Hey, guys
This is my first post. Thanks for being willing to read what I have to ask!
So I’m going to be a senior this year, and I’m thinking about taking Physics C Mech and E&M (my school teaches devotes one semester to each topic) and their respective AP tests. I’ll be taking Calculus AB concurrently. Now I’m not worried about the calculus involved in Physics C Mech; I’ve learned to do basic differentiation and integration in my spare time, and I’ve already taken Physics 1. From what I’ve seen, Mech covers essentially the first half of Physics 1 but with elementary calculus instead of algebra.
However, I looked at the equations sheet for E&M, and I was frightened to see line integrals. My question is this: how deep into Maxwell’s equations does E&M get, and do you need to know multi-variable calculus or Calculus BC (non-AB content) in order to do well on the E&M exam?
If it’s any help, I’m planning on either becoming a CS or philosophy major.
Thanks!
@dialecticalfruit: you need to be taking BC concurrently with E&M.
Can you just take the first semester (Mech)? Many schools do that.
If you like philosophy, try to take a first year intro class at your local CC, in order to support the fact you’re interested. You’re clearly smart, you should be able to handle it as dual enrollment 
Line integrals are something that pops up in Calculus III… But line integrals work practically like normal integrals–integrating along a line in space instead of a line on a graph. Ampere’s law in E/M is still a single variable integral and you could be integrating along just a circle. And for Gauss’s law you get simple geometries like rectangular prism, sphere, or cylinder where I don’t think you even have to do any Calculus.
As far as BC content the only thing you need to know from there are the more advanced integration techniques for certain things such as electric fields.
You typically get to play with MVC the next level up in physics or electrical engineering