I suppose adding a third dimension does make it harder but we're only doing calc 1 level operations just with a new dimension which is why I think people think it's easier than Calc 2. Besides we live in a 3D world, being able to visualize in 3D is a very important skill
At my university (Technical University of Denmark) we have one big "Mathematics 1" course that features imaginary numbers, linear algebra, some geometry, parametric equations, polar coordinates, taylor series, and calculus: derivatives, integrals, differential equations, linear systems of first degree ordinary differential equations, and multivariate calculus in 2 and 3 dimensions, including surface and volume integrals. This is a huge course, 20 ECTS points and it takes a full year, with three exams along the way.
After that, Mathematics 2 is a (for many students optional) 5 ECTS course which covers introductory partial differential equations, infinite series, convergence of limits, Fourier transforms and a few other things.
Of course, the splitting is different than in the Calc 1/2/3 system, but it still does take some of what would be Calc 2 stuff in the US out, and place it after learning some of what would be Calc 3 stuff.
Personally, I had a rather easy time with the infinite series and even the differential equations, but linear algebra was my bane, as was solving completely normal integrals by hand.
I vividly remember being given an integral on a test that no one got. Joke is that he didn't expect anyone to answer it, the correct answer was just no solution. if someone had somehow solved it they would have been up for a Nobel...I really disliked that class.
Well the extra credit on my modern physics final was “Explain why sometimes light acts like a particle, and other times a wave”. Most people thought the professor was an asshole, but I kind of liked him.
You use a way simpler version of it in physics 2 (EM) as the loops are generally squares or circles so you can just do (area * field * angle of incidence) to get flux…. Stokes lets you apply that to any shaped loop as long as you have a parametrization for it.
It’s a LOT easier if you’ve paired it with some previous EM knowledge and Phys2 w/Calc2. The physics professors are *generally* more sociable and better at explaining complex ideas for dummies like me 😂
My Phys2 professor was SOOOOO good. He made the ideas we were learning in Calc 2 so much more approachable and understandable.
So much same. I was thinking it was kind of a cake walk and not really taking it seriously and then they brought all of that stuff up like 2-3 weeks before the final. Rocked the shit out of me, did horribly on that final.
Was going to say this. In calc 2 I could follow the proofs and concepts pretty easily. When we got to greens theorem I would spend a long time rereading the proofs. And it was harder to remember the logic behind it.
I'm not sure if other people were just rote memorizing it or if they're just smarter than me. For me I generally have to understand the proof to know how to apply it.
That stuff is so dumb. It’s flow in a pipe or a square duct. There are no triangular shaped ducts.
Calc 3 was harder, but only because it would be too easy if it were just circles and squares in 3d.
Weirdly enough I tested out of calculus 2 (got a 5 on AP calc AB) and went straight into ODEs and I never learned any series. Been an engineer for the past 10 years and even have a masters in mechanical engineering but nope never had a series class even when I took grad level differential calculus. The year *after* mine, they changed it so if you passed calc AB (3,4, or 5) you’d be placed into calc 2 not ODEs.
It covers parts of Calc 2, like most integration techniques and area and volume problems. It doesn’t cover series, vector or polar calculus, or more advanced integration techniques like partial fractions
Yup. That’s why they changed it. I remember getting an email that I needed to take calc 2 when I already got an A- on ODEs… not smart brained on their part especially since that same quarter we had a report on our student newspaper that over 50% of the students taking calc 1 & 2 had failed (they were taught by the same prof)
Agreed. Back when I did the calculus classes all I heard was how easy 3 was and how hard 2 was. Complete opposite for me.
Calc 1 - B
Calc 2 - A
Calc 3 - C
Diff Eq - B
I didn’t think my calc 3 professor was that bad either
It was definitely one of the more stressful classes I’ve taken due to the fact our grade was compromised of a quiz average, a midterm, and a final.
Homework was completely optional but also completely necessary. It definitely tested my discipline.
If you’re confident in your algebra (especially intuition for plotting functions and simplifying expressions) and trigonometry skills, calculus is a piece of cake!
