UMN MATH 1272: Calculus II
MATH 1272 continues UMN's calculus sequence: integration techniques, applications of integrals, sequences and series, and parametric and polar material. Students widely call it the harder half of the sequence, with the same large-lecture, common-exam format as 1271.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with University of Minnesota Twin Cities. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
Two separate walls: integration technique selection is pattern recognition that only mixed-practice volume builds, and the series unit (convergence tests, power series, Taylor series) is conceptually unlike any math most students have done. Students who scraped through 1271 on thin fundamentals usually hit the harder wall here.
What you'll cover
- • Techniques of integration
- • Applications of integration (volumes, arc length)
- • Improper integrals
- • Sequences and series
- • Convergence tests
- • Taylor and power series
- • Parametric and polar curves
The MATH 1272 study guide
How to study for UMN MATH 1272, step by step.
- 1
Do mixed integral sets from the first week
Knowing whether an integral wants substitution, parts, or partial fractions is MATH 1272's first exam skill, and topic-sorted homework never builds it. Mixed sets, with the technique unknown in advance, are the training that transfers.
- 2
Keep 1271's skills warm
Integration punishes weak differentiation and algebra twice over. A short weekly refresher on derivatives and manipulation keeps old gaps from resurfacing inside new material.
- 3
Start the series unit early and go slow
Sequences and series is a conceptual leap that needs more sittings than computation ever did. Read ahead before the unit opens and accept that convergence reasoning builds across days, not hours.
- 4
Build a one-page convergence-test chart
Each test, its conditions, and the series shapes it handles. Drill classifying series with the chart, then without. Exams test the choice of test as much as its execution.
- 5
Run timed mixed exams before each midterm
The week before each exam, work full mixed sets under time limits without notes. Technique selection under pressure is the exam's real subject, and it only gets trained under exam conditions.
Today
Today's MATH 1272 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for MATH 1272. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is MATH 1272 harder than MATH 1271?
Most UMN students say yes. Integration techniques require pattern recognition that only volume builds, and the sequences-and-series unit is a conceptual leap that catches even students who did well in 1271.
How do I study for MATH 1272 exams?
Do large mixed sets of integrals so technique selection becomes automatic; that choice is the exam skill. For series, build a convergence-test decision chart and practice classifying series rapidly before computing anything.
Why is the series unit in MATH 1272 so hard?
It's the first calculus topic that's more logic than computation: proving whether infinite sums converge using a toolkit of tests, each with conditions. It rewards conceptual understanding over formula drilling, which inverts how most students have studied math until now.
More UMN courses
MATH 1271: Calculus I
MATH 1271 is UMN's mainline Calculus I: limits, derivatives, applications of differentiation, and the start of integration. It's required across CSE and the sciences. Large lectures pair with TA-run recitations, and the grade rides on common midterms and a comprehensive final.
MATH 2243: Linear Algebra and Differential Equations
MATH 2243 packs two subjects into one UMN course: linear algebra (matrices, vector spaces, eigenvalues) and ordinary differential equations (first and second order, systems). It's the standard post-calculus requirement for engineering and many science majors, and the two halves connect: eigenvalues come back to solve ODE systems.
MATH 2263: Multivariable Calculus
MATH 2263 extends calculus to several variables: partial derivatives, multiple integrals, vector fields, and the big theorems (Green's, Stokes', divergence). It's required across engineering and the physical sciences and is the visual-spatial member of UMN's calculus sequence.