MAC 2313
Analytic Geometry and Calculus 3
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Prof: Jesse Kim / Fall 2024
Dec 10, 2024
3D version of calculus. Material is conceptually a little challenging, but the grading is so lax that maintaining an A in this course shouldn't be a challenge for anyone who did ok in calc 2. 4 tests (no cumulative final) each worth 15% and with 6-8 bonus points. Homework w/ unlimited attempts and 8 quizzes worth 15% of the grade total.
3D graphing and vectors, vector-valued functions, partial derivatives, multiple integration, line and surface integrals. I can definitely see how this will be useful in my higher level engineering classes. I thought that unit 4 was by far the hardest, but not undoable. Also I hate LaGrange multipliers.
This was the worst part of the class. Kim (I believe) has never taught a class before this term and it definitely shows. I stopped going to lectures after the first quiz because they are available online done by Shabbaz and are way better. Attendance is not graded so there is no reason not to do this. He makes frequent mistakes, leaves out content, and overall just has an extremely dry lecturing style. I heard from a friend that attendance from our lecture dropped to about 20 from 300 by the last chapter.
Do not listen to your preview advisor, anyone who passed AP calc BC can pass this class (I found it easier than calc BC, I imagine the difference between MAC 2312 is bigger). Do the practice tests and discussions; those 3 points of EC could be the difference. Just watch the online lectures.
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Prof: Melissa Shabazz / Fall 2023
Dec 11, 2023
Definitely one of the more manageable calculus courses. As long as you don't slack off during lectures or fall behind on your homework, it should be relatively easy to get an A. With exception to the final, the exams are surprisingly easy, and there are a lot of extra credit opportunities to boost your grade.
The content for the first 2 modules is essentially the basics of Calculus 1 and 2 but applied to the 3D space. You should probably know most of this stuff, but now you need to apply it to the third dimension. The last couple of modules (especially the last) are a little more difficult and introduce some ideas that are a little harder to grasp conceptually.
Shabazz is great. I've seen lectures from some of the other professors, and Shabazz seems to be the best. She fell behind the other professors a couple times throughout the semester, but it didn't happen very often and didn't have a huge impact other than having to skip a couple of examples to catch up. If you're able to, I highly recommend taking it with Shabazz.
The first three exams are extremely easy if you pay attention to lectures and honestly do the homework. The last exam isn't as easy, but if you take advantage of the first three exams and do well on them, you can guarantee yourself an A even with a not so good final exam score. There are also extra credit opportunities in each module. They are all extremely easy, and there's no reason not to do them. Unless you are really struggling, you shouldn't need study edge for this course. Also, if you are an incoming freshman with calc 1 and 2 credit and your advisor is trying to tell you to retake calc 2, don't listen to them. Take this class instead.
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Prof: Robin Tucker-drob / Fall 2023
Sep 11, 2023
Class was not too bad easier than calc 2
Mostly yes
I think waiting for the spring, flying to northwestern Brazil, waiting for rain, and listening to frogs croak during mating season would teach me more about Calculus III than this professor. If I had learned anything during his class it is how I want to slam my head against a brick wall during his lectures to avoid his rambling. Also, attendance starts before class starts and ends the minute class starts, so be early.
Do not take this professor, Shabazz is much better. Do the online classes
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Prof: Melissa Shabazz / Spring 2023
Apr 8, 2023
definitely a conceptual course, but it starts out nice and slow. Personally, it has really taught me how to think 3D and i love calc so it was a good class
calc quiz every week, 3mid terms, final exam, and a bunch of extra credit opportunities are offered. xronos is assigned for each lecture, but it’s not necessarily overwhelming, just a bit time consuming. the content for the first two exams are very easy, but exam 3 and the final exam become much harder. take advantage, study hard for the first two exams and you’ll thank yourself cause the next two weren’t that easy.
shabazz was awesome. even if u cant get shabazz, i believe whatever professor u have will still have recordings of shabazz’s lectures on canvas so you should be ok if u don’t get her.
actually do the xronos, it’s get prep for the exams practice with the practice exams do the extra credit!!! you’ll thank yourself
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Prof: Melissa Shabazz / Fall 2022
Dec 30, 2022
I took this course 3 times. My first 2 attempts with Professor Huang and my 3rd attempt was with Professor Shabazz (whom I highly recommend). The course itself is not too bad so long as you keep up with the homework assignments.
The homeworks are critical to learning how to solve problems in my opinion. However it is very easy to fall behind on homework because they directly correlate to each lecture (so you have roughly 12 questions to complete after each lecture and they can be very time consuming). For exams they release old exams to practice with. I highly recommend using those to practice and study with.
