For astronomy and astrophysics do I have to know all of the calculus, or there are some topics I must cover?
I studied math in high school but I forgot many things.
I studied math in high school but I forgot many things.
a
You should know integral and differential calculus very well at the minimum. Multivariable calculus and differential equations would be helpful, but really just know what a partial derivative is and how to solve the simplest differential equations and you'll be fine for a while. You don't have to actually solve most of the diff eqns involved or do any terribly complicated integrals by hand nowadays. Definitely brush up on statistics and linear algebra! Beyond that, you will learn what you need as you go.
nineteenthly
Calculus would be extremely useful.
quantumclaustrophobe
Depends on what aspect of astronomy you're pursuing.... Calculating the power output of stars, and element formation may require Calc I; I could see studying the motions of galaxies and expansion needing Calc III and Differential Equations... If you're simply studying where stars are, you could get by with Trig.
tham153
Statistics--at least 2 semesters. Advanced programming. Differential and Integral calculus. Don't feel to bad about forgetting, so long as you can recover what you've forgotten easily. Sometimes I barely remember L'Hospital's rule.
Andrew S
What do you think? Sure a little high school math you forgot should qualify you to be an astrophysicist ,,, not.