<p>hey, im seeking for some advices regarding business calculus as i will be an upcoming freshman. First, to briefly summarize my past, i took my 9th grade in middle school (when its supposed to be in highschool) and then without thinking about its importance, i flunked everything thus giving me a huge disadvantage in my courses. So, basically the highest math i've completed in highschool was math b when ordinary seniors should at least be finished with precalc by high school. After hearing about the fact that i'll be taking business calc next semester in the spring for my pre q requirement, i decided to self-teach myself limits and continuity, infinite limits, derivatives, differetiation techniques, higher derivatives, curve sketching, max=min problems, and integration which are most or all of the important parts in calculus / pre calc. (correct me on that if wrong). Thus, with the knowledge of my self-teaching as mentioned, do you think i'll still be lacking to take business calc or should i waste a semester of creditless precalc then take business calc another time? How difficult is business calc for who have already taken it?</p>
<p>Nothing from Pre-Cal is really covered in Calculus, unless your instructor decided to cover limits. The course name is a huge misnomer. You don’t need Pre-Cal to take Cal.</p>
<p>I took Calculus I and Calculus II in high school and will be taking Business Calculus next semester. I looked over my textbook and asked others who have taken it about the course. It’s a watered-down version of Cal I for science majors, really. It covers all the easy parts, stopping where anything gets too difficult. In addition, most business Cal I classes don’t cover trig functions, a huge lifesaver for many.</p>
<p>You seem to be off to a good start and it’s great that you want to be prepared. By doing the things you mentioned, you will be teaching yourself most of course. I think your best bet would be to email your professor, explain your background, and ask what he recommends.</p>
<p>The biggest gripe upper-level math teachers have about beginning calculus students is their algebra background isn’t up to par. The material itself in Calculus I isn’t very difficult on its own, but students without a solid algebra background struggle.</p>
<p>I highly recommend you go get a college algebra book and make sure you understand all the fundamentals, even if it means not studying calculus. Many first-year calculus students find themselves learning the new material and reviewing algebra they should have learned in high school at the same time. If you understand the algebra well, it will serve you not only in Cal I, but in any other math class you take later on.</p>
<p>Many of the automated instructional tools used in colleges are available to students online for self-instruction. One of the popular ones is ALEKS. You can find it through Google and they offer a free trial where you can see if this would be a helpful thing for you. I had my students use the accounting tools one year and those that really utilized it found it helpful.</p>
<p>Business Calculus is very easy depending on the instructor and school. Business Calculus covers Calculus but in a less difficult version without the trigonometry parts. As long as you know how to do algebra you should be fine. Business Calculus covers sections like Limits, Derivatives, and Integrals.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses guys. As you know that i’m trying to teach myself most or all of pre calc/calc materials with only math b knowledge, it isnt easy at all i can say. Can you guys say that im in such a rare position?</p>
<p>No fair! My college makes business majors take real calculus. 
I hate calculus. It doesn’t help that it’s one of the GPA-breakers, either.</p>
<p>During my senior year in high school, I was taking AP Calculus BC. I was considering taking further calculus classes in college, so I took a Calculus Preparation exam where they test you on your knowledge to see if you would be ready to take calculus classes past the pre-calc level. So they tested me on pre-calc knowledge, which I hadn’t been using in actual calculus…and I failed it. </p>
<p>Turns out I got credit from AP anyways, but I still think it’s ridiculous that they call it pre-calc when it’s barely used in actual calculus. You’ll be fine.</p>
<p>This is probably the best site I’ve ever seen for math help - [Khan</a> Academy](<a href=“http://khanacademy.org/]Khan”>http://khanacademy.org/)</p>
<p>There’s videos that cover most important topics from basic algebra to differential equations. It has saved me so much grief.</p>
<p>I’m taking business calc this fall, or calculus for non science/enginnering majors. So basically business calculus is a condensed version of calc ab? So basically no trig derivatives, related rates, optimization, reimann sums, or anything like that? </p>
<p>Also if I plan to take business calculus II, all I have to do is study an ap calculus BC prep book?</p>
<p>^^ Yes, that’s correct. It’s incredibly easy. I certainly didn’t need to refresh my math skills or anything.</p>
<p>I just took business calc and it is very easy do not worry. Business calc is just all simple derivative word problems.</p>
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<p>I totally disagree. If you don’t have a solid understanding of your trigonometric identities then Calc will be an uphill battle. If you want to teach yourself calculus it’s not hard, in fact it’s one of the easier mathematics. Study Algebra II and Trig Identities, that will give you a fundamental knowledge for calc.</p>
<p>ForumObserver, aren’t you supposed to learn trig identities in trig? The only thing I got out of my Pre-Cal class were limits and sequences/series, which were covered again in Cal I.</p>
<p>Some high schools do not offer standalone courses in trigonometry. At the high school I graduated from, the ‘gifted’ math sequence was – geometry -> algebra 2 -> pre-calculus -> calculus. Trigonometry was the last third of pre-calculus.</p>
<p>Yea Trig’s not offered at most schools. I got trig from pre-cal as well. I’ve heard some people tell me they took a class that was title Alg III and Trigonometry. They also said they never understood why the title had Algerbra III in it as it was basically all Trig. However, I’ve only heard of this class from one group of people who went to the same HS.</p>
<p>“No fair! My college makes business majors take real calculus. I hate calculus. It doesn’t help that it’s one of the GPA-breakers, either.”</p>
<p>–> AHAHHAHAH! deal with it! It’s good for you!</p>
<p>I am a Business Major and have to take Business Calculus as well. I am terrible at math. In fact, I graduated from High School in Algebra 2 instead of pre-calculus. Math has always been my worse subject, but I didn’t know I had to take calculus in order to get a degree in Business Administration. I just thought I needed college algebra and statistics, so now I am trying to study as much calculus as possible before taking Business calculus I and II. However, I am starting in intermediate algebra as a freshman, so I won’t be taking Business Calculus until sophomore year. Actually, Business Calculus can be kind of difficult if you don’t understand derivatives and integrals. You also find the average rate of change, limits, antiderivatives, and get introduced to basic differential equations and multivariable calculus. You also get an in-depth study of marginal cost and how to calculate interest rate and compound interest. At first, you learn about tangent lines and basic graphs of functions. You don’t start getting into calculus until about the second chapter which covers derivatives. A big portion of your class will be word problems so you will have an intensive study on how to solve word problems fast and effectively. Business calculus II covers functions of several variables and their derivatives, partial derivatives, methods of integration, differential equations, and linear programming. It’s definitely not an easy course for people who don’t have a strong math background, but it could be a lot harder. The college I am attending has business calculus I and II, regular calculus(all three), accelerated calculus I and II, and differential equations. Business calculus I covers topics in Calculus I but without trigonometry, but Business Calculus II covers mostly several variables while calculus II doesn’t cover several variables until later in the semester. I would say that Business Calculus II is calculus II and calculus III combined.</p>
<p>Why did you necro a 1 year old post?</p>