[raine]

So Math 1AA3 is the continuation of Math 1A03 and it's the second calculus course mainly designed for science students. Compared to Math 1A03, which is mostly review from highschool (except integrals), Math 1AA3 definitely need more time to understand and get a good grasp of the materials (especially sequences and series, which was totally new to me).
This course has a pretty simple marking scheme: 10% assignments, 2 x 20% midterms and 50% exam. Like Math 1A03, if you score higher in the exam, your exam becomes 100% (I'm not sure if they will continue to do this so check).

Assignments
There were a total of 5 assignments, which they give you plenty of time to work on them (more than 2 weeks). You get multiple tries (like 5??) so it is not hard to get a perfect on all the assignments. I suggest trying the assignment questions after you finish all the recommended homework problems from the textbook as they tend to be more difficult.

Midterms
So there are two midterms and you are given 1hr to write each. If you do all the homework problems, you won't have any problems with the midterms. Most of the questions look very similar to the practice problems and the problems the professor go over during the class. Like many other courses, practicing solving problems is very important. Be careful on multiple choice questions as you don't get any part marks for showing your work. So check to make sure your answer is right and that you circled the right one (might sound silly but it can happen )

Exam
Exam consisted of 12 multiple choices and 5 long answer questions. I actually found the exam very fair and straight-forward. It concentrates more on the materials covered later in the year (parametric/polar curves and multivariable calculus) so make sure you over all the assignment and textbook problems. You are given 3hr to write it but you really need about 2hr and so you can use the remaining hour to go back and check your answers.

Instructor
I had Dr. Nicas as the instructor (he was also the course coordinator) and he was just awesome. Little jokes he throws here and there during the lectures are so funny. His lecture pacing is very good and he updates the website frequently and up-to-date. He also posts up the solutions to the midterms after the midterm so you can check your work. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask for help during his office hour.

Overall
I really liked how the course doesn't cover so many materials but takes enough time to explore one topic in a great detail (pretty much, there are just 5 main sections in this course - improper integral, differential equations, sequences and series, parametric/polar curves, and multivariable calculus). The course is designed so that you will do great if you do all the homework problems and take sufficient time to understand the materials. Af first, topics like sequences and series can be very difficult but after you take some time to go over the notes and do the practice problems, you'll find that it's not so difficult after all. Some topics are really interesting as well (like for example, you get to draw pretty graphs that look like a heart or a flower). If you liked Math 1A03, I don't see why you won't like this as well.


Good luck!

I'm taking this course in right now during the summer at UTSC. And after reading this I took a look at the course outline for Math 1AA3 at mac and compared it to what I'm doing now. The course I'm taking doesn't even touch on polar coordinates, it doesn't do any part of chapter 7. We wont be doing any of chapter 14 either, I think it deals with more differential functions. My question is: if this will be a big problem when I take other math courses? How much difficulty do you think I would I have with other courses?

raine gave a really good review.

I agree with everything but will add some more.

Midterms:
two midterms, fairly easy. However, they both had very few questions. the multiple choice was easy, but the show your work questions were a bit tougher. if you were stumped on one of them, you lost a large part of your mark.

Lecturer:
I had professor Cuadros. He's a grad or PhD student. He is not new to teaching but it seemed like he was.
Do NOT take any courses with this guy.
He doesn't teach anything that will be on the exam (Nicas makes up the exam so he would probably teach the class what's going to be on the test) nor is he a good lecturer. I had a conflict with Nicas' timeslot and so could not switch, but Cuadros' is the reason I did so poorly.

EVERY class (well, 90% of classes) he would make a mistake. When teaching a concept, something we are all new at, he would consistently do it wrong.
When there was about 3 weeks left in the course he decided to just use the examples from the text instead of making up his own examples.
AND HE STILL MADE MISTAKES!

He spends so much time on sections which ended up not being tested on the midterms or finals. He has bad pacing and he starts class 5 minutes late every day.

If you want to do well in this course, just read the textbook, do the assignments and do not go to Cuadros' lectures if he is teaching.

I totally agree with what was just said...I had Cuadros as well and it was horrible, there were mistakes every class and he seemed to get really impatient and rude some times. I felt really unprepared and found that it is a better use of time just to read the textbook, it was basically the same examples anyway, and they were actually correct. Definitely avoid getting him if you can.

I had cuadors but i rellay liked him as a teacher....i found him funny and nice at the same time. I liked it and I liked the course. I founbd this course to have easier tests than Math 1A03 so I really enjoyed the course.

Originally Posted by aa84

My question is: if this will be a big problem when I take other math courses? How much difficulty do you think I would I have with other courses?

If you plan to continue in math, Calculus specifically, you'll need Polar Coordinates. This is because the next step is what's called Vector Calculus. You'll have mastered derivatives, limits etc. of one real variable, so now you need to find out what happens when you move to two, or more variables.

Vector Calculus addresses such problems as 2-D and 3-D integration, which require a '3-D version' of Polar Coordinates, called Spherical Coordinates.

But don't worry too much...your 3rd year prof will more than likely do a review of Polar Coordinates (Not to mention you can try looking at it yourself over the summer....send me a pm if you need any help!). There are also many resources available for math students, such as the "Math Help Centre" on the main floor of Hamilton Hall.

This is usually restricted to first year math help, since higher level math must be fresh in one's brain in order to quickly and efficiently help other students...polar coordinates however, everyone working in the help centre should be able to help you with. Feel free to ask!

I'm thinking about taking this course but to fit it in my schedule, i need to take a tutorial with a different prof than the lecture. is that okay??

Profs don't teach the tutorials. But it doesn't matter which tutorial you go to.

what textbook did you guys use >?


Thanks,

Originally Posted by fyhope

what textbook did you guys use >?


Thanks,

The same one as in Math 1A03: Calculus: Early Transcendentals.

The same textbook as 1A03 was used.

Originally Posted by fyhope

what textbook did you guys use >?


Thanks,

yah the Calculus: Early Transendentals - 6th edition. ITs the same for both Math1A03 and Math 1AA3 course.

Infact, Stewart's book (Early Transcendentals) will last you through 2nd year calculus as well (2A03, and/or 2X03/2XX3) unless a prof decides to use Dr. Lovric's textbook.

I found the course somewhat challenging because of all the new material. But at the same time, we didn't do that that many chapters. I was in Cuadros's class. He would some times make mistakes while doing the examples, but other than that, he was a pretty good proff. Overall, I thought Math 1AA3 was a pretty good course and not extremely hard if you practice regularly.

Originally Posted by Kira

I found the course somewhat challenging because of all the new material. But at the same time, we didn't do that that many chapters. I was in Cuadros's class. He would some times make mistakes while doing the examples, but other than that, he was a pretty good proff. Overall, I thought Math 1AA3 was a pretty good course and not extremely hard if you practice regularly.

Lol, I remember him talking about the rabbits XD