People who've taken Math 53

<p>I have Hutchings for the class - are the homework problems he assigns enough for one to do well in the class (A) or do you have to do problems in addition to the ones he assigns - for an average student?</p>

<p>I’d like to know as well</p>

<p>Well, if you really are an average student, then you can expect about a B (which is what the median grade usually ends up being) if you do the minimum amount of homework, since basically everybody does all of the assigned hw problems. Looking at Hutchings’ old exams, I think a lot of the midterm problems are basically at the same level as the medium-hardish homework problems. His finals typically throw a curveball or two though. So I’d say that if you consider yourself to be an average student and you want an A, you should try all of the toughest problems from the end of each section, as well as the end-of-chapter reviews (which basically no one does). Hutchings’ quizzes are generally very tough, even harder than his test problems–if you find yourself getting decent to high quiz scores, you should really well in the class (since most people get completely slammed on the quizzes). Try googling for his old exams and quizzes.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info - a really informative post. What exactly do you mean by “the toughest problems from the end of each section” - are these problems specially marked or number in a way? Also, does Hutchings assign the same problems year to year or does he switch it up?</p>

<p>umm i dont think average students can do that well in 53 jus cuz the materials that much more complex than 1b. even if u “work hard” it doesnt mean ull get the stuff some guy who doesnt do work but is a genius might do better. why are u taking 53?</p>

<p>I already took single-var Calc and did pretty well so I figured why take it again - might as well learn something new.</p>

<p>I’d appreciate as many responses as possible to my original question though, thanks!</p>

<p>The hardest problems are usually marked, but not always. What I did for practice was looking through a lot of problems and laying out the general steps for the solution in my head. For the easier problems, I see the path to the solution fairly quickly. The problems for which I can’t immediately get something to work are the ones that I consider to be harder and hence I actually try doing them.</p>

<p>If you want to see what Hutchings assigns and what his tests are like, you can google a query like: math 53 hutchings.</p>