How is it possible to do 22 problems that require at least a page of work in an 90 min exam??? That's around about 4 mins for each problem. 15 problems were multiple choice so we couldn't get credit if we made a simple math error. Our teacher is also a dick for adding a None of The Above answer to the MC. Honestly, the whole class is a fucking struggle. I'm having a break down. :agony-consuming:

The class is a huge time sink, I hate it. It's mandatory to attend 2 hours of lab (essentially Ta's going over problems), 2 hrs of lecture from our teacher (who just goes over random problems), and watch 2-3 hrs of chapter videos +with questions per week, not including the homework and quizzes we have to do. Our teacher wastes our time with bullshit work and lecture videos that we could use to teach ourselves by doing problems from the textbook.

Honestly, there's way too much material to cover in one semester. I had to go back and relearn Cal 1 stuff that I learn over a year ago. I mean I had completely forgotten how to do integration and all the derivative rules, but he made us take a test on u-substitutions the first week of class.

The motherfucker required us to buy a $50 online book written by the math department which is only accessible through the department's online portal.

It doesn't help that my teacher is a prick. He will only respond to our emails if we send them in a special email format that he gave to us. He insists that we only refer to him as Dr. xxx because he want's recognition for his doctorate in mathematics. What kills me is that I know plenty of professors with doctorates that don't give a shit about title. Even the M.D. that I know personally don't ask to be called doctor unless they are in a formal or professional setting.

Honestly, there's only two types of mathematicians- the super serious, self absorbed types and the let's get high and do some integration problems types.

    • markersmarx [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      So that that there's not credit for showing your work. It's kinda brutal. It's not easy math so you end having to work the problem out anyway. The None of the Above answer is fucked because you can't detect if you screwed up.

  • NorthStarBolshevik [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    One of my proudest accomplishments in school was a 97% on a Calc II test.

    This isn't a brag though. I think I got a C in the class and graduation with like a 2.7 gpa. Calc II is very difficult but you got this comrade.

    • acealeam [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      i somehow got a 97% on the calc 3 final test. and i was like 5 points clear from failing calc 2 on the final lmao

      my only other uni achievement is getting the best score on my first astronomy test, because it was everything I've learned from playing ksp. after that i fell off hard

  • Krag [any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Calc 2 is tough. I withdrew the first time I took it and got a C the second time. What got me through it was:

    1. Asking tons of questions, without regard to whether I looked like a fool. Like sending an email about u substitutions even though technically it was covered in a prereq.

    2. Focusing on mastering each concept rather than focusing on each type of problem you could see on a test.

    3. Reading the book when the lectures weren't helpful.

    Calc 2 is tough but if you're pursuing a degree in math or engineering it's crucial to succeeding in future coursework. The time you spend now will pay off in the future.

    • a_blanqui_slate [none/use name, any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Calc 1: Here's a limit, here's a general form of 'slope', and here's an area.

      Calc 2: Uhhhh, let's put the most obnoxious symbolic integrals, 8 different ways of integrating rotations/revolutions with slight distinctions, and everyones favorite 12 different ways of evaluating the convergence of a series in a course.

      Calc 3: Calc 1, but in 3 dimensions.

      • zifnab25 [he/him, any]
        ·
        4 years ago

        everyones favorite 12 different ways of evaluating the convergence of a series in a course

        I took a computer science class that was basically "Calc 2 but on computers", where we established the various benefits/hinderances of convergence series from a programmatic perspective. I enjoyed it substantially more than the original Calc 2.

        • a_blanqui_slate [none/use name, any]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Oh yeah, and when I went onto Numerical Analysis Calc 2 acutally started appearing sensible. But there is just so much stuff packed into a Calc 2 curriculum none of it can be explored beyond simple regurgitation.

          • zifnab25 [he/him, any]
            ·
            4 years ago

            Numerical Analysis

            Yes! That was the name of the class. Wish they'd just teach that class as a precursor to Calc 2 or... really, just anything but the way Calc 2 seems designed to deliberately beat you up as some kind of academic hazing ritual.

  • quartz242 [she/her]M
    ·
    4 years ago

    I was pursuing a degree in microbiology and failed out due to the calc 2 and o.chem 2 requirement. Had to switch to a ba in Chinese, altho that was where I first read Mao so maybe it was for the best holistically.

    • ElGosso [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      Calc is why I failed a CS degree, I tested into it but was too stupid for math

  • Quimby [any, any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    This sort of thing REALLY pisses me off. Like it ticks off at least 7 of my worst pet peeves. It's exactly the sort of shit that resulted in me spending most of my undergraduate career battling the administration and vowing not to go to graduate school unless I absolutely had to.

    • markersmarx [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      It's your own choice to refer to yourself a doctor in academic, but I find it a little pretentious to demand that others call you doctor. I work with a couple of PhDs that have never asked me or any student refer to them as doctors. I have family that are MDs that don't use the title outside of their work. Honestly, people that are obsessed with titles is a little childish and definitely elitist.

  • fuckwit [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Hey man, I've taken Diff Eq and Multivariable and a bunch of other math courses in my engineering studies so take it from me: Calc 2 is the single worst course taught in uni nowadays. I don't remember what exactly was so repulsive about that class but it really stands out as a sour mark during my studies. I loved Calc 3 (multivariable) because it's a lot about visualization of 3d spaces.

  • 420sixtynine [any,comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    It's dumb how much of Calc II is just memorization, we're allowed a single piece of printer paper for notes and I've gotta squint to read mine and I spent hours formatting it to cram stuff in it, at this point I'm considering going to the disability office and asking to be able to have more notes

    Bureaucracy BS and me being dumb made me take Calc I 3 times so now I have a year and a half of drilling calc fundamentals into my head so Calc II is alright. I couldn't imagine just taking this class without having done that though. I gotta say the only reason I've been able to keep going though is bc my dad failed almost every math class in college, many of them multiple times, still made it through and became an engineer, the failure is part of learning thing has kinda become my mantra

  • acealeam [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    wtf. my calc 2 exams were like 4-5 questions. the final was only 11 questions i think. 22 problems per exam is insane

    • 420sixtynine [any,comrade/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Best math teacher I ever had was my high school pre-calc teacher. I loved that class, he only taught for like 15 minutes a day. He taught things in laymans terms first, like y'know someone teaching math in a way that people who don't already have math degrees would understand, and then once we understood things he taught us the technical pieces. Then we started on our homework for the rest of class and he walked around the class and asked each student if they understood, then he looked at fishing spots for 20 minutes and asked each individual person again.

  • Quimby [any, any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    organize! if you can get enough students together to complain to the department / administration, they may well listen. they don't like drama, and the fastest way to shut it down when students are complaining about a professor is to tell the professor to fix their shit.

    The challenge is that most students have no backbone and are whatever-the-professorial-equivalent-of-a-bootlicker-is.

  • chantox
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    deleted by creator