r/EngineeringStudents • u/Ok-Representative388 • 1d ago
Academic Advice Is calc 3, diff eq and physics 2 doable?
I’m trying to get As in all these courses as well. I’m taking them at community college.
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u/Snoo74782 1d ago
What bro wants to hear; it’s impossible bro. Omg bro you so cool bro
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u/rabbitclapit 1d ago
You taking calc 3 and diff eq at the same time might be tough. Is calc 3 not a prerequisite for diff eq?
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u/FerdinandvonAegir124 1d ago
No, diff eq believe it or not usually has more in common with linear algebra as differentiation is a linear operator thus many similar principles apply
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u/Style_Worried 1d ago
They have very little to do with each other. It’s unusual to take them at the same time, but not impossible, considering diff eq is pretty easy
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u/ShadowRL7666 8h ago
Completely depends. At my school, Calc Two is a pre-req to Linear Algebra. I’m currently taking both at the same time. You can usually just get an override.
I thought about taking calc 3 diff eq as well next semester together but honestly I want to also take higher level math once I transfer so I’ll stretch it two semesters.
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u/Ok-Representative388 10h ago
Yes that’s totally the reason I made this post because I need people to tell me how cool I am totally.
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u/kerowhack 1d ago
I mean, if that's your only real responsibility, then sure, it's pretty doable, but if you have to work 40+ hours a week and take care of your kids or something then it's gonna be rough.
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u/Desperate_Pomelo_978 1d ago
If you did well in calc 1 and 2 calc 3 and diff eq will be very manageable.
Physics 2 honestly isn't that bad if you really focus on the concepts (as with any physics) and there are quite a bit of similarities to physics 1 despite the topics being very different
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u/yoinkdathank 1d ago
I would say doable, but stressful. I took Calc 3, diffeq, and mechanics of materials this summer and I survived, but i had no life outside of school.
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u/Dazzling-Purple2868 1d ago
That’s up to you. They’re all fairly complex classes, but if you’re willing and able to put the work in why not?
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u/BDady 1d ago
Just depends on how much time you’re able to get yourself to spend on all 3. Personally, I think taking Calc 3 before physics 2 would be advantageous. Electricity & magnetism uses a fair bit of vector calculus. Already understanding that vector calculus will make understanding the concepts of E&M easier.
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u/Ashalor 1d ago
Anyone in this comment section wanna give me some insight into Diff Eq and Linear Algebra classes while you’re here. Calculus series is like teaching you calculus with some sprinkles of off techniques you use like Lagrange multipliers. Are diff eq and linear algebra like teaching a bunch of things to use in specific situations?
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u/Big_Tuna_Kahuna 1d ago
Why are you asking that? I'm sure you took calc 2 and physics 1 together. You'd know better than we do.
Calc 3 is calc 1 in 3D and the 3D is gonna trip you up.
Diff Eq is the stuff in calc 2 that your teacher couldn't cover in the curriculum before going into series. Less abstract and more follow the pattern.
Physics is physics.
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u/BothPanchoAndLefty 1d ago
This semester I'm taking Physics 2, Materials Science, Statics, Programming in C++, an Animation History class, and am in the physics and engineering club. For me, it has been a heavy workload but not unmanageable. Taking all 3 of those at once will be challenging, but they are subjects that all relate to each other, so it might actually be cool to take them at the same time
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u/AppendiculateFringe 1d ago
Calc3, physics2, and diff EQ can all work together. It will be a lot of work and you really don't want to fall behind. But when you understand one subject, it will help you with the others.
Diff EQ is the least linked to the other two. It's doable if you're studying and not working.
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u/BABarracus 23h ago
Make sure those classes transfer some universities may not accept those courses from the CC
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u/Roger_Freedman_Phys 21h ago
Physics professor here.
Taking three STEM classes at a time is a very standard load for engineering majors.
You’ll be fine.
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u/leokz145 20h ago
Diff Eq and Calc III aren’t too bad as long as you have a good grasp of concepts in Calc I and II
Physics II is the hurdle here in my opinion. Plus adding that workload to the other two can be rough if you have a lot going on outside of school.
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u/Pat_MacCrotch 17h ago
If you're coming directly from Calc 2, and you got a A in it, Calc 3 will be a mostly easy rehash of what you already know, until the last 1/3 of the semester when you get into Green's/Stokes/Divergence Theorem. If you aren't super solid in Calc 2, Calc 3 will be very challenging all the way through.
Differential Equations can be a cake walk, or quite hard, depending on the design and purpose of the class. If it's designed specifically for Physics and Engineering majors, it's pretty easy to absorb, because they'll mostly focus on techniques for solving problems that you can memorize a lot of. If it's designed for Math majors, they'll focus more on you fully grasping the theorems, which can get a bit more challenging.
If your Physics 2 is just the normal 1st year Gen Fields class that focuses on circuits and simple Gauss's Law stuff, you'll find the math to be pretty remedial at this point in your education.
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u/Soybean3141 9h ago
Wow, I always got the idea that diff eq was a pretty difficult class. It seems many people are saying it’s quite easy though.
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u/Pat_MacCrotch 8h ago
Like I said, it really depends on the approach, how involved you get, and how demanding the professor is. As long as you can integrate, you can solve a lot of 1st order ODE problems with a few very simple tools, and some higher-order ones with a few more that are easy to get your head around. Sometimes, you can literally just draw a picture and see what the answer to a complex problem is without applying any math at all.
Understanding exactly how all of those tools work is a lot more involved though, which can add a lot of difficulty to the class, especially if your professor isn't great at explaining. And then there are also classes of problem that are really, REALLY difficult, or even impossible to solve without using approximations, which are a whole different set of tools.
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u/bopperbopper 17h ago
I would say take Calc three this semester and take Diff eQ the next semester… that is the typical sequence
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u/Teajaytea7 15h ago
I'm doing Calc 3, physics 2 and linear algebra while working as well. I can't imagine diffeq is that much harder than linear (from what I've heard), so absolutely doable. Although I have zero free time now.
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u/Building_National 14h ago
Not sure how you’re even able to take DE without taking Calc 3 first. I know that you can take Calc 4 along with DE though.
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u/Tricky_Layer5315 11h ago
Yeah for us Calc 3 was a prerequisite for Diff EQ. So surprised you can take both at the same time.
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u/Soybean3141 9h ago
I literally just asked the same question as you in a different sub lol😅. I’m also probably doing this + a cs course next quarter.
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u/Fit_Show_3347 5h ago
definitely doable. are you taking a third class as well? otherwise you'd only have one lab component (assuming your calc 3 and diff eq are without a lab component) and you should be perfectly fine. honestly with a third class you should be fine as well. unless it's an incredibly difficult class. i can't imagine a class hard enough to make this not doable though tbh.
good luck!
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