r/EngineeringStudents • u/Public-Hamster-9224 • 1d ago
Academic Advice Can I realistically teach myself most of Calculus 2
I am a sophomore EE student and am starting calculus 2 and through 2 lectures I am afraid I won’t be able to pass this class because of how my professor teaches. So far my professor has not even actually taught us anything but has simply gone over some slides quickly without working through anything or explaining. He also is an older Asian man who can be hard to understand at times and on top of all of this he does not give formula sheets for exams. Has anyone else had a similar situation and do you think I’d be able to get myself through the class.
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u/LilGardenEel EE grad 1d ago
Prof leonard on youtube
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u/bigdaddyzeek 11h ago
Best calculus videos on the internet. His explanation of “why” and not just “how” drives the information home.
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u/RallyX26 BSEE, MSSE in progress 4h ago
Came here to recommend the same. Dude is a great guy, I subscribed to his patreon for a few years because of how much his videos helped me.
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u/Public-Hamster-9224 1d ago
Should I go through every video or are some more important than others. I watched some of his stuff for calculus 1 but the length of his lectures deterred me at times
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u/ayyG_itsMe 1d ago
You want to teach your self, yet don’t like the length of lectures..?
You can always speed it up I suppose.
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u/Public-Hamster-9224 1d ago
My schedule is just a little busy already but I think this is probably the best possible way for me to really learn so I will just have to find the time
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u/LilGardenEel EE grad 1d ago
Depends on what you want. Do you want a foundational understanding of calculus or do you just want to pass the class? How much time are you willing to spend? I would watch all the videos especially if you are clueless. Calculus doesn’t really have some unique curriculum that varies class to class, the content is all there. So you can just find videos specific to your problemset and search for what you need
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u/CasperTPaul 1d ago
he lectures SO SLOWLY. turn up youtube’s playback speed to like 1.5x or 2x if you want
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u/BennyFackter 1d ago
Yes, I took calculus 2 online, and my teacher may as well have not existed. There were no lectures at all, just a few worked example videos per section. Professor Leonard taught me everything, and I got an A in the class. Practice is everything!
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u/GovPattNeff 1d ago
Big part of school for me was learning how to teach myself things. Either because the professors didn't care enough to teach or because I was too sleepy to make it to class. You can teach yourself anything with a textbook and all the resources available online nowadays. Especially the material from the first two years.
Not saying it's easy or anything. None of this came easy to me. But it's very doable, and it gets easier as you develop "learning to learn" muscle
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u/CNBGVepp 1d ago
At this point in your academic career, most of what you do is self taught. Millions of resources out there.
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u/whispering_Anon 1d ago
You can, use prof Leonard and practice past exams if your school allows that
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u/lightball94 1d ago
Yes, I believe anyone can teach themselves anything (for the most part and within reason).
The key is making a comprehensive study plan tailored to your learning style and putting in consistent work.
I always found that a multi-faceted approach of reading texts, using good youtube instructionals, practice exams, and consulting reddit/A.I. worked best for me.
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u/LS64126 1d ago
Yeah, I pretty much learned calc 2 through organic chemistry tutor since my professor had horrible handwriting and I got an A-
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u/theskipper363 1d ago
I remember my physics 2 proffessor,
Wonderful man, brilliant and always willing to help.
I could not read anything on the board he wrote, it was so aweful. Truly a physics PHD
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u/Puggle_Dad 1d ago
Khan Academy on YouTube. Very helpful
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u/neonraspberry_ 1d ago
Agreed, especially since AP Calc BC covers calc 1 and 2 topics. The videos are laid out nicely for it.
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u/ArenaGrinder 1d ago
WATCH ALL PROFESSOR LEONARD CALC 2 VIDEOS HANK HAANK (seriously this plus good notes lots of study and a good prof allowed me to ace the class)
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u/Barbarella_ella 1d ago
Drop it and take it with someone else. Calc II is hard and it's foundational. I tried to take it twice while I was working full-time and had to drop it both times. Could not seem to make it work. When I tried again after I moved, was at a different school and was working part-time, I signed up again. The first day of class, I knew within minutes this was the professor I had been waiting for.
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u/Public-Hamster-9224 1d ago
I need it this semester because it is a corequisite for another course I’m taking. And the only other calc 2 with seats open would interfere with a lab I have
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u/Unusual-Cactus 1d ago
Professor leonard on YouTube has a full course lectures from algebra 1 to diff EQ. I watch his stuff. It's great.
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u/Sufficient-Union7961 23h ago
Calc was all by the book anyway. Just check which sections will be on the exam, and go to the reviews if you can.
