<p>Here's the deal, I've been out of high school for 10 years, and am now heading to college. When I was in High School I barely even went to school and ended up dropping out and getting my GED. Now I'm laid off from work and I decided I'm going to go to school for Civil Engineering. Thats my background. </p>
<p>Here's the problem. I studied hard for the ACT, and ended up getting a score of 28. Not bad for an old man. Even got in the 90th percentile for the trig questions. I have no idea what trig is. I studied the basics and focused on what was going to be on the test. Now I'm accepted into college and because of my ACT score I was persuaded by my advisor to go ahead and take Calc I, even after I told him I had absolutely no formal training in Trig or College Algebra. After I said that to him he pointed at my ACT score and said "well you must be doing something right!" and then said "The worries you are having are normal, trust me, your ready for Calc." </p>
<p>This strikes me as odd. Is Calc just not related to Trig or Algebra in any way? I would find that hard to believe. Do you think that just because my ACT score impressed him, he thinks I must be smart enough to take it?</p>
<p>Only basic trig was used in my calc class. But the thing is if you really haven’t taken a math class in over 10 years and you really don’t remember anything from it… I would honestly recommend a remedial math class in Algebra 2 just to refresh your mind…</p>
<p>I’m going to be a senior in college next semester and I took AP Calc in high school and passed the AP exam and honestly I remember nothing… I know because I was considering taking some upper level math classes next semester and looked at calculus review problems and had totally forgotten how to do everything. I’m sure chain rule, u-substitution, and Taylor series would all come back to me if I reviewed but it would probably take a lot of reviewing…</p>
<p>Maybe if you reviewed Algebra and Algebra 2/Trig on your own over the summer you would be fine in Calc. But if you find yourself struggling with the review material because you don’t remember anything, you should probably take a remedial class before hopping right in.</p>
<p>I was in the same exact boat as you. GED and everything. When I went back to school I started allllllllll the way back at college algebra, went through pre-calc(which covers trig) and then on to the calculus sequence. To me, it was a HUGE help spending the extra time going back. Some people can learn on the fly but I wouldn’t recommend doing that. Yeah, it took me extra time, but when I made it to calculus I was only focused on learning calculus, not learning trig too. In the end I aced the class. That’s just me.</p>
<p>I would take the Pre-Calculus course first.</p>
<p>Well, step-0, I would look at your major and look at the sequencing and pre-requisite courses for the next 3 years to see if starting with Pre-Calculus will put you behind schedule.</p>
<p>I don’t know the typical Civil Engineering program so maybe some current/graduated CE’s can chime in. I do know that the following is typical of most engineering programs</p>
<p>Calculus I
Calculus II (pre-req Calculus I)
Calculus III (pre-req Calculus II)
Linear Algebra (some schools claim a pre-req of Calculus II, come may say Calc III)
Differential Equations (some schools claim a pre-req of Calculus II, come may say Calc III)
Physics I (pre-req Calc I)
Physics II (pre-req Calc II & Physics I)</p>
<p>I do know some engineers who did not start Physics I until sophomore year…whcih means you would not need Calculus I until Freshman Spring Semester…which means that you could take Pre-Calc Freshman Fall Semester.</p>
<p>Note: more than likely, your CE program won’t count the Pre-Calc course to the major.</p>
<p>OK, So the majority says at least Pre-Calc. That lets me know that at least most of the stuff in trig and algebra definitely do apply to Calc I. </p>
<pre><code> Here’s my Solution. Today is July 14, and I have a little over a month before I start school. I won’t drop calc I yet, I’ll hold onto it and see how much I can learn on my own in that month. I plan on starting with the Intermediate Algebra on the website Andrewsky linked to, and working through a Trig book I bought a while back.
I Figure this is the best solution for me based on my review of the course list flowchart they have given me. Based on that flowchart it seems Calc I is a jumping off point for many of the required courses, and I’m not sure i want to put myself behind an entire semester. While I could take remedial math and fill the rest with electives, I feel that this will only create a harder more “packed in” schedule later, that could hurt my scores.
Plan B, If I feel I’m not ready by Aug 16, A week before classes start, I will drop Calc I and take Pre-Calc or College Algebra, depending on my success with learning.
Thanks everyone for letting me know what I thought I knew, until my advisor steered me off course.