As I previously stated, I took this course twice with Prof. Huang and once with Prof. Shabazz. Each professor follows the same lecture notes and uses the same homework assignments. What sets each Professor apart is how they lecture. Prof. Huang talks way too fast during lectures and has a thick accent which makes it hard to understand her. Prof. Shabazz took her time going through lectures and had a great way of explaining the concepts. She occasionally makes mistakes during lectures but she quickly corrects them. Also, she often dropped hints as to what questions will be on exams, so go to her lectures or watch her recordings (especially towards the end of each unit as that’s when she writes each exam). I felt like she really cared about us and she was very understanding.
Don’t let yourself fall behind on the homeworks. It’s very easy to do, however once you fall behind it’s exponentially more difficult to catch back up. My advice is to make time to head to the library sometime between each lecture to work on the homework assignment. Also, Professor Leonard on YouTube has some amazing calc 3 videos.
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Prof: Robin Tucker-drob / Fall 2022
Dec 13, 2022
overall pretty easy course with a lot of opportunities with raise your grade
This class went over vectors and multivariable functions, so I guess it's useful
The professor was terrible and did not listen to students' questions or concerns. I spent the whole semester watching Ian Manly's lectures on Youtube instead
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Prof: Melissa Shabazz / Fall 2022
Dec 12, 2022
I would say it is conceptually a difficult course, but it is very forgiving due to a large amount of extra credit available and curves on all the exams.
Three-dimensional applications of differentials and integrals. I would say it is important for engineering/physics applications but probably useless for others.
Dr. Shabazz isn't the most effective lecturer and often makes little errors/gets confused, which in turn confuses you. But she is very nice and seems to want her students to do well
Make sure to attend discussions and take advantage of all extra credit opportunities. Actually do the xronos, use study edge
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Prof: Zapaletal / Fall 2022
Dec 12, 2022
The course is very elegant. It seems like the analog of Calc 1 but in multiple dimensions. The workload can be very heavy and conceptual though.
Planes and 3D graphs, Vectors, Parameterization, Partial Derivatives, Stoke’s Theorem, Green’s Theorem, Divergence Theorem, Surface Integrals, Multiple Integrals,
I felt like Zaplatal had a lot of passion in his teaching. He can sometimes teach very quickly, and uses technical math terms. However, once you get used to his style, his explanations really help for understanding the logic behind the math of the course. He doesn’t hold your hand but forces you as a student to think critically.
There is so much homework. Sometimes the homework assignments would take me half a day or more.
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Spring 2021
Oct 10, 2022
Very tough class but good at making sure you will know the material
Think calculus one material but in 3d space, adding a lot of conceptual confusion
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Spring 2022
Sep 1, 2022
Much better than Calc II for me. Maybe it was because it wasn't so much memorization.
Vectors, 3D graphing and differentials (but much simpler than 2D), I don't really remember what else right now.
Huang was fantastic! Great lecturer, available for questions.
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Spring 2022
Apr 26, 2022
If you passed calc 2, you're going to be fine with calc 3. It's way easier than calc 2.
Vectors, double and triple integration, cylindrical and spherical coordinate conversions. Most of it is pretty straightforward.
Dr. Huang was great! Lectures aren't too difficult to get through; I watched them all online.
If you have to take MAS3114 (computational linear), I think it's a good class to pair with calc 3 in the same semester. A lot of similar content, but MAS3114 is way easier.
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Fall 2019
Apr 18, 2022
Lots of HW. exams 3 and the final were super hard. shes a good teacher though
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Prof: Luca Di Cerbo / Spring 2022
Apr 7, 2022
Calc III is easier computation wise in my opinion than II was. However you have to have a good background of integration and derivatives and then use the things learned on the first two exams and continue to apply it.
It’s a critical tracking class for most if not all engineering majors and I can see the basic ideas being useful in the future.
Many people have different thoughts about Di Cerbo but personally I really liked him as a professor and person. He does a good job explaining things while also leaving room for questions but sometimes doesn’t get through the whole lecture. But sends the notes after class.
Make sure to have a good algebra background because that it what a lot of it is!
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Summer 2021
Feb 13, 2022
Though I took this class asynchronously it was tough and it was very demanding.
Huang was a godsend, she truly cared about her students and took the time to really explain the concepts
Do not slack off and put forth time and effort
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Fall 2021
Jan 10, 2022
Not too difficult as long as you do the homework.
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Prof: Zapaletal / Fall 2021
Jan 8, 2022
Study edge was a waste.