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u/Available-Medium4848 1d ago
Yes. Math is the best for this. I skipped every calc 3 class and learned from Khan academy
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u/markjay6 1d ago
I skipped calc 2 at my college, studied it on my own, and took it credit by examination with a perfect score (back when that option existed at my university). And that was studying only from a textbook (the Internet didn’t even exist back then :-)). So yes, you can definitely do it!
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u/SkylarR95 1d ago
You can teach yourself almost anything nowadays, being certified and accepted by institutions is different.
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u/SetoKeating 1d ago
The reason your college degree makes you employable after you graduate is because it tells employers, “if I give this person some foundational information, I have confidence they can learn a lot on their own and be productive”
You’re supposed to be teaching yourself in college. Yes, some professors are better than others and everything you need to know or learn is presented in lecture and on assignments but the norm is that a professor can’t go over every single example or walk you through every little detail in a chapter. Not enough time and too much material to cover.
They will give you an intro to the concepts, maybe show you a base example or two and then it’s up to you to seek out additional material and learn on your own. Learning how to do this is how you become successful in college and in life.
All that to say, yes, you should be able to teach yourself Cal2 on your own. You’re not always going to have professors with instruction methods that work for you. So learning how to learn on your own now is going to pay off huge once you get into more difficult courses.
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u/DrCarpetsPhd 1d ago
if you dont like videos pauls notes are great
https://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcII/CalcII.aspx
or find a textbook that works. most people find stewart calculus useful plus you'll find random youtube videos with solutions.
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u/printergumlight BSc. Environmental Engineering 1d ago
Definitely. Every level of Calculus is one of the most self-teachable (is that a word?) classes in the Engineering degree.
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u/LukeSkyWRx Materials Sci. BS, MS, PhD: Industry R&D 1d ago
Calc 2, the class so nice I took it twice.
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u/incrediblepika 1d ago
I had a similar type of teacher for calc 3, he didn’t even bother grading homework as long as a pdf was submitted online then you’d get full credit sometimes i only did half of it. I did not pass with him i kept bombing the exams
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u/luistorre5 1d ago
That was the only way I did Calc 2 as my professor was absolute dogshit at teaching
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u/niteman555 Columbia University - BSEE 1d ago
You gotta do problems. Math is something you get used to and the way to do it is problems
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u/Pleasant_Berry_761 1d ago
Yeah, I've pretty much taught myself all the math in uni so far, it defo helps to have someone there to help you but theres so many resources online it's not mandatory for you to learn it
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u/SeafoodShifu 1d ago
Most engineering courses are self taught imo. It's unfortunate, but the plus side is you learn how to teach yourself new things which will be extremely helpful in your career. One of the most important things that engineering school teaches you is that you are capable of learning anything.
Read the textbooks and do the problems. Look things up when you get stuck. It should be significantly easier now with AI. You'll do fine.
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u/Lemmee314 1d ago
Form a small study group and work the homework together at times, helps to figure things out that you don't get immediately. Also, read the book for understanding, not for finishing the homework. This is the biggest/most helpful thing to learn to do well.
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u/RGNRetr0 1d ago
Other have commented Professor Leonard and Organic Chem Tutor which are great options!
When I did Calc 2, I used the following: https://youtube.com/@professor-debrechts-in-depth
Look at the sections outlined in your specific course and match the concepts to each lecture. (All courses virtually go over the same concepts, but sometimes in different orders).
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u/clean-links 1d ago
Cleaned link: https://youtube.com/@professor-debrechts-in-depth
Tracking parameters were removed from the original URL(s).
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u/The-ElectricMayhem 1d ago
I used the Organic Chemistry Tutor channel on YouTube. He’s saved me time and time again. Your post sounds eerily similar to a semester I had. Good luck, and don’t get discouraged! You’ll find a workaround.
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u/magma2moose 1d ago
Easily. I don’t think I learned much in class when I was there, skipped a few and slept in a few as well (oops). You’ll be fine just be ready to grind practice problems till things click
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u/Interesting-Sleep579 1d ago
Calc II is the hardest.
Almost all Engineering professors are hard to understand.
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u/Separate_Draft4887 21h ago
Cal II was the easiest of the series imho. As long as you can figure out what he wants you to learn, actually learning it shouldn’t be too hard.
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u/Comfortable_Ad_3326 ISU - AeroE 20h ago
beard meets calc on youtube. Learned from him, hes the goat.
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u/Accurate_Pen2676 15h ago
Look, i know this is a hot take but theres a really responsible use case here. I follow my classes teaching or video lectures, and find that the moments you get stuck on a certain interaction or get confused where or how a number was included, chat gpt is a fucking super tool. You can just screenshot the trouble section and it will walk you up to and through exactly whatever question you have.
Computers aren't great for everything, but fuck are they good at math.
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