<p>Are there any non-math people on CC that have found success in BC Calc? I'm sinking like a stone in the sea in this class. I've always gotten straight A's in math, but just because I knew how to get by. I'm just not a math person! And it's not that I hate it or anything... it just doesn't come naturally to me (as it does to 95% of the kids in my class). </p>
<p>Any tips? What would be the best prep book for this?<br>
Also, my textbook doesn't really explain things all that wonderfully... I'm not sure what year it's from... I think it's just extremely bland. The only really good math text book I've used was in Alg 2, probably because it was a brand new edition.</p>
<p>I really need an A in this class. I'm willing to put time into it, but I'm just so frustrated with it, it seems that all my efforts are exercises in futility.</p>
<p>As you can probably tell, I'm getting a bit pessimistic.</p>
<p>That website has nice videos/lectures on math, although the pdf's are basically a textbook. If you're having trouble, why not get some kids in class to help you? BC really isn't that hard; you just have to understand the fundamental math behind it all.</p>
<p>I always ask questions when we get into groups to explain it to me. I think the problem is that I'm frustrated that I'm taking all of these difficult classes, but I have great interest in all of them... except this. And for scheduling purposes, I can't do anything about it. </p>
<p>And I think I understand the basics... I'm just having some trouble applying it. And I'm lacking a few fundamentals... I still haven't memorized the unit circle.</p>
<p>Any suggestions for a good prep good that would be more suited for me? I don't think I want anything that over-explains, but I still want something that will give me the best prep for a 5 on the exam.
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<p>Can someone just tell me which prep book won't go over my head? In the book suggestions thread, I know Arco, PR, and How to Prepare... were mentioned as good books... but how dense are they?</p>
<p>Nope. My school doesn't work that way. But that would sure make things exponentially easier.</p>
<p>The teacher I had for precalc was the AP teacher, and very highly regarded and prepared his students very well for the exam. Of course, he retired after last year.</p>
<p>I am AP Calculus AB right now. I bought the Princeton Review book because a lot of people on CC have recommended it and it has the AB and BC combined into one book. Princeton Review is pretty consistent in all of the subjects in being concise as well as a good explainer.</p>
<p>I think PR's examples and explanations are pretty good and understandable. </p>
<p>I'm taking AP Cal AB now, since my school doesn't provide BC classes. But I still will take BC test in May.
Here are some little tips. These work pretty well for me. For the chapter tests, just have all the formulas from the chapter being tested in your head, and plug in the numbers that seem to be correct at each position of the formula (because you don't really have that many formulas for one chapter). For the finals, it'll become easy, because you've encountered most types of questions, and you'll be familiar with the solutions and thoughts and tackle them easily.</p>