam time.</p>

<p>Going from 140 to 151 is simply a very bad idea. The pace is very different between 140 and 151, and 140 doesn't cover all that is required to know for 151, and there is no time to simultaneously catch up and absorb the fast pace material of 151.</p>

<p>I'm also arts/sci and have the same questions...I have no idea what classes to take but I know that I want to transfer into architecture next year...and I some IB exam scores that could get me out of some classes. As far as the arts classes, I think I saw that I need to take 3? so can I just pick anything. And how about science? I'm pretty sure I'll take math 140 and 141 though.</p>

<p>in my high school transcript it just says "Mathematics" but i think we did do calculus (stuff like derivatives and integrals..etc). So will i be able to take math 139? and im not too sure if i know enough of calculus to take math 140. I think my background in calc will be strenghtened if i take 139....but i dunno if i can take it...seeing that i have taken a bit of calc in high school.</p>

<p>If you've already done some calculus then you can take 140 for sure (assuming you haven't done too much calculus in the first place).</p>

<p>I was cosidering taking Math 150-151 but now I'm a little less sure. Who are these classes geared towards. I did very well in AP calc and these seemed like just slightly more indepth and fastpaced, like an honors version of 140-141 pehaps. Which would be right for me? Who does take 150-151 then? Unquestionable math geniuses only?</p>

<p>Well, you don't need to be a genius, but, honestly, either take 140-141 or skip to 222 altogether. If you are smart and have no real knowledge of calculus then you can take 150-151. Or, if you wish to take those 2 courses, try to forget all the previous calculus you've learned. Really. Because otherwise you'll feel like you're wasting your time at first, though in many cases, it really isn't a waste of time, as a number of students just didn't learn calculus properly and don't actually understand it (though they have memorized a number of basic formulae), so they get burned from the midterm onwards.</p>

<p>most science kids take 140 and 141 from what I've heard. 141 isn't that hard and it won't close off any doors to you, as far as I'm aware. It's challenging and the class average fall 2005 was like 60 something, but I got an A in it and I'm not particularly gifted in math. You have to work hard though and be diligent even if you feel like you've seen the material already. and go to tutorial!! they'll help you do your problem sets and teach you a lot that the prof might not just because he has to cover a lot of theory in class.</p>

<p>wait, so 141 is harder than 151...?</p>

<p>That doesn't make sense...</p>

<p>Let me put it this way: If I got a 4 on the AP Calc AB exam what class should I be prepaired to take.</p>

<p>What does calc AB cover and what does getting a 4 in it mean? </p>

<p>Doing math 150 is redoing single variable differential calculus (Math 140) from scracth but in about 2/3 of a semester. Then you get to do half of calculus 3 (math 222) in 1/3 of a semester. Math 151 is Math 141 and the other half of Math 222 into one semester.</p>

<p>If calculus AB covered Math 140 well enough, it's better to take the 141-222 route than doing 150-151.</p>

<p>From a TA's perspective, 150 is the worst class possible...</p>

<p>AP Calc AB covers all the things on this website: <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/calculus_ab/topic.html?calcab%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/calculus_ab/topic.html?calcab&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Getting a 4 on the exam means that I did well enough for McGill to give me 3 Math credits but not well enough to get the best score possible which is a 5. It's hard to say what it means exactly though since the exam is curved.</p>

<p>What do you me by 150 is the worst class possible from a TA's perspective?</p>

<p>What's wrong with 150/151? Shouldn't they be better (as in more challenging than 140/141?) :p</p>

<p>150 and 151 is probably the more challenging route. If they gave you credits for 140 just take 141. Most people won't need calc 3 ever. I know that AP Calc BC is like 141, although 141 is a little bit more challenging. My advise is, don't over-estimate your mathematical ability before you get here. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake in my first couple of weeks doing math 141 in my first semester because I had already seen a lot of the integration that they were teaching, but it was challenging. I wouldn't have made it through without the help of my TA. You can always switch in the first couple of weeks. Try 141 first and talk to your prof. I would recommend 141 unless you want to go into something like econometrics or...I don't even know what kind of science concentration would require calc3.</p>

<p>Wait, I still don't get it, so math 140/141 is HARDER than math 150/151?</p>

<p>Why would math 151 be more challenging then? What's their difference? Why do they call 141 'killer' and not 151? (wouldn't it make sense that it was just as bad or worse?)</p>

<p>well the thing is most people take 141 so they can tell you it's "killer". I don't know how hard 151 is but it's probably at least just as hard. The difference is that they shove calc 1, calc2 and some of calc 3 into the 150/151 program. 140 is calc 1 and 141 is calc 2. If you don't plan on taking any calc 3, then you really don't need to take 150/151.</p>

<p>150/151 is harder than 140/141, but those who have done some calculus can easily be fooled early in the class into thinking it'll be easy because they have seen some of the stuff. </p>

<p>Listen to bittersweet28, if they gave you credits for 140, take the 141/222 route (the latter if you need cal 3, but I think most science programs do). 150 is probably more deceptive if you've already seen some differentiation than 141 is for those who have seen some integration.</p>

<p>And KEITHRO: I'm certain calc AB doesn't cover 141, and I'm not entirely sure it covers 140 properly but I guess it should be sufficient preparation for 141. As for 150 being the worst class from a TA's perspective: most student who take 150 have already been through a class on single variable differential calculus. For the first 2/3 of the class, there is nothing really new, just a little bit more depth and rigour. So it's very hard to keep the students' attention, not to mention keeping them motivated to do certain types of exercises like taking a derivative using limits when they already know the shorthand formulae. And because the students have seen the stuff already and are not motivated, there's a higher tendency not to prepare well for the midterm, point at which many realize 150 is actually a challenging course. Then the TAs have to deal with all the kids who are not happy with that kind of bad surprise.</p>

<p>You still haven't convinced me not to go 150/151. I see it this way. 150-151 is the same as 140-141-222, right? With my AP credit I could skip to 141. However, you said calc AB dosen't necessarily cover all the matarial in 140. So if I would like to get the three part calc sequence over in two semesters and a review of the 140 material which I may or may not have seen yet 150-151 seems like the best choice. I realize it's not a perfect plan though. It will start out easy and then get hard. On the other hand though if I go the other route than it would probably start out hard since I may at first be expected to know things I haven't learned yet and then become easier because of the slower pace. The first situation seems more palatable to me still because I'd like to have that easier periond first to get my mathmatical brain together by learning the more basics very well.</p>