Calculus or Elements of Calculus better for Biology?

zapfino
Sun, 31 May 2015 00:29:10 +0000

It’s hard to say just based on the course titles. I’m guessing that the “Elements” course covers only selected topics.
A number of schools offer courses such as “Calculus for Life Sciences” or similar titles. The rationale is that biology majors don’t need everything that is taught in the Calculus course intended for math, physical sciences, and engineering majors, and need a course with life science specific applications. Yet, at many schools, biology majors end up in those calculus courses that are more geared to other STEM majors. UCLA’s Life Sciences Division even created its own calculus course for its majors rather than relying entirely on the traditional course offered in the Math Department. Here’s a recent article about this: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/24/just-how-much-math-and-what-kind-enough-life-sciences-majors
You can also go to the UCLA website and compare the topics it covers with those in the courses you’re considering: https://www.lscore.ucla.edu/news.php?id=8