So i’m taking Calculus 1, and this class is stressing me the hell out. I’m in tutoring every other day, and i understand all of the material, but it’s so difficult preparing for every type of scenario and problem. I just took a test last week that i studied countless hours for, but there were a couple of scenarios i didn’t prepare for and that killed me.
Right now we are doing product/quotient rules within chain rules, which is such a pain.
What is truly terrifying me is that i have to go on to Calc 2, Calc 3, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra.
I’m practicing and putting time in, and i obviously need to put in more time and practice, but has anybody gone down this road that can give me some tips or helpful advice?
when it came to differentiation, i had to practice quite a bit. i went to study sessions with students, and sometimes the instructor will show up and give us print outs of practice equations.
i understand what you’re going thru, i always kept getting confused of when to use the quotient rule. all it really takes is practice. sometimes i redo problems i got right to make sure i know what i’m doing.
so basically, just practice (worked for me). once u get derivatives down, its not so hard. makes integrals alot easier.
calc 1 is easy…calc 2 is hard…calc 3 is relatively easy.
(disclaimer: i took AP calc ab/bc in hs, so i didn’t have to take calc 1 & 2 in college)
if you made it thru calcs 1-3 ok, then diff eq should be borderline cake. linear algebra…it really depends on what that class really is at your school. in some schools linear algebra is just introducing you to fuckign around with matrices and what not, in which case it’s pretty simple and no prob…in others it involves you learning the theory behind all of that and writing proofs, decidedly more difficult.
i was a math major, but i skipped class like a motherfucker, didn’t do hw, etc… so if you go to class and pay attention things should be decidedly easier for you.
The more you learn, the more interesting it gets. Calculus 1 could in relative terms be one of the hardest classes because you are simply not used to the intensity/long hours.
Yeah Calculus 1 is really easy. Once you understand the concepts of what you are doing and the methods behind it. Calculus 2 is a bit trickier but similar in a sense is that it’ll click. Calculus 3 is just 1 with another or more variables. However Stokes and Green, I still don’t understand that and one to two weeks is not enough time to understand that.
On the other hand I think Linear Algebra is really easy. Matrix operations are a joke. However, although easy I still don’t quite understand what I did later in Linear Algebra, with spaces, bases, and whatever.
I actually had a lot of trouble with Linear Algebra, but I didn’t really have much trouble at all with Discrete Mathematics or Boolean Algebra. Different strokes for different folks.
at my college it goes: Regular old derivations (chain rule, limits etc.), Integrals, Vectors and high order derivatives, multi-variable calculus (this one’s a b1tch), linear algebra, and lastly differential equations.
calculus has always been easy for me. probability theory is a b1tch tho(upper div=lame) so far. gotta take two quarters of this sh1t.
but yea you just need someone to sit down and sort this sh1t out for you if ya can’t do it on your own. honestly, if you strugglin’ in calc 1, you gonna need a fuckload of help for multi-variable calculus. just sayin’.
I had the stupidest experience with Calc 1. I took Calc BC in high school, which at my high school, covered Calc 1 and Calc 2 (you didn’t need to take AB before BC). I got a 2 on the AP test, but didn’t look close enough on the results to know I got a 3 on the AB portion, thus meaning I wouldn’t have had to take Calc 1 in college. Fast forward a year of seriously not giving a shit in CC, I signed up for Calc 1 with a fucking borderline crazy instructor who I got a D. After this I discovered I never needed to take that class all along, but by taking it and getting a D, I canceled out my AP credit, and had to take it one more time. I was really stupid back then.
Now I am studying for a mid term in my last math class I ever intend to take for the rest of my life.
Hmm - i didn’t have too much trouble with calc 1… it was a lot of memorizing rules and shit, but once we got to the chain rule I remember it being a LOT easier.
Calc 2 was much harder than 1… and I rememeber calc 3 being nothing more than Calc 2 in 3 dimentions. I didn’t go onto Differential or Linear, but my friends that did also said they were easier than the calc 2-3 stretch.
Just push through it. Not sure what your major is (unless you said it in your post and I ignored you) but you’ll more than likely not need much of it later in life. Good luck
