How much effort did you put into Trig?

[notamember82]

I don't think I've been this entertained in a while.

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[Samiamm]

Kpcrew is just an ass****, should've been banned a long time ago IMO

 

[487806]

Kpcrew is just an ass****, should've been banned a long time ago IMO

Name calling thumbdown

 

[Samiamm]

Name calling thumbdown

Sorry KP

 

[kpcrew]

Kpcrew is just an ass****, should've been banned a long time ago IMO

Probably true.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

kpcrew is just an ass****, should've been banned a long time ago imo

+1

 

[KnuxNole]

What the hell have you been learning all these years if you are just now doing trig?

In undergrad, there are sophomores in college who were taking trig for the first time

Some people just took the bare minimum 3 years for math in HS too.

Actually, not that many people took Calc when they start college, so they had to retake(or do the first time) precalculus or college algebra first. Hell, a bunch of people just took "Math for liberal arts" if they needed to. That seemed to be the norm there :/

And I'm curious mimelim, what kind of HS you went to. That seems pretty hardcore to have those classes in high school, not to mention taking calculus in...10th grade =O

 

[KnuxNole]

Trig in college... seriously OP, you shouldn't have a problem with trigonometry. Or college algebra for that matter. I want to see an example on how a professor could make a ridiculously difficult college algebra problem.

Note. I don't mean algebra with proofs (abstract algebra). That algebra is disturbing.

Don't tell my freshman roommate this. He had a very hard time with college algebra, and was having a panic attack the night before

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

That requires calculus to solve. And that would be just really mean.

Anyways, I think I know what OP meant by difficulty of trig. You have to use identities to prove more complicated identities, and probably have to analyze amplitude/period of trig functions. Honestly, trig isn't bad as long as you think of a right triangle and use SOH CAH TOA (seems simple, but you'll know what I mean. This actually helps alot in understanding many identities).

I really doubt your professor would make trig really hard, as another way to solve trig problems is by using calculus.

Not really, all it requires you to do is multiply in the insides, square both sides and solve for X with a number that is close enough. There was no need to derive or integrate anything.
Either way the point is that trig won't kill you.

 

[kdavidlee25]

I second this. I don't understand how some people need to put down others so that they can feel better about themselves.

There are a lot of grown up nerds on this site who used to get bullied when they were younger. Now these adult nerds are doing the bullying themselves. It's a vicious cycle.

It's too bad that these new bullies want to become doctors now. I don't want a person with a chip on their shoulders operating on me.

PS This probably describes me a little bit too, but i'm working on dusting that chip off.

 

[487806]

Not really, all it requires you to do is multiply in the insides, square both sides and solve for X with a number that is close enough. There was no need to derive or integrate anything.
Either way the point is that trig won't kill you.

Agreed. But regarding that question, you could multiply, add terms etc., but that method is inefficient and people can make mistakes if not careful. Picking a number that best solves it requires some knowledge of the graph and where the zeroes are. Point being, calculus can simplify a lot of work, and it's not much about taking derivatives/integrals, but more so on analyzing graphs.

Anyways, I'll reduce my argument or else I will be persecuted by angry math-hating premeds.

 

[487806]

There are a lot of grown up nerds on this site who used to get bullied when they were younger. Now these adult nerds are doing the bullying themselves. It's a vicious cycle.

It's too bad that these new bullies want to become doctors now. I don't want a person with a chip on their shoulders operating on me.

PS This probably describes me a little bit too, but i'm working on dusting that chip off.

Got your point, but just because some of us are good in math doesn't make us nerds. I tend to make a lot of mistakes along the way, and I'm no way a nerd. And it's not really bullying nor we were bullied. It's odd at first to hear someone's taking trig in college, since trig is usually covered in high school, and calculus is covered in lower level math classes in college.

 

[KnuxNole]

Do most colleges start people off with calculus? You couldn't even take calculus unless you got college credit for precalculus and trig, which the majority didn't have. Or if you got credit for AP calc.

 

[kdavidlee25]

Got your point, but just because some of us are good in math doesn't make us nerds. I tend to make a lot of mistakes along the way, and I'm no way a nerd. And it's not really bullying nor we were bullied. It's odd at first to hear someone's taking trig in college, since trig is usually covered in high school, and calculus is covered in lower level math classes in college.

I'm using the words "bullying" and "nerd" in the colloquial sense; just hoping to write an interesting post. Obviously, these posts do not compare to what "bullying" really is.

I take the term "nerd" as a badge of honor. If you're not a nerd, then more power to you.

I'm sorry to hear that you were never bullied though. It's amazing how much motivation and determination a person has from being bullied. Sucks in the interim, but, you know what I mean.

