My new least favorite state: Connecticut.

chriscaffee · Post by **chriscaffee** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:09 pm

Pretty much all the letters chosen in math are arbitrary. Funny you call the slope a gradient though, I had never heard that terminology until my current math class, Calculus 3. By the way multivariable shit fucking sucks. Just something to look forward too... assuming your major even requires it.

I know what you mean. I actually understand the material but I keep failing the tests. Go figure. It's about a 50/50 of whether I will pass or fail. If I do manage to squeeze by then I will definitly do regular Calc 4 instead of honors.

Dark Dolphin · Post by **Dark Dolphin** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:00 pm

How do you fail tests if you understand the material?

Post by **Delphine** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:05 pm

Some people just don't test well, y'know.

chriscaffee · Post by **chriscaffee** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:15 pm

I usually do fine on tests. I don't really know what it is about this class, but the problems on the test sort of catch you off guard even though in retrospect they are pretty simple.

Double-S- · Post by **Double-S-** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:04 am

In one of my engineering classes I can do all the (straight-forward) homework assignments pretty easily, but then on tests the professor loads over half of it (literally - usually 60%) with formulas we barely covered and crazy "application" concepts and make me suck at it. I got half credit for that 60% on two of three tests.

Dark Dolphin · Post by **Dark Dolphin** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:24 am

Ah, that explains it. Thanks.

Teachers suck to do that. I've had a few in my day like that. Thankfully, in one of the classes, I already new about most of the scientific aspects on a test relating to geology so I set the curve. The teacher thought I was an idiot prior to that and probably still does. Tomorrow's my last class with him. Hopefully he won't be hired (he's a visiting professor, so he's temporary unless he's well received).

Baba O'Reily · Post by **Baba O'Reily** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 6:25 am

A teacher is a good example of how you can be well-respected and almost universally hated at the same time.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:50 pm

I only respect like half my teachers.

And for chriscaffee, there is a Calc 4? Over here, the University of Utah, we just got Calc 3 and then it goes into specific math classes like ODE's and Linear Algebra.

Oh and Double -S- you are sorta right about the gradient. It can also include z' in it too, but in one dimension it is more or less the slope since the partial derivative in one dimension is just the derivative which is just the slope. I had never heard a slope called a gradient until now though. Wow, that middle sentence is bad, I'm too lazy to fix it though.

chriscaffee · Post by **chriscaffee** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:53 pm

Calc 4 is a cute name for one of those more specialized classes. There are three versions: Calc 4, Honors Calc 4 and then a non-honors class that requires Linear Algebra (but it has an honors option). The non-honors is the actual "official" name of the class if you will and the other versions are for Engineering students and Engineering honors students respectively. If I do manage to pull a 1 or a 2 out of this class I will definitly be in the regular Calc 4, if I fail, I'll take regular Calc 3.

The Doc · Post by **The Doc** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 5:38 pm

Instead of going through all that shit, I just did Accounting. "No point in doing math if you're not making money off it," I always say. Besides, if you can understand anything in Calculus, your ass deserves to get paid.

Oddly enough, I ruled ass in Accounting.