Calculus or Psychology?

[Cuddlekins]

Hey,
I'm enrolled into psychology but having second thoughts to do calculus. For my major i only need biology and chemistry, so my third science core would be either psych or calc. I'm not sure which one to do ? Calc seems more useful but psychology is more relevant to life situations and could be more interesting.

Any thoughts?

thanks

[lexitu]

What are looking to get out of Science? I'd say Psych is more relevant and complementary to Biology especially but besides that I'm highly biased and would say Calculus sucks

Now for the backlash from all the Mathsy people on AN

[REBORN]

Nah lexy babes I agree with you. Psych all the way.

[Russ]

Calc will be easier and less of a workload during semester. Psych will be harder but more interesting. Depends where your interest lie I guess, you could always do both for the first week

[Gloamglozer]

Calc will be easier and less of a workload during semester. Psych will be harder but more interesting. Depends where your interest lie I guess, you could always do both for the first week

Really?  Having done both in the one semester, I think MBB2 is a lot easier than Calculus 2.  You really only need to put in effort on the essay worth 40% and then work during swotvac to do well.

Calculus 1 & Calculus 2 have 80% exam and 75% exam respectively.  Bad day, screw up exam/mid sem (if applicable), goodbye H1, hello lower average.

Which Calculus are you planning on doing?

[Cuddlekins]

Calc 1-just thinking about the weekly assignments just makes me reluctant to choose it, but i guess it shouldn't be too bad. Hmmm next year im planning to take anatomy,biochemistry and physiology... i think psychology is more relevant to these subjects rather than calculus ? leaning more towards psych.

[dptjandra]

Re: Relevance
If you really don't think you'll do any more maths/maths-based subjects (be it higher level financial/engineering), I'd probably go for psych.  The stuff I learnt in specialist maths and calculus 2, I'm pretty sure I've never applied since leaving those subjects.  Even the stuff I did in a stats subject was more linked to Maths Methods material (though if you were to do very high level probability or statistics, that could well change and the Calculus 1/2 material become much more relevance in proofs).
On the other hand, the stuff covered in psych (which I believe to include areas of the brain, and other relevant material about behaviour) is pretty important knowledge.  That said, it's a lot easier to slot into a second year psych subject without the first year subject than a maths subject.  Also, I believe you do cover some brain in anatomy - though I'm thinking it's not to the same extent, and without a lot of the additional details you'd get in a psych subject.  That might really work as an argument for psych, if you're hoping for additional reinforcement between courses.

Re: Easiness/Marks
If you're kind of decent at maths, you'll find calc very easy.  If you didn't enjoy methods much, psych will be easier.  Easier in my view to get a very high mark in calc (just due to the nature of the assessment - no essays in maths), though I found the one psych exam I did quite straight forward.

Were I not confident with calculus, I think it would've been easier to come out of the psych exam feeling happier than coming out of the calculus exam.  Not sure if I'm making it very clear what I mean!  Calculus - content is on average a bit harder, but everything that is examined can be learnt, so getting a very high mark is easier.  Psych - content on average a bit easier, but there may be some ambiguities (both in the exam, and in the subject nature of essay marking), so a very high mark not so easy.

[Cuddlekins]

Thanks so much for the input guys. I am leaning more towards psychology now, but now about the marks. Since i dont need calc or psych for my major, i should jsut focus on getting a a higher gpa from these subjects? If calculus as you said is easier to get h1 over psych then that is prob the only factor im having thoughts about doing calc instead. I do like maths and psychology, maybe more so psychology. So hard to decide !! Is calculus straight forward? cos if it involved a lot of worded problem solving, i dont think ill enjoy it as much :/

[Gloamglozer]

Calculus 1 is easy if you have revised the fundamentals from Methods.  Basically just revise trigonometric functions from Methods and you're fine for the first topic.  Then revise domains and ranges.  Vectors is a new topic not in Methods but if you've done physics, it should be straight forward and easy to grasp.

Then revise differentiation and integration.  Calculus 1 just extends on that.  Complex numbers is the last topic which is something you would not have seen at all.  But in Calculus 1, it's not that bad.

And that's Calculus 1 in a nutshell for you.

[simpak]

MBB2 obviously.
Why would someone take maths voluntarily?

[Massofbubbles]

Not sure if you're a guy, or which way you swing, but there'll probably be a lot more nice girls in psych than in calc.

[supernerd]

psych will be easier, but i did no work for calc whatsoever and i still passed, the weekly assignment are not hard, just google it if youre concerned ,

[Gloamglozer]

MBB2 obviously.
Why would someone take maths voluntarily?

*hides*  Someday we mathematicians will rise...  some day.

[simpak]

MBB2 obviously.
Why would someone take maths voluntarily?

*hides*  Someday we mathematicians will rise...  some day.

YOU SCARE ME.  At least you also took MBB so it kind of cancels out.

[Mao]

Depends on what career you choose. What are you planning for your graduate course?

Doing psych will allow you to apply biology to psychological behaviour (useful if you want to do further study in psych). Doing maths will allow you to apply maths (and physics) to biology and chemistry (VERY useful if you want to do further study in biology and chemistry).

What I do know is that life sciences have taken a fresh turn towards computational analysis. A lot of drug design (rational drug design), proteomics and much of the biomedical field is turning to mathematical and computational models for newer advances. A bit of maths can go a long way.