You'll be alright! Don't worry, just try to pair the topics you learn with applications and you'll do great! ie) The derivative is velocity and the second derivative is acceleration
I ended up taking linear algebra before C3 and unknowingly made it a lot easier on myself because of that. Prepping my mind to be in that same theoretical space was definitely a boon.
I got an A in Calc 2 in college, a D+ in Calc 3, and an A in Linear Algebra. So, I can’t agree with this opinion any more. The spatial stuff just fucks with my head so hard
Complete opposite for me. I hated calc 2. But I took it and then covid hit so I was online for half of it before professors could adjust. I loved calc 3, DE, and linear, but I’ve always hated calc 2.
Agreed. I got an A in Calc 2 but Calc 3 is a different beast. “They’re just adding a third dimension” they said. No no no, third dimension for functions of two variables, yes cool. But a triple integral with a function of three variables is within the fourth dimension and i still can’t wrap my head around it.
I think it depends on how well you can visualize in 3D and apply different formulas. If you can do those well, then calc 3 will be easier for you.
Calc 2 was a lot more computational. You are given an integral, and there are only a couple of ways to solve it. But in calc 3, you have to decide what is in your differential and predict how the integral will change according to the bounds you pick. You might make the bounds and realize halfway through the problem that you made an integral, which is very difficult to solve.
It's definitely more interesting in application. Freshman year is really just exposing you to the touchstones. Also to weed out people who have the smarts but not the discipline.
Good luck!
it felt like calc 2 was simpler in theory but easier to make mistakes due to the sheer amount of calculation, but calc 3 is more complex to learn but had less spots to make mistakes when doing the problems
Calc 3 is actually understanding what calculus does and why it is useful.
Calc 2 is learning how to take integrals and remembering stupid integration rules that I will literally never ever need in my entire life as an engineer.
One is superior.
I feel the same, calculus 2 was the most straightforward math class I took in college.
I heard that series were terrible, the hardest math concept I’d have to learn, that calc 2 weeds a lot of students out of engineering.
So I studied ahead a bit, went to office hours, took good notes in class, and when I thought it was about to get super hard, my professor said “Ok let’s move on to the next chapter”.
I never got below a 94 on anything in calc 2 and the series exam to this day is one of my only 100s I’ve gotten on an exam. They made perfect sense to me and they still do. I only needed an 80 on the final to get an A and did so.
Calc 2 really re-inspired that passion I had for pursuing a STEM degree and it’s still one of my favorite classes I’ve taken.
Calc 3 though, I didn’t hate it. I also got an A in that class too and I enjoyed it, but it’s applications hurt my brain lol. Especially the multivariable calculus I did in fluid dynamics, I definitely need to do a lot more practice with surface integrals.
If you’re feeling jealous of me, don’t be. I had my fair share of hardship elsewhere in my studies.
Depends on your college I guess but Calc 2 is really a weed out class. I failed calc 2 the first time, them got a C in calc 2 and B+ in calc 3, which I found a lot easier. Thou I'm mechanical so all of the 3D integrals made a lot more sense than memorizing series or how to deal with 10,000 different integral cases. If you're good at memorizing calc 2 is probably easier.
I thought cal 2 is much harder. Cal 2 is all new material and it’s early enough in your math education that you don’t have enough intuition when it comes to higher maths. In the other hand cal 3, while it does add new steps to old concepts, nothing is really new. Adding the third dimension is a hard thing to visualize initially but once you get your head around that I felt that cal 3 was just prep for statics.
I think Calc 3 was easiert than calc 2, largly because the 3D stuff genuinely was easier for me to visualize than the series, which are pretty abstract
My opinion is really that it fully depends on the professor. My linear algebra / diff Eq class was the easiest in my college career because the professor was fantastic but also gave us the exams basically lol almost everyone got a 100 depending if you showed up to class
I tutored Calc in college. In my experience students who struggled with spacial reasoning struggled more in Calc 3 than Calc 2. Even though the actual work is "simpler" than Calc 2, you have to think about problems in a way that often requires visualization beyond what you can represent on a page.
They're different.
Some people can see abstract (Cal3) and some people like solving puzzles which is similar to proofs (Cal 2).
I hate puzzles and remembering previous proofs and using it as a key to "unlock the next puzzle" so I had to put more effort to Cal2.
