Multivariable and Complex Calculus II
Resources for Multivariable and Complex Calculus II (MCC) - for more information about the courses, please see course outlines.
MLC Drop-In Centre
Students from MCC II can use the drop-in centre, but we will give priority to first year students. If you see every other table has students, then we would appreciate it if you found another place to sit so that there is room for new students.
Please note that not every staff member in the MLC knows all of the content in MCC II, there will be times when we can only give general study advice for this course.
Assumed knowledge
Resources that you can use to help you revise assumed knowledge for MCC. The various topics in the course are taught assuming you know this information.
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Techniques of integration
A very large part of MCC concerns integration. You need to be really comfortable with performing definite integrals. These resources from Maths IA should help you revise.
These three PDF handouts are useful for doing different types of integration:
- Table of derivatives (PDF handout)
- Useful trigonometric identities (PDF handout)
- Techniques of integration (PDF handout)
This PDF document contains many written worked examples of various techniques of integration.
This seminar was given in Sem 1 2021 and covered the techniques of integration (substitution, by parts, trig substitution, partial fractions and upper and lower sums).
- Revision seminar: Integration Sem 1 2021 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: Integration Sem 1 2021 (Echo360)
This seminar was given in Sem 1 2014 and covered the entire of the techniques of integration topic. (Note that the seminar also includes reduction formulas and numerical integration, which are no longer in Maths 1A.)
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Complex numbers
The end of MCC concerns the calculus of complex numbers, which requires you to know about complex numbers first!
In Semester 1 2017, the MLC gave a revision seminar on Complex Numbers to Maths 1M students. In this seminar, David covered where the complex numbers fit in the families of number, and how the various operations relate to the three main representations of complex numbers.
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Vector algebra
In MCC, it's important to be able to represent objects like curves, lines and planes with vectors and parameters. It's also important to know how to do vector calculations like the dot and cross product. These resources made for Maths 1M will help to revise and prepare.
This seminar in Semester 1 2015 was on vectors. The seminar covered the major things you can calculate with vectors (such as dot and cross product, projections and angles), and doing geometry proofs with vectors, and also briefly discussed equations of lines and planes. Note I mentioned a list of versions of the right hand rule, which is linked below.
- Revision seminar: vectors 2015 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: vectors 2015 (Echo360)
- The right hand rules blog post
This seminar in Semester 1 2016 was on curves. David discussed what a curve is, converting between parametric and Cartesian form, and finding tangents to curves.
This seminar in Semester 2 2020 started with a section on dot and cross products of vectors in 3D.
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Multivariable calculus
MCC II picks up roughly where Maths 1B calculus left off, so it might help to revise the multivariable calculus content in Maths IB.
In this seminar from Summer Semester 2019, David spent a lot of time talking about different ways to imagine multivariable functions and their derivatives.
- Revision seminar: imagining multivariable functions, Summer 2019 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: imagining multivariable functions, Summer 2019 (Echo360)
- Revision seminar notes: imagining multivariable functions Summer 2019 (PDF)
This seminar from 2012 covers domains, ranges, partial derivatives, maxima and minima in multivariable calculus..
- Revision seminar: multivariable calculus 2012 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: multivariable calculus 2012 (Echo360)
- Revision seminar notes: multivariable critical points Summer 2019 (PDF)
This seminar from 2013 covered directional derivatives and tangent planes in multivariable (3D) calculus.
Revision seminars relevant to MCC
David has given revision seminars for MCC and other courses which may help to think about the concepts and understand problem-solving techniques. They are organised here in order of time.
2024
Semester 1 2024, David gave a revision seminar discussing change of variables in multivariable integration, and then talked about the four fundamental theorems of multivariable calculus. He mentions a handout from the 2019 seminar, which is also included here.
- Revision seminar: change of variables and integral theorems, Sem 1 2024 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: change of variables and integral theorems, Sem 1 2024 (Echo360)
- Revision seminar notes: change of variables and integral theorems, Sem 1 2024 (PDF)
- The integrals of multivariable calculus (PDF handout)
2023
In Semester 1 2023, David gave a revision seminar discussing optimisation on a closed bounded set, and also some ideas about curves. Unfortunately the video was corrupted partway through processing so only the first 20 minutes or so is available. However the notes from the whole seminar are still provided here.
