Hi all, I'll be starting my post-bacc classes this June. I've never taken calculus or pre-calculus. The last time I took a math course was nearly 10 years ago. Does anyone recommend any books that I could use to brush-up on this forgotten math and to hone in on the untaken math to help in these post-bacc science classes? Did any former post-baccs to something like this? What did you do/use? Did it help? Thanks.
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Math Review - Brush Up
Started by LilyMD
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Assuming you will take a calculus class during ur postbacc year, u will need to take a pre-calc class as a pre-requisite for calculus first. I wouldnt skipping precalc and jumping right into calculus and many schools wont even let u do that prolly unless u have taken a college level pre-calc class in the past.
So if u have taken a precalc class in college in the past then I suggest just buying those -pre-calc for dummies books and brush up with that but if u havent ever taken a college level pre-calc class then I suggest registering for a pre-calc class when u are doing ur post-baccs then take the calculus class afterwards.
Personally, i think its better to take pre-calc in a classroom setting with a teacher rather than trying to learn it on your own. But hey, thats just my own preference.
So if u have taken a precalc class in college in the past then I suggest just buying those -pre-calc for dummies books and brush up with that but if u havent ever taken a college level pre-calc class then I suggest registering for a pre-calc class when u are doing ur post-baccs then take the calculus class afterwards.
Personally, i think its better to take pre-calc in a classroom setting with a teacher rather than trying to learn it on your own. But hey, thats just my own preference.
Calculus is really, really simple. It's all a bunch of concepts built upon a strong foundation in algebra. I'd recommend Calculus: Early Transcendentals by Stewart. It gives good, thorough discussions and examples, oh, and did I mention it's the first mathematics text I could teach myself with?
If you haven't got strong algebra then I strongly recommend working on that since it will be the determining factor for calculus success. Exponents, logarithms, fractions, conjugates, rationalization, common denominator, long division, ... These things all sound simple, but they are all useful. Try taking the integral of a rational P(x)/Q(x) where you've got to do long division with polynomials and then setup a common denominator to solve for 5 or more unknowns.
Good luck, and persist. 🙂
If you haven't got strong algebra then I strongly recommend working on that since it will be the determining factor for calculus success. Exponents, logarithms, fractions, conjugates, rationalization, common denominator, long division, ... These things all sound simple, but they are all useful. Try taking the integral of a rational P(x)/Q(x) where you've got to do long division with polynomials and then setup a common denominator to solve for 5 or more unknowns.
Good luck, and persist. 🙂
if im finding pre-calculus to be really easy, would that tell me that i should be able to get through Calculus with the same relative ease?