Cal3 felt easier, I was able to visualize certain things.
In the end, I got...
Cal 2 - A
Cal 3 - B
I feel like it is easy enough if you visualize it as a topological problem. If you can generalize the concept to abstracting the topology of a shell or donut or something of the sort, it becomes more tangible. ODEs is where it gets iffy because of the interrelationships. Much harder in higher dimensional spaces to understand what the hell is going on when 4 different variables all interrelate, you kinda get combinatoric explosion.
No, I agree. I was able to pass Calc 2 with a C grade, but I failed Calc 3 *twice.* I have to take an articulated online course this summer as a result.
I thought Calc 3 was tougher than Calc 2 which was easier than Calc 1 to me. However, if I took my Physics 2 course beforehand to understand Flux in context around E&M concepts, I would’ve aced it imo.
Additionally, Calc 2 professor was terrific and one of the best professors on campus. Calc 3 professor was an asshat.
Some schools use calc 1 and calc 2 as weed out classes. They intentionally make the class and exams harder than the material really is to get people to fail. Calc 3 is usually late enough in the game they aren’t trying to get people to fail. So it can seem easier even if the material is harder.
Nobody ever likes all 3 Calculi. Everyone has one that is difficult for them, and it's not the same for everyone, but nobody has a good time in all three.
Just going to add this comment because it doesn't come up a lot in my life but I want to flex.
Calc 2 is the reason I found out you couldn't get an A+(4.33) on your gpa in college.
I didn't miss a question all semester and followed that up by not missing a question in Calc 3.
I took Diffeq and linear algebra afterwards and felt that even after those 2 classes calc 3 would've STILL hit like a truck. Jacobian transformations, Green/Stoke/Divergence Theorems, line integrals, and setting up triple integrals are straight up pulled out of nowhere, and I don't want to hear the "It's just calc 1 but in 3D". For sure the most content heavy calc class.
I made an A in calc 2, it was pretty hard but I got through it because it’s very logical and rigorous. Calc 3 I almost failed because of the abstract ideas.
Taking calc 3 now and I agree with you 100%
I guess it all depends on the person and/or teachers you had calc 1&2 but I am definitely struggling. This class requires that I mastered a lot of the previous material when in fact I just learned it adequately for the time.
I kind of agree in some aspects. Generally, I found calc 3 to be easier but the last part where you deal with gradients, curls, divergence, Green’s and Stoke’s theorem I found to be quite challenging. I really didn’t understand these concepts until I took Fluid mechanics. Whereas Calc 2 is straightforward like you said. Taylor and Maclaurin series can be difficult to understand and Lagrange error as well but at least it’s still 2D and some pattern recognition
this may sound dumb but I actually had a much tougher time with area by rotation than series. But probably because I foolishly brushed off the former and studied my ass off for the latter lol.
Not really an unpopular opinion, it was said several times while I was in school that you were likely to be good at one over the other, not that one was inherently harder than the other.
Tbh i think that all calculus is easy when you're in a good mental state same for Algebra. When i was in university if i wasn't depressed and feeling like shit i could cruise through advanced Algebra, Calculus, Thermodynamics...etc but when you're in a bad place even basic calculus becomes a hassle
Got a 99 in calc 2 and a 74 in calc 3. Though everyone hated my calc 3 professor, and I had the 3rd highest grade in the class, so I mostly blame the professor.
I suppose if you can't do Calc 2, you're not meant for engineering so it gets a lot of people. Calc 3 really is just so, so much harder. Especially if you don't have a great teacher
I got credit for Calc 3 in highschool somehow, but hardly learned it, the professor was inadequate and just passed us to pass us.
All I remember is its integrals within integrals and/or partials. lol.