 

[Freesia88]

Got your point, but just because some of us are good in math doesn't make us nerds. I tend to make a lot of mistakes along the way, and I'm no way a nerd. And it's not really bullying nor we were bullied. It's odd at first to hear someone's taking trig in college, since trig is usually covered in high school, and calculus is covered in lower level math classes in college.

It wasn't bullying but it was kinda rude of people to first ridicule the OP (I'm looking at you KP Crew) and then proceed to compare their prowess in math all without offering some help as to how the OP could handle a problem he has.

If someone expresses a weakness they last thing they need is to be riduculed and then made to feel even dumber.

 

[Koosalagoosagoo]

Remember...All Strippers Take Cash

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Our professors literally taught from youtube. I had to work ridiculously hard. I'm bad at math anyways though.

 

[deleted393595]

I didn't realize how much I hated mathematics until differential equations.

Go wreck yourself

/s

But no, seriously.

 

[ObakeMe]

delete

 

[ObakeMe]

delete

 

[ObakeMe]

7th grade: trig/algebra 2
8th grade: geometry
9th grade: stats
10th grade: BC calc
11th grade: multi-variable
12th grade: non-linear dynamics
1st semester: Calc III (multi-variable)
2nd semester: dif eq

I didn't realize how much I hated mathematics until differential equations. Since I was a Physics major I realized that I couldn't make it very far hating math so I applied to medical school. I kinda doubt more than a fraction of a percent of students in the US take trig before 7th grade. I took it stupidly early, combination of private education and over zealous parents.

OP, if you are having trouble with trig and gen chem you have a problem on your hands. Not because trig and gen chem are important content wise for medical school, but because they are in the grand scheme of things not particularly difficult classes. There are several reasons that you may be having this problem. #1 you aren't studying properly, #2 you aren't studying enough or #3 you aren't intelligent enough to comprehend the material.

If you feel like you are putting in the hours, likely #2 is unlikely. I genuinely believe that #3 is an extremely remote possibility. I haven't met many people in my life that I don't think that I could help get through either of those classes. They require very little prior knowledge and are largely concept based classes. By far the most likely explanation for your struggles is simply poor studying which can be broken down into a couple of issues, a) efficiency of studying, b) emphasis on memorization instead of conceptional understanding, c) studying without adequate problem solving.

a) Efficiency - by far the easiest to understand. The best undergrad studiers are an order of magnitude more efficient than the least efficient. ie for each minute they spend studying it takes others 10 minutes to get through the same material. This is less about the individual and about study habits. People greatly under estimate how often they get distracted while they study. Just glance at the laptop screens in any undergrad library. How many have something unrelated to what the person is studying? Last time I did that (~3 years ago in medical school) it was >70%. I can only assume that with the increased popularity of social media and other online distractions has made things worse. You do not need the internet to study either of these classes. If you are studying with a laptop, you need to evaluate whether you are losing efficiency and assuming that you study more than you actually are.

b) Memorizing vs. understanding - There are many classes that require rote memorization to do exceptionally well. Mathematics, chemistry and Physics (when you get there on your pre-med track) do not. If you feel like you can't remember things on a test or that you aren't memorizing things well, you are studying wrong. Very little needs to be memorized for either of the classes that you have listed. Do NOT let anyone tell you otherwise. If understanding concepts is difficult, read other textbooks, go to office hours or get a tutor. Sometimes it just takes a different explanation for the same concept. If you spend your time trying to memorize things, you are wasting time that could be better spent on...

c) Problem solving - Every class in Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics requires problem solving. The focus of your studying should be problem solving. When studying trig or gen chem, what percentage of your time are you dedicating to reading vs. problem solving? It should be 10-25% reading and 75-90% problem solving in those classes. Typically classes assign problems from a textbook as homework problems. When studying for an exam, do the problems that were not assigned. If you can do all of them, I guarantee you will be able to score near the top of your class. If you can't, you are not understanding concepts. If your class doesn't have a textbook or problems, visit your school bookstore and pick up a study book or problem book. If you are having difficulty finding one, feel free to PM me, I can recommend some.

This IS a problem. Things are going to get harder and worse, they are going to get faster. Part of undergrad is developing good study habits and being able to absorb information and understand concepts efficiently. You certainly are not alone in this. The vast majority of undergrads will struggle with this to varying degrees. However, unlike most undergrads, if you aspire to go into medicine, you actually NEED to improve to handle the studies and workload ahead. Good luck.

ps. PM or post any questions, I TAed pre-med Physics for 3 years, I have neither the time nor the energy to help you study, but I can give you pointers or simply point you toward helpful resources.

OP may have a learning disability and not have an issue with intelligence.

Also medicine is not the only field that requires one to improve greatly. If one wants a doctorate in any of these fields, it requires a lot of dedication. As a geophysicist, I have seen students that have had to relearn everything before they could attempt even a masters degree.