Should I take Trig before pre-cal?

[Infiltrat0rN7]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Just wondering since it is not longer a pre-req. at my school to take Trig before Pre-cal. I am already scheduled to begin tomorrow, and I just received an email that they were making some 'changes' to pre-req policy. I called a friend to see what changes they were referring to, and that was one of them. So, I've had no exposure to Trig before, and the medical school I am applying to requires calculus. Should I drop trig, and just go straight to pre-cal next fall--if so are there any recommended sources for me to self-study some trig that would be necessary for pre-cal and calculus? Or should I just take the summer trig class?

 

[RuralPhysician8]

If you start tomorrow then you should probably just keep rolling. If you want to self study, I have been using Education Portal for general chemistry and their courses are designed around for-credit exams like CLEP so you could end up killing two birds with one stone if you feel confident in there Pre-cal or Calculus course; however, this would only work if your college accepted the CLEP exam, worst case scenario: decent unofficial preparatory program.

 

[Infiltrat0rN7]

Thanks. Looking through that website I notice that the Pre-Cal lesson only contains one chapter dedicated to trig. This just makes me feel like taking trig is a waste of money and I might as well do some self-studying instead of paying for a semester of it. Not sure if you have any experience on this (or anyone else reading for that matter), but to what extent is trig used in pre-cal and calculus? Is the material on (for example), Education Portal enough to prepare me to make an A in both of those courses?

By the way, I am actually taking trig online as a summer class, and I'm basically going to be doing self-teaching anyway. The only reason why I am considering dropping is because I can still get a full refund and it won't show on my transcript.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

I have never taken pre-cal, nor do I plan to; I have a learning disability in math so I am hitting algebra based physics 100%. I did have some friends in highschool who took honors pre-cal and it showed up on their transcript as "Precalculus/Trigonometry" so I am guessing the two are extremely close. If you can get a refund and really do not think it is worth your time, then no one is going to blame you for dropping. Just avoid the "W" if you can.

 

[brownbaglunch]

.

 

[SN12357]

The reason you might consider taking trig is that it will help you immensely when you take calculus. Calculus itself isn't hard, but what you do it on can make it complicated. If you know your trig and algebra inside out, calculus will go easier.

This is because when you have strong algebra and trig skills, you can transform a difficult problem into an easy one before you start. Just food for thought.

Trig will also help *immensely* with physics (premed physics generally does NOT require calculus, but it will require familiarity with trig functions). Being comfortable with the math is the difference between having an easy time with physics and struggling every week. Depending on how well the class is taught, it can be the difference between a pass and a fail.

I would strongly recommend having a solid understanding of trig before proceeding into calculus. It can be hard to self-teach these things.

Edit: I did just reread your original post and realized you're asking about the relevance of trig for *pre-calculus*. This course sequence is a little odd. I suggest you get the syllabi for the classes and compare. In a lot of places the sequence is just algebra-->trig-->calc. Whether or not you need a separate trig class will depend on what exactly they're teaching in precalc. Everything else I said stands.

I have never taken pre-cal, nor do I plan to; I have a learning disability in math so I am hitting algebra based physics 100%.

You're going to need basic trig for almost all reputable college level pre-med classes.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

Trig will also help *immensely* with physics (premed physics generally does NOT require calculus, but it will require familiarity with trig functions). Being comfortable with the math is the difference between having an easy time with physics and struggling every week. Depending on how well the class is taught, it can be the difference between a pass and a fail.

I would strongly recommend having a solid understanding of trig before proceeding into calculus. It can be hard to self-teach these things.

Edit: I did just reread your original post and realized you're asking about the relevance of trig for *pre-calculus*. This course sequence is a little odd. I suggest you get the syllabi for the classes and compare. In a lot of places the sequence is just algebra-->trig-->calc. Whether or not you need a separate trig class will depend on what exactly they're teaching in precalc. Everything else I said stands.



You're going to need basic trig for almost all reputable college level pre-med classes.

My college algebra class may include a Trig section, the syllabus has not been released yet. At my university, you are allowed to take Algebra based physics I & II with labs with no prerequisites except a basic placement exam...I opted out of the exam and am going to take college algebra before physics. Either way I am not hijacking this thread for my own issues.

 

[battousai]

Pre-calc is a course to prepare you for calc; it should have some basic trig on it that you'll be able to use in calc.

 

[Juan Solo]

Just wondering since it is not longer a pre-req. at my school to take Trig before Pre-cal. I am already scheduled to begin tomorrow, and I just received an email that they were making some 'changes' to pre-req policy. I called a friend to see what changes they were referring to, and that was one of them. So, I've had no exposure to Trig before, and the medical school I am applying to requires calculus. Should I drop trig, and just go straight to pre-cal next fall--if so are there any recommended sources for me to self-study some trig that would be necessary for pre-cal and calculus? Or should I just take the summer trig class?

You can probably skip trig and go straight to calc without too many bumps. However, if you take trig and then take calc there will be familiarity with trig functions that will help out in calc and might make it easier to do well in. Also, the trig class will help out when you are taking calculus based physics. If it were me then I would take trig first.

Good luck!

 

[edgerock24]

I was under the impression that most Precalc courses teach basic trig (soh-cah-toa etc.)? That's certainly the case for my course at least :/

 

[Daneosaurus]

Interesting. At my school precalc 1 = college algebra and some basic algebraic calculus principles (difference quotient, limits, etc); precalc 2 = trigonometry and some basic trigonometric calculus principles (trig identities). I took both of those before taking calculus and it really helped. Also, I took physics 1 (algebra based) after having taken precalc 2. I agree with the poster who said that a good understanding of trigonometry will go a long way in physics.

 

[LiveLoveLearn]

If you don't struggle a lot with math, I think that pre-calc should be sufficient to prepare you for physics and calculus. Pre-calc will have a section on trig, then you may just have to learn some more rules as you encounter things in physics. Most trig is just rules and formulas, though.

 

[Northeastmonk]

If you don't struggle a lot with math, I think that pre-calc should be sufficient to prepare you for physics and calculus. Pre-calc will have a section on trig, then you may just have to learn some more rules as you encounter things in physics. Most trig is just rules and formulas, though.

I agree, I took precalc after I took College Algebra and Statistics. I wasn't fully prepared for the course, but I managed getting an A in the class. To my surprise Calculus was fun to learn. With no prior book knowledge I relied on tutors and taking time every night to learn the material. It paid off and helped me a lot when I took Physics. I took an Algebra based Physics class, but my lab was Calculus based Physics. My best advice is get in touch with a tutor and stick to learning Calculus. It will make Physics much better.

My pre-calc course required us buying a Trigonometry/Geometry coursebook, so you will learn those principles in pre-calc.

 

[vlazlo]

I used khan academy to study trig before and during my Calc class. I picked it up fast also by practicing problems from schaum's trigonometry problem books. I was really rusty in math so I had to take lower level math classes before I could even take college algebra. Trig took a month to get down pack. The problem for me was remembering the general trig identities then knowing how to convert them to another identity. After that trig should be easy.