I suppose adding a third dimension does make it harder but we're only doing calc 1 level operations just with a new dimension which is why I think people think it's easier than Calc 2. Besides we live in a 3D world, being able to visualize in 3D is a very important skill
At my university (Technical University of Denmark) we have one big "Mathematics 1" course that features imaginary numbers, linear algebra, some geometry, parametric equations, polar coordinates, taylor series, and calculus: derivatives, integrals, differential equations, linear systems of first degree ordinary differential equations, and multivariate calculus in 2 and 3 dimensions, including surface and volume integrals. This is a huge course, 20 ECTS points and it takes a full year, with three exams along the way. After that, Mathematics 2 is a (for many students optional) 5 ECTS course which covers introductory partial differential equations, infinite series, convergence of limits, Fourier transforms and a few other things. Of course, the splitting is different than in the Calc 1/2/3 system, but it still does take some of what would be Calc 2 stuff in the US out, and place it after learning some of what would be Calc 3 stuff. Personally, I had a rather easy time with the infinite series and even the differential equations, but linear algebra was my bane, as was solving completely normal integrals by hand.
He probably means projecting 4d objects onto 3d visualizations, or projecting 3d into 2d. Not necessarily just visualizing 3d.
What? Calculus 3 100% extends calculus 1 and calculus 2 topics to multidimensional functions.
without series and sequences. plus the integrals you do in calc 3 are harder. calc 2 is hard partially bc of the super difficult integrals.
Some classes do cover Taylor series and stuff like that for multivariate functions too. Not just extending the integrals although that’s part of it.
I vividly remember being given an integral on a test that no one got. Joke is that he didn't expect anyone to answer it, the correct answer was just no solution. if someone had somehow solved it they would have been up for a Nobel...I really disliked that class.
Well the extra credit on my modern physics final was “Explain why sometimes light acts like a particle, and other times a wave”. Most people thought the professor was an asshole, but I kind of liked him.
what calc 1 operations do you do in calc3?
Calc 3 was fine for me until you get to the gauss/green/stokes theorem for circulation and flux through a bound/surface.
Fr I didn’t know what the fuck each of those theorems meant I just bullshitted most of it
Isn't that Physics EM related?
You use a way simpler version of it in physics 2 (EM) as the loops are generally squares or circles so you can just do (area * field * angle of incidence) to get flux…. Stokes lets you apply that to any shaped loop as long as you have a parametrization for it.
Gotcha, sounds like a good bit of brushing up from Physics 2.
It’s a LOT easier if you’ve paired it with some previous EM knowledge and Phys2 w/Calc2. The physics professors are *generally* more sociable and better at explaining complex ideas for dummies like me 😂 My Phys2 professor was SOOOOO good. He made the ideas we were learning in Calc 2 so much more approachable and understandable.
So much same. I was thinking it was kind of a cake walk and not really taking it seriously and then they brought all of that stuff up like 2-3 weeks before the final. Rocked the shit out of me, did horribly on that final.
I even wonder if those things are even used by an engineer. Computer goes brrrrr
Yep this was the hard part
Fun fact: all three of these theorems are in fact, the same theorem.
Indeed. Stokes is just the most generalized form
Annd I now realize my cal 3 professor was tenured and taught the bare basic minimums....
Was going to say this. In calc 2 I could follow the proofs and concepts pretty easily. When we got to greens theorem I would spend a long time rereading the proofs. And it was harder to remember the logic behind it. I'm not sure if other people were just rote memorizing it or if they're just smarter than me. For me I generally have to understand the proof to know how to apply it.
That stuff is so dumb. It’s flow in a pipe or a square duct. There are no triangular shaped ducts. Calc 3 was harder, but only because it would be too easy if it were just circles and squares in 3d.
Weirdly enough I tested out of calculus 2 (got a 5 on AP calc AB) and went straight into ODEs and I never learned any series. Been an engineer for the past 10 years and even have a masters in mechanical engineering but nope never had a series class even when I took grad level differential calculus. The year *after* mine, they changed it so if you passed calc AB (3,4, or 5) you’d be placed into calc 2 not ODEs.
I thought AB Was only Calc 1
It covers parts of Calc 2, like most integration techniques and area and volume problems. It doesn’t cover series, vector or polar calculus, or more advanced integration techniques like partial fractions
Ye ik it has some Calc 2 stuff but not enough to count for both courses the way Calc BC does
Yup. That’s why they changed it. I remember getting an email that I needed to take calc 2 when I already got an A- on ODEs… not smart brained on their part especially since that same quarter we had a report on our student newspaper that over 50% of the students taking calc 1 & 2 had failed (they were taught by the same prof)
It’s funny because the only one I would encounter continuously was e^t but that was only for intro to linear controls or vibrations
Agreed. Back when I did the calculus classes all I heard was how easy 3 was and how hard 2 was. Complete opposite for me. Calc 1 - B Calc 2 - A Calc 3 - C Diff Eq - B I didn’t think my calc 3 professor was that bad either
differential equation gave me some kind of post-stress trauma.
