Going from AB Calc direct to Multi-variable; do the concepts align correctly?
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Anonymous
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Question for those of you who know math curriculum: does the material align correctly for a student to go from Calculus AB directly to multivariable calculus?
Would there be any gaps in the background knowledge needed to do well in multivariable calculus? Would a student be at a disadvantage from those who have completed Calculus C? Thank you!! |
Anonymous
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You are the OP in the "Engineering with Calculus AB?" thread https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1187705.page?
No, it is not normal to go from AB to multivariable while skipping AP calc BC, aka college Calc 2. You should talk to the teacher for the multivariable class at your high school to find out whether the multivariable course is somehow organized in a way that would somehow make this possible, though that's hard to imagine. |
Anonymous
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No it doesn't align.
Curriculum lines up like this 1st semester calculus = Calc AB 1st + 2nd semester calculus = Calc BC 3rd semester calculus = Multivariate |
Anonymous
| It is virtually guaranteed that she would not be able to take multivariable calc, also known as calc 3, at a college without taking calc 2 or calc BC first. |
Anonymous
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OP here.
Thank you! How about linear algebra/vector calculus? Is this more possible without BC? The school will allow this as well. |
Anonymous
| Nope it doesn't align, your kid is essentially missing out entirely on Calc 2. Don't do it, your kid will struggle and have huge gaps in their knowledge base. Take BC first |
Anonymous
Allow, as in dual enrollment? Go to the community college website, find the course catalog, and look at the prerequisites for the course. At our CC, Linear Algebra lists Calc 2 as a prerequisite, so no, I would not try to take such a course without having taken calc BC/calc 2. |
Anonymous
| Calc BC/calc2 is foundational for further math. Hard to believe your high school is being so dumb. |
Anonymous
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No way around Calc BC. Sorry.
Why would you want to do that? Most kids can't catch up in college and drop out of hard STEM majors. |
Anonymous
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It depends where he wants to take MVC.
Some colleges divide calculus as 1 semester of limits and derivatives and one semester of integral calculus. Others do a 1 semester of differential and integral calculus followed by another semester focused on integral calculus. The difference between AB and BC is not a full semester, BC only teaches a few more topics. If your student took AB and did well I’m not sure it’s worth doing BC since it’s about 80% the same, mainly series and parametric calculus lest over. He can probably jump from AB into MVC through DE or if it is offered at a (magnet) high school and if allowed to enroll. Usually that’s the bigger hurdle, if he can’t enroll it probably make most sense to take one the second semester of calculus over the summer through of DE, then do multivariable starting in the fall. Another option, sign up and sit for the AP BC exam even if he didn’t take the class, anecdotally you can bomb the BC portion and still get a 5. Even with a 3 you might be able to enroll in MVC. In my view he should be fine to do AB calc to MVC. |
Anonymous
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You need calc 2. I cannot imagine only a very top student, like Olympiad level, being able to jump into calculus 3 without having the foundation of calculus 2. I am in the minority but in an ideal world I would actually like students to take Calc 2 after BC because I think the AP curriculum gives short shrift to certain Calc 2 topics. Series are usually stuffed in at the end. volumes of rotating solids is another topic that is very difficult to grasp for many students and a full semester of Calc 2 allows more time to be spent on these topics.
The vector materials of Calc 3 seems deceptively easy but the rest of the course starts to really build upon the previous calc courses. Your student could look at the MIT opencourseware calculus 3 materials and decide for themselves. They have covered a lot of AB at this point. Do the first few problem sets of the MIT OCW look doable? Does your student understand what is going on? |
Anonymous
This is correct. Also, linear algebra does not build off the calc sequence at all. There are some basic concepts of linear algebra covered in MV, but the person warning against it is wrong. |
Anonymous
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Was a math major. Placed out of Calc 1 via the AP exam. Took Calc 2, multivariable calc, discrete math, then linear algebra. After that I think the sequence can vary.
What is your goal here? |
Anonymous
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OP here. No goal. The school will not allow a kid to take AB followed by BC. They will allow a kid to take AB followed by multivariate or linear algebra vector calculus.
Apparently this sequence is done by several students each year. My "goal" is just to help my kid pick a senior math course. The other option to these courses is AP stats. |
Anonymous
I guess what I meant is what does your kid want to study? Although regardless, I would go with AP Stat. If you want to continue with math, you might be better off with the sequence I describe above picking it up in college. If you don't, then you are good with the AP Calc AB. I would think that taking AP Stat and continuing with the math sequence are viewed as equally rigorous in the college application process. Other people may have better formed opinions on that. My HS didn't offer anything beyond Calc AB nor did it offer AP Stat. |