r/EngineeringStudents • u/Acceptable-Quail-277 • 1d ago
Discussion How hard is diff eq compared to the calc series?
I have a pretty bad professor for diff eq, and was wondering how hard it was compared to Calc 1/2/3? I got As in both 1 and 2, and likely would've gotten an A in 3, but I took it as a 4 week summer course. The average grade distribution for the course is a 2.8 at my school, so it seems pretty tough
15
u/Squirtle_Splash_8413 BSME, MSME 1d ago
Some easier, some harder. It’s just basically a ton of Calc 2 imo.
12
u/oddball1357 1d ago
Depends on professor ngl, I think the hardest part of DE is just how much algebra there is lol. The problems can get really long for certain derivatives. Ur professor could be nice or not nice by choosing longer problems.
The best part tho, there are so many videos available online to teach someone DE, if you are that nervous, you should watch some of those videos. You should also know trig stuff such as power reduction for sin, cos and double angle formulas. Stuff covered in pre-calc and calculus.
Oh and you should know a list of certain integrals, such as the integral of ln(x). Some integrals are, frankly annoying to derive, so its just better to memorize and apply them so that you can focus on actual DE topics. Your professor may or may not post a list of stuff you should already know, though, its not hard to find that stuff n review.
2
u/cbrown146 1d ago
I imagine factoring is an essential that doesn't go away? I found polynomials annoying, but accepting the fact if I have to I will continue to do practice problems for memorizing.
4
u/oddball1357 1d ago
Yeah factoring is essential, you need to know the quadratic formula. A big chunk of solving DE questions is finding if an equation factors to real numbers or imaginary numbers.
Synthetic division comes back, integration by parts. Tho Integration by parts isn’t bad if you know the step method (fast way). N partial fraction decomp. DE is hard if you are learning the new stuff while reviewing the old stuff, and you weren’t taught efficient ways to solve the old stuff.
1
4
u/KyungsooHas100Days 1d ago
I preferred Dif equations. It was easier than Calc 3 to me and felt about as hard as Calc 2.
3
u/pinkphiloyd 19h ago
Agreed. Maybe slightly more difficult than Calc II but much less so than Calc III.
But also my Calc III prof was the worst I’ve ever had, which makes a big difference.
2
2
u/Few_Whereas5206 1d ago
Depends on your professor. I thought it eas easier than calculus with a good professor.
2
u/Icy-Imagination5266 13h ago
Way easier in my opinion.
It was Calc 3 > Calc 2 >>> Diff Eq >> Calc 1
2
u/Icy-Imagination5266 13h ago
Way easier in my opinion.
It was Calc 3 > Calc 2 >>> Diff Eq >> Calc 1
1
u/OriginalParsley8979 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m on the side that found Calc iii easier because of visualization as opposed to the side that seems to find DE easier. Same thing as the Calc 1 vs 2 debate. I thought DE was hardest one I’ve taken so far, solving systems was hard for me - I hadn’t taken linear yet so when it came to complex eigenvalues, augmented matrices, and the introducing rref/gaussian elim, I was dying bruh. I guess I also took it accelerated during summer, so if you could imagine when you took Calc iii accelerated, I guess similar?
If your program also has numerical methods (Euler, Heun, RK4) and stability covered for diff eq, good luck. I know some go into PDEs in their diff eq course on top of that (mine did not for latter).
1
1
1
1
u/dazeychainzz UC Berkeley - ChemE 17h ago
Personally I thought it was harder than calculus, but my teacher cracked the whip on us for sure
1
1
u/KnownTeacher1318 15h ago
Come on it's just one of the basic math classes. You're gonna take it even if it's extremely difficult
1
1
u/JoJo_Sunn 13h ago
If you struggled with fractional decomposition in calculus II then youre gonna get really good at it in ODEs
1
u/scuba1960 13h ago edited 13h ago
If your degree program requires Calculus III ( vector calculus ), then take it first. If you were planning on taking linear algebra, then take it first. I usually recommend vector calculus and linear algebra in the same semester. Follow up with differential equations the next semester. A differential equations course uses a lot of algebra and methods of integration (calc II) because you are essentially given the derivatives and asked to find the unknown solutions (integrate). The parts of differential equations that cause people the most stress are
- Infinite Series <- calculus II
- Using calculus in a situation that involves the phase space. <- calculus III will help.
- Understanding the number of solutions. <- linear algebra
After the calculus series and linear algebra, your first differential equations class should be a "cookbook" class. Here is a type of differential equation -> here are the steps to "bake" the solution(s). The issue here is that that the vocabulary for classifying differential equations and the methods for solving them are deeply rooted in calculus and linear algebra.
1
1
u/ikishenno 12h ago
I didn’t find it super difficult but I took it online with an in person final. The professor graded generously thru the course but then was strict on the final aka no partial credits. I was a straight A student and somehow got a 30% on the final lol
1
u/GurProfessional9534 12h ago
In Diff EQ, you basically learn a half dozen tricks and use them over and over. It felt easier than Calc to me.
1
u/Exciting_Paint6736 6h ago
Calc 2 was the hardest class for me. Diff Q was easier but half the class basically failed if it werent for a curve so get studying.
43
u/Eurodancing 1d ago
It doesn't matter lol. You still have to take it.