Necessary course for my major, but sadly have to retake it.
Not a good lecturer. Had to watch Huang on video.
Switch professors, don’t get behind, do LQ right after class
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Winter 2021
Jan 4, 2022
The course was structured in a way where you were able to succeed just as long as you put in the work. I hadn't taken a math class in years (literally) and I did just fine.
For my major, CS, it's not useful. I did find some of the topics interesting though.
Professor Huang. She talks through the concepts step by step in a very clear and concise manner.
You need to put in the work to succeed in this class. A little bit of work each day is a lot easier than cramming in hours over the weekend. On average, I did two hours a day of watching lectures, doing homework, and studying and I'd give myself a break over the weekend.
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Prof: Carol Demas / Fall 2021
Dec 16, 2021
Definitely a tough course that requires a lot of attention. I fell behind at one point and catching up on the lectures was a lot...Demas is not great, I found her really distracted most of the time and so I stopped going to class and just watched Huang's lectures and Manly's youtube videos from when he taught the course in Spring 2021. Lots of extra credit though which is always nice. Just grind practice exams, do all the extra credit, and stay on top of lectures if you want a fighting chance.
Partial derivatives and gradients are super helpful with a lot of upper math courses and engineering, so it is a very useful class.
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Fall 2021
Dec 13, 2021
This is not a bad class overall and was certainly better for me than calc II.
Calc III deals with multivariable calculus starting from 3D Graphs and prep for vector calculus (dealing with normal vectors, parameterizing some curves in 2D, etc.), before moving onto double and triple integrals in cartesian, polar, spherical, and cylindrical coordinate systems, and then concluding with line integrals, surface integrals, and other aspects of vector calculus. The stuff at the end of the year would have been very useful for the middle of PHY2049, but was not entirely needed.
The professor manages to compress the information in a way that gives us 2 days of in-class review which helped massively for the exams. This does mean that the class is very fast paced, and getting the preprinted notes are the only way to keep up with lectures. The class had lots of assignments that don't seem to be worth much and can drag on at times, but most of them do help with maintaining working knowledge of the different techniques, tricks, and procedures needed for problems.
The last section of calc III was the hardest for me since it required good working knowledge of double and triple integration in the different coordinate systems as well as practice in choosing the right theorem for the line and surface integrals. It is a good idea to compile all of the problems presented in lecture quizzes and homeworks and randomize them to practice choosing the right theorem and getting the correct answer. Make sure to keep up with lecture quizzes and homeworks as they help you ingrain what you learned in lecture (and it is difficult to do multiple homeworks back to back). Do your best in the early exams and assignments so you can have a buffer for the final exam.
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Fall 2020
Dec 7, 2021
Pretty good course. If you have taken Calc BC and done well, then skipping MAC 2312 and going directly to this would be a reasonable idea.
Multivariable calculus. Pretty interesting and intuitive.
Fine.
If you have a reasonable aptitude for it and do your homework then you should be fine. This is one of those "entire course could in principle be compressed into three pages" sorts of classes. By the way, the homework follows the exam notes, so you can use those instead of necessarily attending lecture.
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Fall 2020
Sep 30, 2021
I actually loved this class. Enjoyed the content and it was much more interesting that the other calc classes
Most things you learn in this class are useful in future math/physics classes
Loved Huang, she was a great lecturer
Get ahead on homework and invest in StudyEdge
Huang
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Summer 2021
Sep 22, 2021
The toughest class I've ever taken in my life so far, harder than Calc 2. You will be working almost every single day.
Nothing useful that pertained to my major (Comp Sci)
Amazing professor, gives a lot of extra credit and her exams reviews are very similar to the actual tests.
You will need Study Edge to get you through the class, especially if you're not a math person.
Huang for sure.
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Fall 2020
Sep 8, 2021
Difficult course. Very doable though if trying to skip Calc 2. Some modules are much harder than others.
Very good but fast. Accent isn't bad enough to be unintelligible. Examples are useful for exams.
Do Xronos assignments ASAP. Either buy the course notes so you can follow along or watch recorded lectures if you can.
Huang
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Prof: Shu-jen Huang / Spring 2021
Sep 6, 2021
This was very difficult, there was a lot of homework and it is easy to fall behind if you aren't careful. It can also be difficult to understand the topics since it is all about 3D but being shown on 2D paper.
Very good, she has a slight accent but not so that you can't understand. She goes very fast and you can get left behind.
Do homework the day of the lecture you learned it. There is too much homework to leave for the weekend or until it is all due.
Huang or Manly, either should be fine.
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