How hard is freshman college Engineer Calculus?

[lululemonxx]

<p>is it equivalent to ap calculus b/c or what?</p>

[boneh3ad]

<p>There is no good way to quantify that. It may be hard for you and easier for others. Usually the university calculus sequence is more difficult than the “equivalent” AP courses due to the fact that the pace is faster and the professor is less likely to coddle you.</p>

[da6onet]

<p>I always felt like the AP and CLEP tests had many superficial questions mixed with an occasional but obvious “gotcha” question in specific subject areas. Whereas the college math teachers I’ve had tended to have multi-layered problems or questions that synthesized topics from opposite ends of the book. The professor may or may not help guide you to the answer, but they always forced students to dig deeper or really make sure you could problem solve (3-6 longer questions for a test vs standardized test 40+ questions in the same amount of time). My high school AP calc (at a private boarding school) did not expect this same level of mathematical maturity, so only the self-disciplined students who went beyond the format of the class tended to fare well entering college math courses (note: I was not one of those!).</p>

[spacygirl]

<p>depends on the college…for cornell, calc “1” is bc, but some other colleges start with what is considered ab</p>

<p>boneh3ad is right…how challenging the course is depends on yourself…</p>

[boneh3ad]

<p>

@spacygirl

for cornell, calc “1” is bc

</p>

<p>That’s not true. Take a look at their [course</a> catalog](<a href=“Course Descriptions - Cornell University - Acalog ACMS™”>Course Descriptions - Cornell University - Acalog ACMS™). It reads the following:</p>

<p>

Topics include functions and graphs, limits and continuity, differentiation and integration of algebraic, trigonometric, inverse trig, logarithmic, and exponential functions; applications of differentiation, including graphing, max-min problems, tangent line approximation, implicit differentiation, and applications to the sciences; the mean value theorem; and antiderivatives, definite and indefinite integrals, the fundamental theorem of calculus, substitution in integration, the area under a curve. Graphing calculators are used, and their pitfalls are discussed, as applicable to the above topics.

</p>

<p>That is the same classic calculus 1 course that essentially all universities use and is the basis for AP Calculus AB. You couldn’t do the typical calculus 2 (or BC) things without having this as calculus 1 first.</p>

[ucbalumnus]

<p>If you have AP credit and are wondering whether to skip calculus 1 (and/or 2) or not, you can try the college’s old final exams for calculus 1 (and/or 2) in order to check your knowledge. That can help you determine proper math placement.</p>

[xinzin]

<p>I presume if its first quarter, you will be working mainly with derivatives. Comparitavely, I found this class “easiest” compared to the higher calculus courses I took, however from a high school perspective it was more difficult. The difficulty isn’t the calculations ( although they can be rough once you embed trig functions onto each other) but the critical thinking you need to figure out the problem. Since my math prof was originally a physicist, she taught her math courses and tested like physics class, I.e. provided pieces of seemingly disjointed information and leaving you the fill in the blanks. In highschool, in most cases, you are isolating one variable and you basically a calculator. Memorize the algorithm and done. In college, that style of test taking isn’t good enough. It will get you points, but there will be times when you have to change the equation to fit your goals and so on, and you will only know that if you understand the material.</p>