- Revision seminar: Optimisation Sem 1 2023 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: Optimisation Sem 1 2023 (Echo360)
- Revision seminar notes: Optimisation Sem 1 2023 (PDF)
- Revision seminar notes: Curves Sem 1 2023 (PDF)
2022
In Semester 1 2022, David gave a revision seminar discussing various requests from students. There were sections on suffix notation, choosing limits of integrals, parameterisations, and a little on the residue theorem.
- Revision seminar: miscellaneous topics: Sem 1 2022 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: miscellaneous topics: Sem 1 2022 (Echo360)
- Revision seminar notes: suffix notation: Sem 1 2022 (PDF)
- Revision seminar notes: integral limits: Sem 1 2022 (PDF)
- Revision seminar notes: parameterisations: Sem 1 2022 (PDF)
- Revision seminar notes: residue theorem: Sem 1 2022 (PDF)
2021
In Semester 1 2021. David gave a revision seminar where he discussed setting up and doing integrals in order to calculate volumes.
- Revision seminar: integrals for volumes, Sem 1 2021 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: integrals for volumes, Sem 1 2021 (Echo360)
- No notes available from 2021 seminar
2019
In Semester 1 2019, David did a revision seminar on integrals. He talked about each of the nine kinds of integrals in the course, comparing their features and finding where the various integral theorems connect them together. He finished off with a couple of examples of using the theorems to make some integrals easier. (David thinks this is one of his best revision seminars for any course ever.) He also turned his paper-and-play-dough diagram from the seminar into a handout, which is linked below.
- Revision seminar: integrals and the theorems that connect them, Sem 1 2019 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: integrals and the theorems that connect them, Sem 1 2019 (Echo360)
- Revision seminar notes: integrals and theorems, Sem 1 2019 (PDF)
- The integrals of multivariable calculus (PDF handout)
2018
In Semester 1 2018, David did a revision seminar where he talked about path, surface and volume integrals, working through an exam question involving all of them. He then finished off with a description of parameterisations of various curves and surfaces (starting at 1h40m30s).
- Revision seminar: integrals and parameterisations, Sem 1 2018 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: integrals and parameterisations, Sem 1 2018 (Echo360)
- Revision seminar notes: integrals and parameterisations, Sem 1 2018 (PDF)
2017
In Semester 1 2017, David did a revision seminar which contained examples of doing the path, surface and volume integrals that are mentioned in Stokes' Theorem and Gauss' Divergence Theorem.
- Revision seminar: path, surface and volume integrals, Sem 1 2017 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: path, surface and volume integrals, Sem 1 2017 (Echo360)
- Revision seminar notes: path, surface and volume integrals, Sem 1 2017 (PDF)
In 2017, David did a fully worked example for an engineering course about calculating the integrals involved to verify Green's Theorem in the plane. (Note this version of Green's Theorem might be slightly different to the one presented in MCC, but the integral techniques are the same.)
- Video example: Green's theorem, 2017 (YouTube)
- Video example: Green's theorem, 2017 (Echo360)
- Example: Green's theorem, 2017 (PDF)
2014
In semester 2, 2014, the MLC gave a revision seminar on Complex Calculus to Engineering Maths IIB students. The content is similar to the content in MCC, so it should be helpful for your study. (Please forgive the 30 minutes or so of horrible flailing at the end that went on when I tried to interpret the Eng Maths IIB lecturer's example of using Jordan's Lemma).
- Revision seminar: complex calculus for Eng Maths IIB, Sem 2 2014 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: complex calculus for Eng Maths IIB, Sem 2 2014 (Echo360)
- Revision seminar notes: complex calculus for Eng Maths IIB: Sem 2 2014 (PDF)
2013
In Semester 2, 2013, David gave a revision seminar on Vector Calculus including different types of derivatives and integrals (and some aspects of Complex Calculus) to Engineering Maths IIB students. The content is similar to the content in MCC and so should be helpful for studying MCC.
- Revision seminar: vector calculus for Eng Maths IIB, Sem 2 2013 (YouTube)
- Revision seminar: vector calculus for Eng Maths IIB, Sem 2 2013 (Echo360)
- Notes from 2013 seminars not available
In Semester 2, 2013, David gave a revision seminar with a section on Complex Calculus to Engineering Maths IIB students (starting at 1h26m). The content is similar to the content in MCC and so should be helpful for studying MCC (though the terminology might be a little different).