<p>I took AP Calc AB, and got a 5. Then I took Calc II and Calc III at Cabrillo Jr. College. </p>
<p>This is the equivalent of Math 53 according to Assist.org. However, when I asked the freshmen counselor, I was told that if I could not answer every answer on the final with ease, I should start with 1A or 1B. I was planning on taking Math 54 (differential equations and linear algebra), but the 1B class I took -- as most 1B classes at jr. colleges -- did not cover differential equations. This is by name two chapters in the book (Early Transcendentals).</p>
<p>When I took a look at the final, the type of questions asked were different than the ones in the Math 1B I took. Is it worth it to take 1A-1B again, as opposed to taking 54?</p>
<p>No the counselors are stupid. Unless the final is REALLY easy (Auroux’s) students are NOT expected to be able to answer all the questions on the final easily. You should start with Math 54. You want to get done with your lower division pre-requisites asap. If you’re pre-med, then what I hear is that it is better to take the 1A-B series. But if you’re an engineer or a science major than you should definitely just take 54 immediately.</p>
<p>Yes you have less of a differential equation background, but honestly, I would guess that only half the people in Math 54 took Math 1B at Berkeley, and you just need to learn that material before you reach the differential equations part of Math 54.</p>
<p>I am a chemical biologist by major, but pre-med would describe me better. Why do you say I should take 1A-B if that is in my future? Also, will 1A-B kill my GPA? I hear that medical school care a lot about GPA, so should I just start with the 1A?(how hard can basic calculus get…right?)</p>
<p>if you weren’t pre-med, i would say go straight to 54, but since you are, you have to decide whether or not you want to retake math (it would definitely be a GPA booster, but a bore at the same time)</p>
<p>You may want to self-study the introductory differential equations stuff and then just take Math 54 and be done with the math requirements for the Chemical Biology major. Assuming that you have already taken that much math entering as a freshman, you are probably one of the better students at math, so it should not be too much of a problem for you.</p>
<p>If you want a backup plan in case you do not get into medical school, consider Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering instead; it has much better job and career prospects at the bachelor’s level than Chemical Biology, Chemistry, or any biology major. On the other hand, if you are dead-set on medical school, choose whatever major you can get the highest GPA in, and take the pre-med courses around it.</p>
<p>Math 54 is Linear Algebra and Differential Equations. The Math department says that students who have not had the introductory differential equations in Math 1B (due to having it through AP or whatever) should self-study that material before taking Math 54.</p>
I’m aware that 54 has DEs, but any background knowledge as a pre-requisite is anything besides the already obvious. I would assume that if you took any Calculus III-equivalent course, you should be familiar with such simple things like: dy/dx = x^2 + 1. You could claim that this is itself DE background-knowledge, but I would assume that the OP already knows.</p>
<p>But generally like many Math LD pre-requisites, the classes don’t seem to stress too much on previous knowledge.</p>