Calculus Argh!

[jaypea65]

Ok, You may think that I am a little insane for asking this question. I am currently working on my prereqs, and I still need to take calculus. Problem is that I am trying to get out of taking precalc if possible because it is not required for my major, and I don't feel like wasting the money if I can get by without it. I am very good at learning things on my own since I have taken numerous online courses. Question..... Do you think it is possible to teach yourself precalc or pre self-learn calculus before taking the course? Can you recommend any learning vehicles (books, videos) that would give me a reasonable chance of success at calculus?

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[RX student]

Pre-Cal is a lot like Trig...but easier. That's just my opinion. At the school I went to, I still had to take Pre-Cal before Cal regardless. So, check with your school. I wouldn't take if I didn't have to b/c it won't help with Cal. You just need to be really strong in Algebra for Cal.

 

[elysian]

Which math course have you taken up to?

If you've taken Trig, then borrow a calculus and start learning the materials on your own.

I assume that you're still at a community college since community colleges are most likely to offer online classes. If you are, try to petition to take calculus without pre-cal through a placement test.

 

[Dr.Biassi]

I didn't even take precalculus. I went straight on taking calculusI and Calculus II. Another way to pass by precalculus.

 

[Dr.Biassi]

I didn't even take precalculus. I went straight on taking calculusI and Calculus II. Another way to pass by precalculus

 

[NexusMD]

I didn't even take precalculus. I went straight on taking calculusI and Calculus II

same, skipped precalc, just did calc 1-2

 

[Farmercyst]

I was required to take pre-calc as a prereq for Calc. If your school has pre-calc as a pre-req you can try to get the pre-req over-ridden, but otherwise you may be stuck. I didn't really find pre-calc all that useful in terms of preparing for calc. We just did advanced trig with proofs basically. We barely even touched derivatives or integrals.

 

[TheKoz]

Its depends on your school, Precal will help you started on cal, but i didnt take precal and went to cal straight on, Fortunately the teacher is very nice and very detail with the explaination, so it very easy. I tried taking AP cal w/ out pre cal in highschool, i took trig and ana geo instead. Honestly, the AP cal make no sense to me, and I have no idea whats going on. As the result I end up taking the derivative of everything i see. So a good tip for taking Cal is, take the first derivative, if it dont make sense, take another one, and so on until it does. Goodluck

 

[krsnyf]

you don't need pre-cal to do well in cal. pre-cal is a review of all the math you've taken previously (except for determinants which is not even in any of the three calculus). i took it over the summer and it wasn't so bad. however, the concepts of calculus is different so don't expect them to be related fields.

 

[pmp85]

I skipped Precalc because of placement testing and went straight into calculus I, II, and III. I did very well in calculus despite the fact that prior to college the highest level math I had was Trig.

 

[LECOMorBUST]

My story is similar to the ones above. Though for me, I was highly concerned about jumping straight into a Calculus course without having any math/school for a few years. I took a chance and it paid off, but I am convinced it was only because of the professor I had. Incredible professor , find one, that is the key.

 

[Zyvox]

Yeah I found that there was a lot more trig in calculus than pre-calc, if you were to break down the classes into how much they would help you.

Precalc is basically a continuation of algebra, the name's a little misleading.

 

[browneyes021]

I think it's possible to teach yourself pre-calc as long as you've taken once before, like in high school. I wouldn't recommend teaching it to yourself on your own, but if you have a friend who's good in math or you know you could easily get ahold of a teacher who could explain the material to you, then yeah I'd get out of it as a class in college and take it as correspondence.

 

[gvsk]

i too am jumpis strihg into calculus I .... 5 credis as a pre req this summer.....

i hope i can mamage it cos the last time i did main math was in my high school where i finished the required calculus but since i dont have a COLLEGE credit i hav to take it again as per my admissions officer. i am takin them at linnbenton college at corvallis oregon as they dotn need placement tests ot prereqs if i am not plannin to pursue a degree at their college.

So please help me out if the course is that hard or by attending the classes we will easily get a C or better in it

 

[Farmercyst]

i too am jumpis strihg into calculus I .... 5 credis as a pre req this summer.....

i hope i can mamage it cos the last time i did main math was in my high school where i finished the required calculus but since i dont have a COLLEGE credit i hav to take it again as per my admissions officer. i am takin them at linnbenton college at corvallis oregon as they dotn need placement tests ot prereqs if i am not plannin to pursue a degree at their college.

So please help me out if the course is that hard or by attending the classes we will easily get a C or better in it

If you attend class and have even a slight knack for math, you should do fine. I got an A in Calc I and a B in Calc II without much studying, just did the homework and took the tests.

 

[Kingstun]

Im taking calc right now and no one ever said anything to me about precalc. That could suck and sounds completely unnessicary

 

[Ashphrodite]

I was in the same situtuation, pre-calc wasn't required for my degree so I just went ahead and took Calc I and Calc II and I. Math is not my best subject, but I was able to pull it off just fine!

 

[ForcedEntry]

At my school, both MAC1114 Trig and MAC1140 Pre-Calc were pre reqs for MAC2311 Calc. The other option was to take the combined 5 credit pre-req, MAC1147. It saved me a semester math.