I guess it depends on what you like really. If you want to do something analytical, you should master precalculus first because that serves as a foundation for calculus later on. Then once you master calculus I and II you can do differential equations, complex variables (I recommend taking calc III first before doing complex variables). If thats not your cup of tea, you could try some discrete math. Number theory and abstract algebra dont really rely on precalculus beyond elementary algebra (although the elementary algebra you learn in school is a subset of abstract algebra as a whole ).
the only math class you really need to master is integral calculus which you will see in ALL your other classes.
i’m an engineering major
i’m finishing calc 2 up, i have a 95% in the class.
i plan to take physics mechanics in the summer
what should i expect
Physics mechanics? Like classical physics? What kind of expectations (difficulty or content)?
Unless you don’t plan on doing anything else I wouldn’t recommend taking that class over the summer that’s for sure. My first physics course made calc II look like a fucking joke.
I already rage quit on that class. My math minor is already done, I just took it because I like math. After I graduate I think I’m going to move and do a math major somewhere else.
I took an honors physics class and I was glad I had already taken Calc 3.
I snoozed through calc III in college assuming I would never need it… and now that I have a software job where I can actually apply it, I can’t remember shit 
However, looking things up isn’t difficult and I can still understand it after I read a chapter. On the other hand, Discrete Math kicked my ASS in college. Fuck that shit. Some of the stuff was a breeze, but once we started getting into proofs and what not, I got rushed-down.
That’s the only math class I ever took that I had difficulty with.
Doesn’t sound that difficult when you first read the summary - but trust me, it’ll whoop dat ass. I was studying 3+ hours a night, which I’ve never had to do in any other class to get an A.
Freshman in college, taking Calc 2 atm…which is pretty easy. Probably cause I’m asian
As someone who went to graduate work in a math intensive field, w/o the appropriate math background… I can say I feel some of the pain on here.
Real Analysis is pretty awesome, its amazing what you can really explain using math. Of course, I’m partial to Econometrics, I do love a good time-series!
Oh and personally, I thought Calc 2 was harder than Calc 3.
I would love to see a good Math Tier List…
Calc 3 is just Calc 2 in 3D (or so I remember) so once you’ve learned calc2, 3 just becomes an extension. Makes it easier IMO
[media=youtube]Ooa8nHKPZ5k[/media]
I had a 100 average in Calc 3 in college.
That was the last math class I took, then I switched majors to Econ.
Math is fun yo, but it doesn’t get you the monies.
HUH? As an Economist, I have to tell you, there is plenty of money to be made in Math. Math majors are VALUABLE. The common knowledge is that more ed. = more money. The more valuable assertion is that more math = more money. Actuaries? That’s a pretty darn good pay day right there. Statisticians? BIG MONEY. Like easy to make 6 digits money. (You want to know where money is in Math? Become a statistician or an actuary for big pharm or big insurance… nothing wrong with that!)
Now some math doesn’t pay… But at some point, if you can make math that doesn’t pay more applicable to business needs in an inventive way, you can MAKE math pay.
Econ though I have to say is a nice middle ground. Good business background with enough math and statistics to make you valuable to many employers.
Math by itself… well, you might be right. But math and physics is GDLK. There is SERIOUS cash to be made in many industries, including the one I work in, if you have a VERY solid math and physics background.
Who wants to help me with my MGF1107 final exam?! It’s a take home test, and it’s due a day after Super comes out! I already have the exam in my possession! Woooooooh!! Also, it’s my last class before I graduate!
Statistics is a different major from math, and you can still be an actuary with an Econ major since it is so math based.
Hate statistics. Not sure why. Never agreed with it. Got 100% regardless, but thats just exams.
Calculus is cool - but even Aizen would get owned by Diff Equations.
Love Trig and complex numbers. Complex numbers still dont make sense to me, but they are just too sick.
Discrete maths or number theory - very cool.
Continuous maths - algebra that wants to screw you over. Fun when it makes sense.
What is topology?
Binary and hex are stuff I need to be good at - IT security is where I work
Still, nice to see people that appreciate math in this day and age where the average adult cant add (forget subtract!!) two fractions together.
Hex can be a pain sometimes, especially if you’re like me and constantly forget what A-F are numerically. It’s useful at times when doing web stuff, though stylesheets and javascript can also use direct RGB values.
Really? I’m curious, was it the material or was it the proofs that gave you difficulty? Usually most people say Linear Algebra is the toughest class they took because its the first time that proofs become a significant aspect of the class. I don’t know whether you’ve actually done proofs seriously before, but if not, I can see why it might give you difficulty. What kinds of problems gave you trouble?
I’m working on one as we speak.
So, the thing about complex numbers is that the real numbers you have been working with your whole life are actually a subset of the complex numbers! iow, you have been working with complex numbers in the form a +0*i (i.e. R, the set of all real numbers). Its a little different from real numbers in the sense that |C| > |R| (there are more complex numbers than real numbers). I took complex before I took calc III, so I had a little difficulty understanding some concepts at first, but its still doable.
As for topology, heres a wiki link
Right now I’m primarily interested in picking up point-set topology, but some of the non-point set stuff looks fun too!
Well at the university where I teach, Stats is treated as a speciality under the math major. It could be different in different places I suppose.
And to be an actuary with an Econ major your undergraduate has to be VERY quantitatively oriented. Many undergraduate Econ programs do not meet the mathematical intensity required. Now we have plenty of Math / Econ double majors who are working to become actuaries but an Econ major on their own might have some trouble depending on where you go to school. I mean Princeton separates their econ undergrad out I think, into business econ and quant. econ.
But even with all that said, your point is well taken, and stats is still math, its just different things to do with math
Well, on a undergraduate level, I believe that Math and Stat are not separate majors. I was talking about Graduate work. Maybe I shouldn’t use the word “major” but I don’t know exactly what you call a course of study after undergraduate.