I want to get good marks this year, and one of my courses includes Calculus. Is it as hard as I've heard throughout my academic career? I mean, Calculus is synonomous with really hard or impossible work.
I'm not a math genius or a ridiculously smart person, but I'm fairly good at math, and can catch on to concepts well enough. How will I do in Calculus?
Also, is it fun? I've heard it's fun if you like math, and I like math.
2007-08-20 10:00:47 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Thanks everybody, I'll do my best!
2007-08-21 02:59:45 · update #1
My guess then is that you wouldn't have too much trouble, at least at the elementary level. If you understand the concept of a real function, of continuity, and the idea of taking a slope at a specific point of a function, you shouldn't have any serious trouble with the concepts.
I would, however, suggest that you bone up on your trigonometry, especially the major trigonometric identities, before or shortly after starting second-semester calculus. You will be using them a lot.
Calculus can be fun, depending on what you consider fun. Once you get some calculus under your belt, you will be able to solve problems easily that you would never have thought would have analytical solutions at all.
2007-08-20 10:33:10 · answer #1 · answered by devilsadvocate1728 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like all math classes, the big challenge comes from the fact that the knowledge is cumulative. In other words, the thing you learn one week is typically going to be necessary to apply in the next thing you learn, and so on. This is why a lot of people fail math classes; they fail to learn something one week and as a result have a hard time catching up.
So if you stay on top of things by doing all your homework assignments, reading your notes every day, etc. you should do OK. One of the nice things about math classes is that you don't have to cram and study the night before, because if you can do the homework then you know the material.
Is calculus fun? I think it is, because there are some amazing applications for it, ranging from physics to biology to business and statistics. It's an incredibly powerful tool.
2007-08-20 10:32:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are very good with algebra and remember some trig it is easy. In Calc I you learn only a few formulas that you use to find derivatives. You will learn the Power Rule, Chain Rule, Product Rule, Quotient Rule, Implicit Differentiation, Related Rates, and Relative Extrema. Related rates can be a little tricky at first since you have to interpret the problem, but the actual calculus is easy. Look some of those topics up to get an idea. I found Calc I and II to be very fun.
2007-08-20 10:14:18 · answer #3 · answered by MathGuy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have always found calculus to be fairly easy. (But I am a math professor)
If you are good in algebra, then you will be good in calculus. If you can't do algebra, then you will not be able to do calculus. It is like algebra with one additional step. That step is the derivative or integral.
Don't be afraid of calculus. If you do your homework, you should do fine. My students usually do well if there come to class and try the assigned problems.
2007-08-20 10:09:37 · answer #4 · answered by Jeffrey K 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I LOVED calculus (1 and 2)!!! If you have a good teacher, you'll be fine. Just take really good notes, and pay attention. I catch onto things fairly quickly, and it was no problem for me. At first, the concepts might be confusing, but it makes sense after a bit. You'll do awesome!
Good luck!
2007-08-20 10:14:07 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Calculus is fun, and it has very cool concepts that make it more interesting. If you like math, you will surely like Calculus. It's very relevant to daily life, in my experience.
Best of luck!
2007-08-20 10:10:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Calculus is not difficult. Where people run into problems is not fully understanding algebra. Without a firm grasp on algebra, yes calculus is hard, but if you know without a shadow of doubt that your algebra skills are sound, then calculus is really easier than learning algebra was.
2007-08-20 10:09:16 · answer #7 · answered by Jeƒƒ Lebowski 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I didn't like it. In order to do my homework, I had to sit there in a quiet room for like 10 minutes and get into the right mindset. Once I was done with it, I would look at it the next day and wonder, "How in the world did I come up with all of that?" The only way I could understand what I did was to sit down and stare at it for 10 minutes again to get back into that train of thought.
ps. I'm not talking about the beginning. I'm talking about down the road when they have you drawing 3-dimensional graphs from equations and things like that.
2007-08-20 10:07:35 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
You will like it because you like math. Now do not think that you can get easy A. No, you will have to work hard for that. It is not like Algebra. So, make sure that you like math
2007-08-20 10:08:28 · answer #9 · answered by Anamika 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you know i can't say it's easy but it's not that hard either,
it's kinda fun if you understand it, and since you like math i'm pretty sure you gonna enjoy it :)
Good Luck
2007-08-20 10:30:19 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