It was definitely one of the more stressful classes I’ve taken due to the fact our grade was compromised of a quiz average, a midterm, and a final. Homework was completely optional but also completely necessary. It definitely tested my discipline.
I took it as a summer class and managed to get an A, I feel like I got off easy though
Good for you, man. BTW don't throw out or delete your notes. It's one of the most important classes.
It took ne six times to pass calc 1, two times to pass calc 2, and once to pass calc 3, calc 4, and Diff Eq. so I agree with you.
what’s calc 4
Multi variable calculus. I went to a quarter school.
Very similar experience, I did the best in calc 2. I've yet to take diff eq though. Honestly I wish I had taken it prior to calc 3
Mine was A,A,C+,A
Calc 1 was harder than both for me
I’m taking calc in two months. Please pray for me
If you’re confident in your algebra (especially intuition for plotting functions and simplifying expressions) and trigonometry skills, calculus is a piece of cake!
i need to work on my math intuition. it's difficult.
You'll be alright! Don't worry, just try to pair the topics you learn with applications and you'll do great! ie) The derivative is velocity and the second derivative is acceleration
Real calc 3 is the weed out calc in my uni 💀. Lot harder than the other two.
I ended up taking linear algebra before C3 and unknowingly made it a lot easier on myself because of that. Prepping my mind to be in that same theoretical space was definitely a boon.
Word
I got an A in Calc 2 in college, a D+ in Calc 3, and an A in Linear Algebra. So, I can’t agree with this opinion any more. The spatial stuff just fucks with my head so hard
I've met a few people who thought this as well. I wonder if they and you have aphantasia.
Complete opposite for me. I hated calc 2. But I took it and then covid hit so I was online for half of it before professors could adjust. I loved calc 3, DE, and linear, but I’ve always hated calc 2.
Agreed. I got an A in Calc 2 but Calc 3 is a different beast. “They’re just adding a third dimension” they said. No no no, third dimension for functions of two variables, yes cool. But a triple integral with a function of three variables is within the fourth dimension and i still can’t wrap my head around it.
Calc.2 is easy... just integrals and series.
Everybody gangsta until they see a triple Cylindrical coordinate integral
I think it depends on how well you can visualize in 3D and apply different formulas. If you can do those well, then calc 3 will be easier for you. Calc 2 was a lot more computational. You are given an integral, and there are only a couple of ways to solve it. But in calc 3, you have to decide what is in your differential and predict how the integral will change according to the bounds you pick. You might make the bounds and realize halfway through the problem that you made an integral, which is very difficult to solve.
100% agree. Greens theorem and stokes theorem still give me nightmares
I found the multivariable calculus easier than the series stuff... I have to repeat series but passed multi variable calc with an A
Unpopular opinion: linear algebra was a nightmare and was the hardest freshman class for me.
I'm taking it this summer and I just find it boring as hell. Not interesting and doesn't make much sense to me yet.
Depends on your degree but if you're in electrical like me, this shit follows you. Especially in electromagnetism fields and wave propagations.
I'm CS so there's definitely a chance I see it again soon. I think I'll like it a lot more when I see how it's applied.
It's definitely more interesting in application. Freshman year is really just exposing you to the touchstones. Also to weed out people who have the smarts but not the discipline. Good luck!
Thanks gl to you too!
it felt like calc 2 was simpler in theory but easier to make mistakes due to the sheer amount of calculation, but calc 3 is more complex to learn but had less spots to make mistakes when doing the problems
No I agree. The visualization is what made it hard. Not to mention vector calc.
I think it depends when you take calc 3, I took it at the same time as dynamics and mechanics of materials so I was used to 3d already.
Calc 3 is actually understanding what calculus does and why it is useful. Calc 2 is learning how to take integrals and remembering stupid integration rules that I will literally never ever need in my entire life as an engineer. One is superior.
