Surviving sequences and series. O_O mostly series...

[zeppelinpage4]

We just started going into series in Calc II and I feel like i've been hit with a ton of bricks. I have managed an A- in the class up till this point and I understood the material pretty well.

However this topic just leaves me scared ****less. I feel like my grade in the class can easily drop to a C by the end of this semester. Has anyone else had this sort of problem in Calc? I have done well up to this point in the class but I just don't know how to approach this topic.

What ways did you study/learn the material that worked well for you?


On top of that I have to keep up/catch up with reading the chapters for my chem and bio class. I also have a massive research paper due in two weeks which I must get ahead on.

Am I alone in this situation. I worked so hard up till this point and yet I feel like i'm falling behind all of a sudden. I have been doing Calc all day with little success and have the other work left to complete.

How did you guys cope? I feel like all of my grades are suddenly going to drop.

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[EulerianCircuit]

Just about everybody has trouble with sequences and series. The only advice I can give you is to work your tail off. Make sure you know the different tests for convergence, practice writing sequences in explicit form, etc.

 

[FloatOn]

Just about everybody has trouble with sequences and series. The only advice I can give you is to work your tail off. Make sure you know the different tests for convergence, practice writing sequences in explicit form, etc.

Pretty much.

Calc was three years ago for me so I quite don't remember what everything is called, but I think it helps to know the names of things, like Taylor series or McLaurner series (something like that), so you can more easily distinguish when to do what. Also, don't be afraid to ask your professor for help or get tutoring.

 

[dru2002]

The only way I know to learn series and sequences is brute force. I would sit down with my calc book and two of my electrical engineer PhD friends and do problems. If I ran into difficulties they would show me where I went wrong. So I guess basically found a friend that gets and sit down and do some work.

As far as feeling behind, it happens from time to time just keep plugging away and you'll be fine.

 

[Go Ducks]

Have you tried getting a tutor? One-on-one support can make a bigger difference with math than you may realize. Go to every office hour or bull dog hour--sometimes you don't realize you're not understanding something until another student asks about it and the answer isn't what you expected. This happens to me a lot.

Does your university have a drop-in math help center? Most do--ask the math department and the academic services department about this. My school had one through academic services and almost no one in the math department knew about it.

 

[PreMedder]

Yeah it can be rough - definitely utilize office hours/any friends you have that seem to understand it and can explain it in a manner that is clear to you. If needed, you can PM me - I'm a math major.

 

[MichaelRW]

nice avatar ^ (im not sure whether to laugh or be disgusted)

 

[CaptainSSO]

.............

 

[nwilkes]

Huge whiteboard...for some reason, I can identify all my mistakes better on a whiteboard.

 

[metallica81788]

I felt the same way. My key was that I had taken Calc in high school, so I already knew that I was bad at series/sequences but had a really high grade going into that material and could kind of coast. I just never understood it.

Try and remember the set "named" sequences and stuff and just try and do your best, I guess.

 

[ak21]

Oh no! My sequences and series test was/is the only test I've legitimately failed in college. (62%) lol! Thankfully I still managed a B+ in the class thanks to the incrediblely generous curve. Good luck!

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Thanks for all the tips and well wishes guys. It looks like there's no other way around it than to just put in my best efforts and hope I can still maintain my grade.
Although it's definitely nice to know i'm not the only one who has been through this.

I have gone to the tutors consistently up till now, so i'll keep trying that. It can get pretty crowded so sometime it's hard to get full one on one help.
Not many office hours available either but i'll try to go when I don't have class.

I'll be sprinting to the end of this semester lol.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Guys!!! I just got my exam on sequences and series back, it was an A.

Your advice was a big help, I went to a bunch of office hours at the start and tried to stay on top of every topic.
Actually I think I did better on this exam than any of my other exams from the class.

Sorry to revive such an old thread, i'm just so excited. I was at the verge of a breakdown when we started the topic but i'm glad the work payed off. Hopefully I can approach orgo and physics in a similar manner next semester.