If you did ok in Calc 3 you should be ok with Diff Eq. I was an CompE major, so we did a lot in regards to sine and cosine functions and filters in regards to analog/digital signal processing (butterworth filters, hi/lo pass filters, etc). You use the chain formula A LOT if I recall, but more than anything, requires a physical understanding of what happens when you do an integration/derivation. You need to have a solid understanding of the calculus theorems as well (i.e. derivate of the integral is the function, etc) You have to do a lot of double derivatives/integrals as well. Good luck homey, but I think you'll be good, don't let all those nonlinear equations bother you, it's not as complicated as it looks. Teachers like to make things harder than they actually are to increase their self-worth.
Math, engineering and physical science majors, how hard is differential equations?
- Thread starter Bomberman
- Start date
If you did ok in Calc 3 you should be ok with Diff Eq. I was an CompE major, so we did a lot in regards to sine and cosine functions and filters in regards to analog/digital signal processing (butterworth filters, hi/lo pass filters, etc). You use the chain formula A LOT if I recall, but more than anything, requires a physical understanding of what happens when you do an integration/derivation. You need to have a solid understanding of the calculus theorems as well (i.e. derivate of the integral is the function, etc) You have to do a lot of double derivatives/integrals as well. Good luck homey, but I think you'll be good, don't let all those nonlinear equations bother you, it's not as complicated as it looks. Teachers like to make things harder than they actually are to increase their self-worth.
Silver Surfer
Veteran
If you study and practice what you study...should not be that hard..I never took it....but I will say this...when it came to Discreet math...half of the people in the major took it more that once....and alot switched majors because of it 
Bomberman
Like a C4.
Good lookin out everyone pos. rep all around. Just got a little shook after those div, grad, curl integral problems. Which is stupid since I really well in Electromagnetics when it cames to gauss', Ampere's, and Faraday's Law as well as all the other vector calculus applications, but those math surfaces were something else.
It's hard to be specific because each university will do things slightly different, perhaps even in different orders. If you've already done the "maths for engineers" stuff like surface integrals and whatnot (I don't mean that in a nasty way, it's just those things have massive application in real world problems) then something which melds linear algebra and differential equations is going to involve lots of matrices and vectors. For example, the solve a pair of 1st order coupled ODEs you would write them as a matrix system and then solve by finding the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the system.
Being comfortable using rotation matrices, diagonalising matrices, dot products, all of these things can be used with vector calculus to describe spinning, oscillating, etc systems which involve differential equations.
ThatTruth777
Superstar
From what I remember it just takes a bit of time to do them. The difficulty can vary.
black crown
Rookie
It's not nearly as bad as Cal 2. As long as your work is organized and you know how to substitute you'll be aight.
I'd have to agree with the consensus, Diff Eq isn't as difficult as Calc 2 (which i had to take twice, 
) But Diff Eq, i actually got an A.
) But Diff Eq, i actually got an A.Doing Calc 3 & Physics w/Calc 2 in the fall, and I'm gonna be glad to be done with all these general science and math courses. Differential Equations will be my last general study course before I go to my junior year for Civil Engineering. Two things I hate the most are trig functions and logarithms, I hate differentiating and integrating these fukkers. I'll be happy when the day comes when I don't have to differentiate or integrate anything.