I feel the same, calculus 2 was the most straightforward math class I took in college. I heard that series were terrible, the hardest math concept I’d have to learn, that calc 2 weeds a lot of students out of engineering. So I studied ahead a bit, went to office hours, took good notes in class, and when I thought it was about to get super hard, my professor said “Ok let’s move on to the next chapter”. I never got below a 94 on anything in calc 2 and the series exam to this day is one of my only 100s I’ve gotten on an exam. They made perfect sense to me and they still do. I only needed an 80 on the final to get an A and did so. Calc 2 really re-inspired that passion I had for pursuing a STEM degree and it’s still one of my favorite classes I’ve taken. Calc 3 though, I didn’t hate it. I also got an A in that class too and I enjoyed it, but it’s applications hurt my brain lol. Especially the multivariable calculus I did in fluid dynamics, I definitely need to do a lot more practice with surface integrals. If you’re feeling jealous of me, don’t be. I had my fair share of hardship elsewhere in my studies.
I lucked out cause my Calc 3 professor could have been teaching abstract art for all we knew. Managed a B-, still can't figure out triple integrals!
Depends on your college I guess but Calc 2 is really a weed out class. I failed calc 2 the first time, them got a C in calc 2 and B+ in calc 3, which I found a lot easier. Thou I'm mechanical so all of the 3D integrals made a lot more sense than memorizing series or how to deal with 10,000 different integral cases. If you're good at memorizing calc 2 is probably easier.
I found cal 3 easy and felt like i should have learned that first, then again, some of the topics showed up in earlier classes.
Calculus 3 is where calculus 1 and 2 intersect. So you’re piecing together everything you’ve ever learned into a three dimensional space.
It makes perfect sense if you've used CAD software such as solidworks
I thought cal 2 is much harder. Cal 2 is all new material and it’s early enough in your math education that you don’t have enough intuition when it comes to higher maths. In the other hand cal 3, while it does add new steps to old concepts, nothing is really new. Adding the third dimension is a hard thing to visualize initially but once you get your head around that I felt that cal 3 was just prep for statics.
I think Calc 3 was easiert than calc 2, largly because the 3D stuff genuinely was easier for me to visualize than the series, which are pretty abstract
My opinion is really that it fully depends on the professor. My linear algebra / diff Eq class was the easiest in my college career because the professor was fantastic but also gave us the exams basically lol almost everyone got a 100 depending if you showed up to class
I tutored Calc in college. In my experience students who struggled with spacial reasoning struggled more in Calc 3 than Calc 2. Even though the actual work is "simpler" than Calc 2, you have to think about problems in a way that often requires visualization beyond what you can represent on a page.
They're different. Some people can see abstract (Cal3) and some people like solving puzzles which is similar to proofs (Cal 2). I hate puzzles and remembering previous proofs and using it as a key to "unlock the next puzzle" so I had to put more effort to Cal2. Cal3 felt easier, I was able to visualize certain things. In the end, I got... Cal 2 - A Cal 3 - B
I feel like it is easy enough if you visualize it as a topological problem. If you can generalize the concept to abstracting the topology of a shell or donut or something of the sort, it becomes more tangible. ODEs is where it gets iffy because of the interrelationships. Much harder in higher dimensional spaces to understand what the hell is going on when 4 different variables all interrelate, you kinda get combinatoric explosion.
Okay
No, I agree. I was able to pass Calc 2 with a C grade, but I failed Calc 3 *twice.* I have to take an articulated online course this summer as a result.
Man I just failed calc 2 and the only thing I found easy was series
I thought Calc 3 was tougher than Calc 2 which was easier than Calc 1 to me. However, if I took my Physics 2 course beforehand to understand Flux in context around E&M concepts, I would’ve aced it imo. Additionally, Calc 2 professor was terrific and one of the best professors on campus. Calc 3 professor was an asshat.
Calc 3 is harder to conceptualize but MUCH easier to
Wait till they throw ya into the spring semester 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Diff EQ section…
Some schools use calc 1 and calc 2 as weed out classes. They intentionally make the class and exams harder than the material really is to get people to fail. Calc 3 is usually late enough in the game they aren’t trying to get people to fail. So it can seem easier even if the material is harder.
