Which math course for first year?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

Hello everyone,

I will be a freshman this fall in L&S. I’m planning to major in Computer Science and/or Pure Mathematics. I am very struggling to choose my math class in my first term. A little info about me:

  • I took AP Calculus BC and had 3. However, I self-studied myself (as my school does not offer AP curriculum) and this was before my school taught me any trigonometry, algebra etc... This year my school covers all the AP Calculus BC topics. I am also confident that I would score a 5 in AP Calculus BC if I did today (but I cannot take AP exam this year).
  • I know Calculus up to (and including) Taylor series; almost nothing about multivariable calculus and a lot about linear algebra.
  • I am usually comfortable with math and I love proofs too.
  • I contacted Berkeley Math department. I satisfy Math 1A (Calculus I). They said I can pass Math 1B (Calculus II) by examination, and I believe I can pass 1B by just taking final exam since I know the material.

I have three options:

  1. I can pass 1B by examination and take Math 54 (Linear Algebra). I am informed by students that Nadler is an awesome professor and one of the sections is given by him this fall. I already know analytic geometry, matrix algebra, linear algebra etc… The material shouldn’t be alien to me. So enrolling in Nadler’s Linear Algebra is my first choice. Other options, in case I cannot enroll in this course (due to lack of available seats etc):

  2. I can pass 1B by examination and take Math 53 (Multivariable Calculus). I am intending to take Gomez’s section (I will not go for Givental’s). Some senior students say that taking 53 is easier while I already know a lot of calculus.

  3. I can take Honors 1B (H1B). Although I know all the material I do not know a lot of rigorous proofs (except those I researched and found myself) because these were not shown in my school. So, a more proof-based Calculus II course sounds very fun to me. The problem is I am not confident that I am a super math student in Berkeley standards (I probably am not). So this may (probably will) hurt my GPA. On the other hand, I am extremely motivated for Berkeley mathematics, so I may end up having good grades…

Any help will be appreciated, this is really confusing me. I am willing to 1)be prepared for upper-level proof based maths 2) not fail in my first term 3) learn a lot and not waste time with easy math courses

Thanks!

2

Take a look at the sticky thread at the top of this section.

You can also check your knowledge relative to Berkeley math standards with the old final exams:
https://math.berkeley.edu/courses/archives/exams

You will get more practice with math proofs in honors math courses and Math 55 or CS 70.

3

@ucbalumnus

Thanks for your response. I have already tested myself and as I said I am confident that I could pass Math 1B; so I will skip that class. However I did not say that I wanted to pass Math 53 or 54 (I know that I cannot pass them). I still have three options Math 54 (with Nadler), Math 53 (with Gomez) or Math H1B.

4

Math H53 is also available: http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?p_term=FL&x=0&p_classif=–+Choose+a+Course+Classification±-&p_deptname=–+Choose+a+Department+Name±-&p_presuf=–+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2fSuffix±-&y=0&p_course=h53&p_dept=math

Note that Math 53, 54, and 55 can be taken simultaneously if you wish, so if you are seeking good instructors, and they are teaching more than one of the courses, you can take any or all of them.

5

@ucbalumnus

I will also take CS 61A (CS prereq), Philosophy 25A (breadth) and CW R1A (entry level and A writing) with the math course so I can only take one (unit limit).

Thanks for the link.

6

^You can definitely take more classes than that (not recommended for the first semester). You can always add classes after phase two, and I believe the unit cap without advisor approval is 21.5 soft. The word on the street is that the instructors for Math 54 will be very good next semester, while the ones for 53 will be subpar.

7

Presumably, you are taking Philosophy 25A for the Historical Studies part of the L&S breadth? A pure math major may end up fulfilling Philosophy and Values with Math 125A or 135.

8

If I were you, I would start with Math 1A. It’ll give you a really solid foundation moving forward into 1B and eventually 53. If it’s really basic and remedial, that’s fine too-- easy A’s are rare for CS majors. Also, don’t worry about getting ahead and finishing quickly, 4 years is more than enough and some to complete a CS degree here.

9

@“light shining”
I do know that, I’ll do that in next years, but I don’t want to risk my first year. Some students say CW R1A is a very time consuming class, so better not involve in tons of classes along with it.
I heard Nadler is a good professor. This semester 54 professors sound awesome and 53 ones sound so bad (Givental…) Will this continue next semester?.. Bad luck!

@ucbalumnus
Thank you, I did not know Math 125A satisfies Philosophy and Values breadth (I know that CS 61C satisfies Physical Science breadth)! I’ll take Phil 25A for history, and I am also very interested in ancient philosophy (also I’m not interested in history so this is a very suitable class for me).

@nenolam
I don’t know about that :frowning: A lot of seniors say Math 1A and 1B will waste my time if I know all the material. 1B is ok but why should I waste time with basic differentiation and integration in 1A when I know a lot more than that… I don’t worry about graduating in less than 4 years (I have absolutely no intention to do that) but I’m very excited about upper divs and I feel ready for Math 53-54-55. Also if I do 54 this semester, and 53-CS70 next semester I can directly go to upper divs (for both CS and Math) in my second year! I really don’t think 54 will be a GPA-killer for me as I already know the material and have all the motivation to study it. Do you think I’m not correct about that?

10

Yes, don’t waste your time and tuition taking courses you already know (try the old final exams to check). If you clear your lower division prerequisites early, you can take more upper division courses, which are likely more interesting.

11

I think I’ll make a U-turn here; because I made up my mind to enroll in H1B (hopefully I’ll find available seats). My reasons:

  1. In the syllabus it it written that professors already know students taking 1B (or H1B) in fall term already know 1A from high school. So they will emphasize everything after integration (Taylor Series, differential equations). As you know AP Calculus does not include differential equations; and I don’t know differential equations. It is recommended to know differential equations for Math 54. I better learn it in Berkeley than myself, eh?

  2. I will take this honors class as a personal challenge. According to schedule builder there is no grade difference between H1B and 1B (In fact H1B median grade is B, 1B median is B-). So it should be doable. I know that I will work a lot more than 1B students; but hey I’m excited about that.

  3. Some proofs about calculus should be beneficial and interesting.

Hopefully, I’m not making the wrong decision…

12

H1B looks like a sensible choice given your background and interest in proof-based math courses later.

13

Congratulations on a good decision.

14

Good choice. A firm grasp of Taylor Series is extremely useful in upper div analysis classes. Math 54 expects knowledge of differential equations that would typically be taught in an introductory differential equations class at a CSU and jumps straight into PDEs.