Why Calculus 2 Is So Difficult

I have a confession to make, I never did Calculus 2. Well, traditionally at least. I went through AP Calculus BC which does encompass Calculus 2, but it's very different to what is taught at the college level. Calculus 2 through AP is a simpler, dumbed down version of what’s to come. The “real” Calculus 2 has been regarded as the most difficult math course of the lower division requirements, and I think it's due to the change in the way it approaches problems towards the end of the course.

Many of my comrades in the Associated Students Organization ask about my experience in Calculus 2, and I always tell them it's alright until you get to Series and Sequences. Series and Sequences is the unit that deals with convergence and divergence tests, basically seeing if the graph goes to infinity or it goes towards some other number most commonly 0. Series and Sequences to me was the most difficult portion of the class, and this sentiment was shared among many people I know. Why is this portion so difficult? I think it's because up until that point students have been doing integration for such a long time, so once they get to series and sequences it's a completely new topic and idea that requires a different way of interpreting and going about problems. Not to mention, there’s so many tests you have to know how to do, some of which can be difficult to spot immediately causing students to have to go through numerous tests to finally find which one is applicable to the problem.

Out of the main four math courses at my college (Calculus 1, 2, 3, and Differential Equations with Linear Algebra) Calculus 2 has the highest drop and fail rate due to its difficulty for students. I have always blamed Series and Sequences for my difficulty in Calculus 2, and I’m so glad that it rarely comes back in later courses because truthfully, I barely remember any of it.