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<p>I’m in a very similar situation, very similar. Before formally heading back to college though, I spent a year preparing myself. After studying ACT-level math, I got a Barron’s Pre-Calculus self-study book and did all of the reading and questions. It covered everything I needed, it made me brush up on my algebra, my trig (especially trig identities, very important in calculus), polar equations, parametric equations, imaginary numbers, etc. No limits though. Anyway, I’m in Calc III now and studying that book has been invaluable. Things have gone much, much smoother for me. Had I not studied it, I may not have tested into Calc I in the first place BUT even if I had I wouldn’t have been well-prepared, and probably gotten a C or B instead of an A. Thanks to studying pre-calc at home, I can focus on the calculus aspect of everything and not get thrown by trying to learn polar equations, parametric equations, trig identities, various algebra tricks, etc., for the first time.</p>
<p>I also studied from a small book “Teach Yourself Calculus,” which was horrible at explaining concepts but covered enough ground (including a chapter on diffy qs) that so far my first three (single-variable) calc classes are essentially in-depths retreads of material I’ve already studied. I have a solid 4.0 GPA thanks to my study habits.</p>
<p>It may behoove you to wait a quarter or even two (I decided December of 2008 to return to college and it didn’t happen until August 2009, but I was busy as a beaver studying every step of the way) to study so as to prepare yourself for calc. If you don’t mind paying to study these things, then start classes now and study. Algebra 2 or pre-calc is a good class to start with.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, you’ll really help yourself by taking some introductory, non-calc physics. Especially classical mechanics and thermodynamics. It’s best to learn these conceptually first, in a dumbed-down class where the hardest math is the sine function. That way, when you take the required calc-based physics classes, your head isn’t swimming from trying to learn all of these concepts on physics <em>and</em> the mathematical aspect of it.</p>
<p>It’s good to know that the Barron’s books worked, I have the E-Z Algebra and E-Z Trig, and was going to pick up the Pre-Calculus too. The story’s I found a bit distracting, arguing the same points over and over, I found myself wanting to strangle some characters. </p>
<pre><code> Your post has been invaluable. Perhaps I WILL put myself behind a semester. After all, my goal is to achieve what you are achieving, a solid 4.0, why not take the advice of a person who has done just that.
Perhaps I will run out tomorrow and get the Barron’s Pre-Calc book and start studying that instead. I’m going to need to build a library soon, I’ve never had so many books. haha. anyway. thanks TomServo for your advice, and others as well. I will be frequenting this site a lot, I predict. btw, gotta love MST3000.
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<p>I would take a precalc class or something. I mean at the end of the day calculus really turns out to be a LOT of algebra. Just pick up the trig as you go. You’ll need to use identities here and there but not worth retaking a trig class over.</p>
<p>Ok CivilSoldier, i already took calculus(AP in highschool so it might be a bit different), and there is only 3 things u need to know in calculus, Limits, Derivatives, Integrals. Those 3 really relate to each other. If u understand limits youll most likely understand derivates, so my teacher said. Precalculus at my school is nothing like the Calculus i took. Precalculus more like gives you more algebra and a little trig rather than calculus concepts. I dont know if your good at algebra, but u mostly need the simple stuff like know how to calculuate the area of a triangle or basic exponents rules. You’ll need some basic trig stuff like the identities, probably those u used on the act. If your really worried about calc, pick up a princeton review book on calculus, if there is one, princeton review usually simplify things, Barrons if u really want to. but they are usually for Ap kids. so idk if that would apply to someone who would be going to college.</p>
<p>I was almost the exact same as you except less time out of school. I aced my GED and studied for the SAT test- which was mostly training on how to answer the questions in order to maximize your score. With my SAT test score I could have gone straight into calculus as well, however shortly after I picked up a college algebra book and started going over the prerequisites. Man, let me tell you, I was so shaken up with how ignorant I felt I put that math book down and didn’t pick up a math book for like a year after that. I couldn’t even get through the prerequisites of college algebra! Can you imagine if I tried to take calculus?</p>
<p>After a while I got over my ego problem and decided I would teach myself the very basics, in other words, elementary and intermediate algebra and I am soooo glad I did. It’s really easy if you just slow down and do the practice problems and it made my college algebra course way easier, which in turn made trigonometry easier to learn. </p>
<p>Let me ask you, can you tell me how to use the product rule for logarithms? Can you solve a matrix operation? Can you solve composite and inverse functions? What about parabolas, and ellipses? My guess is no and if that’s the case you need to start at the beginning. </p>
<p>The thing is that math uses its own language. I didn’t have a hard time with that college algebra book because the problems were difficult, I had a time because I didn’t know what the hell the author was talking about. It’s like trying to skip ahead to advanced russian when you haven’t taken the introductory course yet.</p>
<p>I suggest you take at least 20-30 hours this summer and start with the very basics. Go this page and start off with “pre-algebra”, which is the same as elementary and intermediate algebra. The parts about radicals, negative exponents and logarithms are going to be especially important to go over. Skip over the basic stuff you already know. After that go to the algebra section and make sure to review your geometry. This guy is freaking awesome so have fun.
