<p>I'll be completing Calculus 3 in about a month, but because of other requirements I need to get done, I won't be taking my next math class, Differential Equations, until next fall. (I'm a mechanical engineering major.) Two questions:</p>
<p>-- Apart from generically looking at calculus material, is there any good way to stay sharp on it during the seven months I won't be directly studying math? For example are there any good websites, blogs etc that would exercise these areas?</p>
<p>-- What in particular should I make sure that I'm up on from Calc 1-2-3 to do well in diff eq?</p>
<p>Strategies of integration were very important for my Diff EQ course when I took it. This includes u-substitution, integration by parts, partial fractions, etc. My professor didn’t specifically pick out the hardest functions to integrate but I did have to know how to use those strategies for many integrals solved in that course.</p>
<p>I didn’t think there was a ton of overlap, besides remembering basic integration skills, etc. I wouldn’t worry about that gap between the two. I had over 2 years between calc 3 and diff eq (with no other math classes in between). Brush up on basic calc before and when you start diff eq, be sure to refresh yourself if you run into a topic you’re rusty on. Don’t sweat it.</p>