Trigonometry
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Are you referring to the trig needed for physics?
I'm referring to a college trigonometry course.
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I'd recommend getting a tutor now. Get some algebra review, and get support so that you do really well in trig.
Trig is stuff that your premed competitors had in high school, and given that you view math as difficult, I'm thinking you've got yourself psyched out. Set yourself up to succeed, to comprehend, and to use this math class to learn study skills. There's some memorization, and then you have to understand the concepts and apply them to problems. Later on, in physics, you'll need to have a conceptual understanding of why a trig curve describes the motion of a spring (for one example among a boatload of 'em). If you struggle through trig, you'll have a really hard time in physics, is my point.
To answer your question, here are a few things you should be really comfortable with on your way into trig.
1. Concepts like integer, fraction, negative/zero/positive, exponent, coefficient, greater than, less than.
2. The concept of a function, such as multiplication or a square root, where you should have a sense of what the result of the function is as you progress along the integers. So if the function is "5 times X" you should be unintimidated by thinking about what the result is when X is zero, negative 4, 157, 10**8. X gets bigger, the result gets bigger. X gets smaller, the result gets smaller.
3. Basic graph concepts, like x intercept, slope, and how to make a graph of a function that looks like ax + y = z. You should know roughly what simple functions graph as a line, and what simple functions graph as a curve.
In trig you'll use these concepts from day one. And after trig, you should be capable of drawing the sine and cosine curves upon being rudely awakened at 3 am with a flashlight in your face.
Go get 'em. Best of luck to you.
Trig is stuff that your premed competitors had in high school, and given that you view math as difficult, I'm thinking you've got yourself psyched out. Set yourself up to succeed, to comprehend, and to use this math class to learn study skills. There's some memorization, and then you have to understand the concepts and apply them to problems. Later on, in physics, you'll need to have a conceptual understanding of why a trig curve describes the motion of a spring (for one example among a boatload of 'em). If you struggle through trig, you'll have a really hard time in physics, is my point.
To answer your question, here are a few things you should be really comfortable with on your way into trig.
1. Concepts like integer, fraction, negative/zero/positive, exponent, coefficient, greater than, less than.
2. The concept of a function, such as multiplication or a square root, where you should have a sense of what the result of the function is as you progress along the integers. So if the function is "5 times X" you should be unintimidated by thinking about what the result is when X is zero, negative 4, 157, 10**8. X gets bigger, the result gets bigger. X gets smaller, the result gets smaller.
3. Basic graph concepts, like x intercept, slope, and how to make a graph of a function that looks like ax + y = z. You should know roughly what simple functions graph as a line, and what simple functions graph as a curve.
In trig you'll use these concepts from day one. And after trig, you should be capable of drawing the sine and cosine curves upon being rudely awakened at 3 am with a flashlight in your face.
Go get 'em. Best of luck to you.
Well, the physics courses around Arkansas have either a prereq of only college algebra or of calculus I depending on which course you take so I should be ok as far as physics goes although I'm skeptical there since I've never had that course either.
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I'm not sure why you would take trig unless it was required for your major, usually I've seen it rolled into college algebra before Calc I at most schools.
The trig you need to know for physics is mainly just sin, cos, tan, arc-tan, etc., and understand what the curves look like (as in Dr. Midlife's example, simple harmonic motion of a spring). It does not get overly complicated where I feel like you would need a full course in trigonometry.
I had not had trig in ten years when I started physics, and if you have never covered it, then that is potentially an issue but it's something than you can easily learn what you need to know over a week or two, and confidence will come with practice. Good luck!
The trig you need to know for physics is mainly just sin, cos, tan, arc-tan, etc., and understand what the curves look like (as in Dr. Midlife's example, simple harmonic motion of a spring). It does not get overly complicated where I feel like you would need a full course in trigonometry.
I had not had trig in ten years when I started physics, and if you have never covered it, then that is potentially an issue but it's something than you can easily learn what you need to know over a week or two, and confidence will come with practice. Good luck!
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What schools are you applying to that calc is required? I didn't think many required it. I'm in the same boat as you (2003 grad as well), but I just decided to go ahead and finish a second degree since the informal post-bac was giving me so many credit hours anyway.
It's not so much that it'll be a requirement for medical school, but it is for some other volitions. I think UAMS likes for you to have trig though so...yeah.
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I guess if you're looking for a concise review, any GRE math review book will pretty much cover the highlights of pre-calc algebra and trig.
If math is tricky for you, get a tutor. I took trig/pre-calc in tenth grade, close to 15 years ago, and it was pretty easy compared to algebra I/II and geometry. Maybe it was just my state of mind.
I re-took calculus (up to Calc III, for fun) when I returned to school. The fact that I hadn't taken trig in (then) 11 years meant nothing. Quite honestly, I remember very little about trigonometry, but it made no difference in my pre-req or upper-level science or math classes, including calculus and linear algebra. So don't worry about it for the MCAT. Even for physics, the trig you need is covered in the first two weeks of class.
Thanks.