[YouTube</a> - khanacademy’s Channel](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy#p/c/238F98B2C6422A95]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy#p/c/238F98B2C6422A95)</p>
<p>I would recommend taking precalc if you are unsure. I did, and I took calc 1 in the spring, and calc 2 in the summer and I was on track with everyone else by fall.</p>
<p>i would recommend emailing the professor, or another professor who teaches the Calculus I or II and get their opinion, or a list of things that you should know.</p>
<p>Things that I found useful to know for calc I and II are trig identities like cosine double angle formula, relationships between the tangent, cotangent, secant and cosecant. Identities with logarithms, like log of a product is sum of logs. Identities with exponential and how to convert from say 2^x to 3^x or e^x.</p>
<p>Same boat… took the assessment test and got place into calc. Never took precalc… and stupidly decided to take calc over a 6 week summer class along with intro to programming. It’s been a struggle but I should end up with an A. I relied heavily on a website called khan academy, you should check them out. My calc teacher has been great and doesn’t expect us to know all the trig identities and the odd geometry formulas that you might use. I’m sure you could handle it.</p>
<p>What was your ACT Math score? If you did so well on the ACT, clearly your algebra is up to par and you don’t need to take that. I would say if you can, maybe try and sit in on a precalc class after you take some time over the summer to learn some if you feel like you aren’t quite solid yet. I’d say you can take calculus and precalc concurrently, because really what you learn in precalc is not THAT important to understand how calculus works. Yeah the trig part is pretty hard, but if you’ve taught yourself the basics then you know what to expect and it might even make more sense when you see why you’re learning the trig parts when you apply them in calculus.</p>
<p>I’d say just learn it, calculus isn’t that hard. The only thing I ever really needed from precalc for calculus and physics was the trig part. The unit circle helps a bit as does understanding the graphs of the functions. Other than that, calculus is pretty much just straight-forward algebra.</p>
<p>Inmotion12: Ah! Thank you so much. What he is doing is truly remarkable. you are correct, I didn’t know a lot, I knew my exponents well, but I have never known what a logarithm is until yesterday when I gave this guy a shot. The fact that they are so related, but i’d never known amazed me. I’ve been watching him for two days, about 3 hours a day. When I have my office done I can easily devote 6 hours a day. I don’t even think that would burn me out. I find everything very interesting and I don’t find myself thinking about other things while watching, like I sometimes do while reading books. Sometimes I have to read a section 2 times to get it because my mind will wander when I read. I’ll still be reading, while thinking about something else, and I only remember half of what I read. lol. So this is, truly, a god-send.</p>
<p>Smilodon: I hope to learn most, if not all, of those things by the fall. I’m really buckling down now and studying hard. I don’t find math nearly as confusing as I have in the past, and I feel really confident in my abilities to soak up information.<br>
Nolehuy: Kahn Academy! just learned about it yesterday and have logged about 6-7 hours in it so far. lol. It is really putting me on the fast track to review and learn the things I’ve forgotten and new things I never knew.
Hadsed: That’s the thing, I personally didn’t think I did THAT well. I scored a 26 on the math sub-score. I studied specifically for what was on the test, and all I knew about trig was SOHCAHTOA. lol. Sittng in wouldn’t be a bad idea (on pre-calc), neither would taking them concurrently, although it might be a bit more homework than I’d like.</p>
<p>I think you all have Great advice, although some conflicting, I like to hear how everyone has made it through. I also appreciate that others have been in this uneasy boat floating towards uncertainty, and have made it through rougher water in the past. This site has certainly given me confidence to tackle Calc, and I think if I keep my study habits up, which I think I can do thanks to Kahn Academy, I may be Acing Calc I by Sept, or whenever the first exam is
Although it is early to say what’ll happen, if I fall into a trap of getting confused, and not understanding things, I may end up acing pre-calc by sept lol. either way, i’m acing something in sept. thanks to this site!</p>
