Jump from AP Calculus BC to Linear Algebra

UMTYMP2015
Wed, 16 Jul 2014 22:28:42 +0000

I am going to assume that you took AP Calculus at your high school.

The AP Calculus course teaches you, in my opinion, more applicable mathematics than other math courses do.

In AP Calculus, you learn the definitions of the Limit, the Derivative, and the Integral, and you learn how to use them all with numbers. You learn how to evaluate different types of integrals, how to differentiate certain functions, you learn how to take certain limits, all with an application in mind.

The Linear Algebra class is fundamentally different from the AP Calculus class. In the introductory Linear Algebra class, you will probably start by reviewing a few Calculus basics, and then going straight into Vectors, and Matrix Algebra. The Vector and Matrix Algebra, in most instances in the introductory Linear Algebra course, actually has very little applicability until you learn more.

The first Linear Algebra course you take will always be the most abstract due to the fact that it is nigh impossible to truly apply linear algebra without understanding all of it in the first place. This is unlike in AP Calculus, where you can learn about the derivative and then apply the derivative, then later on do the same with integrals without understanding ALL of Calculus as a whole.

MVT and Extreme Value Theorems in AP Calc are, in my opinion, not that abstract once you learn them. That is because they are immediately applicable. However, the problem with Linear Algebra is that your class will likely be short of examples until the course is finished…

Now, even though I made the course seem very difficult, trust me it is not that bad. In fact, taking Linear Algebra makes Multivariate Calculus extremely easy, as you would already understand all of the quirks that exist in n-dimensions, and all of the tricks to understand them. I highly recommend you take Linear Algebra first, as it is overall a more encompassing course, and will probably make future math much easier, at the little price of a tougher time right now.