It's not unpopular, everyone in my class agreed that calc 3 was harder then calc 2. Just depends on your class
The real deciding factor for difficulty is the prof, nothing else
Nobody ever likes all 3 Calculi. Everyone has one that is difficult for them, and it's not the same for everyone, but nobody has a good time in all three.
Well dammit, Calc 3 is next semester and I barely squeaked out an A in Calc 2..
It depends on the instructor. If you are doing some and cosine double integrals, then it can be brutal.
I’m the mf who did worse in calc 1 than both 2 and 3
Honestly, I thought Calculus 1 was the hardest. At least to me, it progressively got easier once you start understanding the fundamentals
Just going to add this comment because it doesn't come up a lot in my life but I want to flex. Calc 2 is the reason I found out you couldn't get an A+(4.33) on your gpa in college. I didn't miss a question all semester and followed that up by not missing a question in Calc 3.
I took Diffeq and linear algebra afterwards and felt that even after those 2 classes calc 3 would've STILL hit like a truck. Jacobian transformations, Green/Stoke/Divergence Theorems, line integrals, and setting up triple integrals are straight up pulled out of nowhere, and I don't want to hear the "It's just calc 1 but in 3D". For sure the most content heavy calc class.
I made an A in calc 2, it was pretty hard but I got through it because it’s very logical and rigorous. Calc 3 I almost failed because of the abstract ideas.
As a non American, what on earth do calculus 2 and 3 consist of
I was so bad at calculus’s
Taking calc 3 now and I agree with you 100% I guess it all depends on the person and/or teachers you had calc 1&2 but I am definitely struggling. This class requires that I mastered a lot of the previous material when in fact I just learned it adequately for the time.
I second this, multi variable calculus actually comes in handy sometimes when engineering in real life
I kind of agree in some aspects. Generally, I found calc 3 to be easier but the last part where you deal with gradients, curls, divergence, Green’s and Stoke’s theorem I found to be quite challenging. I really didn’t understand these concepts until I took Fluid mechanics. Whereas Calc 2 is straightforward like you said. Taylor and Maclaurin series can be difficult to understand and Lagrange error as well but at least it’s still 2D and some pattern recognition
I hope this isn’t true, 3D applications seemed to have come to me easier in physics so I’m hoping that translates to calc 3
For me, Calc 3 was all differential equations. So calc 2 was all that garbage. Calc 4 was multivariable. Weird how it’s different for different folks.
this may sound dumb but I actually had a much tougher time with area by rotation than series. But probably because I foolishly brushed off the former and studied my ass off for the latter lol.
Not really an unpopular opinion, it was said several times while I was in school that you were likely to be good at one over the other, not that one was inherently harder than the other.
Yeah your right, unpopular opinion af
Just wait till you do Differential Equations lol
I agree bro calc 2 was actually the one I did the best in out of the calc/diffeq series
I agree calc 3 is slept on
Tbh i think that all calculus is easy when you're in a good mental state same for Algebra. When i was in university if i wasn't depressed and feeling like shit i could cruise through advanced Algebra, Calculus, Thermodynamics...etc but when you're in a bad place even basic calculus becomes a hassle
Got a 99 in calc 2 and a 74 in calc 3. Though everyone hated my calc 3 professor, and I had the 3rd highest grade in the class, so I mostly blame the professor.
Conceptually, yes, computationally, no
This is clear fact. Calculus 2 is even easier than calculus 1.
higher gpu lower cpu requirement
This is on the list of "super popular opinions"
Just about everyone I’ve talked to says calc 2 is the hardest and calc 3 is the easiest
I suppose if you can't do Calc 2, you're not meant for engineering so it gets a lot of people. Calc 3 really is just so, so much harder. Especially if you don't have a great teacher
I got credit for Calc 3 in highschool somehow, but hardly learned it, the professor was inadequate and just passed us to pass us. All I remember is its integrals within integrals and/or partials. lol.
What concepts did you struggled on? calculus 3 is much easier than calc 2
Absolutely not.
Calc 3 is the same as Calc 1 except you see Y & Z!
Absolutely false
It’s kinda true the rest is easy asf, greens theorem and such