After finishing Calculus AB in high school, I was content with the fact that I might never take math again. Unfortunately, once I decided that I wanted to become a science major, taking math again was no longer an option – it was required.

Coming into college, I was intent on being a double major in biochemistry and English. I knew that I wanted to combine my love of the sciences with my love for writing and figured that a double major made sense. Thus, I would also need to take Calculus II in order to fulfill the major requirements for biochemistry. After taking Calculus I at Pomona last semester with one of the best math teachers I have ever had, I wasn’t too worried about Calc II and was confident that my professor had prepared me well. I knew that with hard work, I would be able to do well in the class. Although I still believe this to be true, I have heard more recently, from many friends, peers, and professors, that Calc II is the hardest of the three calculus classes. That was not exactly uplifting news and not what I wanted to hear about a class that was making me more and more nervous. It wasn’t until I remembered some of the basic skills you need to succeed in math classes, that I began to feel better.

Math is a subject that you must learn by doing. My mom is a fifth grade teacher and always tells her students that the only way to get better at it, is to practice. Although this is fairly intuitive, as many of us have been taught this lesson in other parts of our life, such as in sports or the arts, math is especially tricky because it is hard to remember that even if you can get one problem right, there are so many other variations that can be written. Math challenges us to evaluate what we are seeing at first glance. There are often problems that are easy to solve, but require work at the beginning to make the rest of the problem possible. This approach is unlike most of the problems we learn to solve in algebra classes where the strategy to solve for the specific answer is pretty straight forward. But in Calc II, not only are you solving for that specific answer, you must also determine if work needs be done beforehand so that the problem is properly executed.

Math can also be difficult simply because it does not seem applicable to our dailiy lives. For example, it might lead us to have these sorts of thoughts:

But what I am learning more and more often, is that Calc II is applicable and can help me understand more of what I am learning in my science classes. Although, it’s hard to believe, the parallels are there.

Calc II has proven to be a challenge, even this early in the semester, and yet, when I do end up figuring out that problem that’s been driving me crazy, I can’t help but feel exactly like this:

 
Comments? Questions? Resources? Comment below and share any of your own success (or horror) stories about Calculus II.