Multivariable Calculus

bickelz

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So I was having a bit of a meltdown last night when I realized I need to start into my major next quarter since I'm pretty much out of GUR's (2 left) and I know that I want to do something with Economics. When I was researching last night, I saw some people say that "just Econ isn't very strong, it's easy, there are a lot of people doing it ect." and I also found out that it wouldn't get me into a good place if I wanted to do analytical work like an Actuary or consultant of some sort.

So, my grand conclusion was to do the Econ/Math side by side major which is just the Econ degree with ~30 credits of relevant math and calculus and I was also thinking of a computer science minor too, which would bring me around 190 credits when I graduate. Perfect.

The only thing is that I'm a little scurred about the math just because I'm not sure what to expect. I took both Calc classes my Senior year of high school through AP, which was certified through College in the high school. I got an A in both sections, I think, I liked it and it wasn't overly difficult but I did forget how to take massive integrals and derivatives by hand.

I remember looking at some of the coursework that my university was using for the tests in those classes and they looked easier than my AP Cal class. Does anyone think it would be insanely hard to start taking more math?

In other words...should I bring scotch to my tests in order to make them more enjoyable?
 
I got a headache just reading the title of this thread... :O
 
No. You can do it, you just have make time
to learn it, go to class, study, etc...
 
It is far more rewarding knowing Calculus (any variation, pun intended) rather than economics that changes every ten years anyway, also econ is hard to apply to anything outside of straight business.
 
You know MIT has video lectures on their website under open course wear and they have the multivariable course on video. You can start watching those on your free time. It's the best way to get back in shape for math since there isn't the stress of tests etc, and you'd have an idea on what you're going to learn.
 
If you can integrate once, you can integrate two or more times. If you can differentiate with respect to x, you can do so wrt y. No big deal. That is all multivariate calculus is, basically.
 
You just said you are good at maths and the classes are easy, and then asked if it would be hard? =/

You'll be fine son.
 
Norton said:
If you can integrate once, you can integrate two or more times. If you can differentiate with respect to x, you can do so wrt y. No big deal. That is all multivariate calculus is, basically.
Click to expand...

I agree with this; there are minor differences, like that partial derivatives (derivatives of multivariable functions) don't cancel the same way ordinary derivatives do, and when integrating you sometimes have to take into account that one variable changes as another variable changes, so your limits of integration can be functions instead of simply points on a real line.

Don't worry about that though, I found multivariable calc easier than calc 2. Even if you've forgotten it all, it will come back much faster on relearning. I was out of school for a few years and it was mostly just a matter of looking up the formulas when I got back into it. Might take slightly longer if you're less experienced with math; I was a physics major so we did a lot of calculus.

One last comment is that a lot of the post-calculus math classes people take can be easier than people often find calculus to be. Examples are stuff like linear algebra, vector analysis, (arguably) ordinary differential equations, and some other stuff. That's mostly physics and engineering stuff though, I'm not sure what you'll be taking as an econ person. Do you know what math classes are required? I might be familiar with and could give opinions on them (or maybe not, no guarantees).

As for CS will be easier if you already are familiar with programming. They'll make you go through those classes anyways, but when I was taking them the people who already had experience had a much smoother time than people having to learn the theory and the implementation at the same time. (Kinda obvious, really.)
 
bickelz said:
So I was having a bit of a meltdown last night when I realized I need to start into my major next quarter since I'm pretty much out of GUR's (2 left) and I know that I want to do something with Economics. When I was researching last night, I saw some people say that "just Econ isn't very strong, it's easy, there are a lot of people doing it ect." and I also found out that it wouldn't get me into a good place if I wanted to do analytical work like an Actuary or consultant of some sort.

So, my grand conclusion was to do the Econ/Math side by side major which is just the Econ degree with ~30 credits of relevant math and calculus and I was also thinking of a computer science minor too, which would bring me around 190 credits when I graduate. Perfect.

The only thing is that I'm a little scurred about the math just because I'm not sure what to expect. I took both Calc classes my Senior year of high school through AP, which was certified through College in the high school. I got an A in both sections, I think, I liked it and it wasn't overly difficult but I did forget how to take massive integrals and derivatives by hand.

I remember looking at some of the coursework that my university was using for the tests in those classes and they looked easier than my AP Cal class. Does anyone think it would be insanely hard to start taking more math?

In other words...should I bring scotch to my tests in order to make them more enjoyable?
Click to expand...

You mentioned you took it in high school and did well, so for sure I think you are going to do very well. ^.^ My sister did something similar---she did well on calculus in high school and she's acing calculus in college now.^.^ I think you should go for it :3
 
bickelz said:
In other words...should I bring scotch to my tests in order to make them more enjoyable?
Click to expand...

From a medical standpoint, valium/klonopin will reduce your anxiety, without making you forget things. You can also buy kava or valerian from the herbal section of your local grocery store, without a prescription.

Econ is tough major, at least at the schools I attended. The econ majors, I remember, were the smartest of the bunch, right up there with the science majors (although not as smart as the engineers!)

From your anecdotes about high school, it sounds like you are Good At Math. I failed the AP, got B's in high school, and still aced college calculus at an Ivy League university. I'm now a math major. You should be fine.
 
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