How hard is it to come back to Calc III after no calculus for a year?

Hi, I took Calc BC in Spring 2008, and I got a 5. Now I'm waiting this spring for Calc 3, but it's being taught by an infamously horrible professor. So, I plan on waiting until the next spring to take it. Will this be bad because I will have forgotten so much Calculus 1 and 2? Or is the material pretty different.

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Bballry1234

Hi, I took Calc BC in Spring 2008, and I got a 5. Now I'm waiting this spring for Calc 3, but it's being taught by an infamously horrible professor. So, I plan on waiting until the next spring to take it. Will this be bad because I will have forgotten so much Calculus 1 and 2? Or is the material pretty different.

Thanks.

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Calculus III is usually looked upon as being a combination of Calculus I and II, but in a three dimensional coordinate system.

Yes, its different material, but it makes you recall topics covered in Calculus I and II. The typical Calculus III course usually covers vectors and vector valued functions (something that should have been mentioned in BC calculus), partial differentiation, multiple integration, and vector calculus [and (of course) various applications].

If you don't take Calculus III soon, you may forget things. However, if you keep practicing the Calculus I and II stuff every so often, you might be able to wait a year to take the Calculus III course...its really up to you.

I would suggest that you take it this spring, even though the professor may be bad. You have a reliable resource in MHF, and we are here to help whenever you need it.

--Chris