<p>I have to take "Calculus and Analytic Geometry" in college. I don't think I will be ready to take that class though. What classes would prepare me for this course? Should I take pre-calculus or not? How difficult is this class?</p>
<p>Assuming that you don’t know the course curriculum, basic knowledge of high school algebra and trigonometry is enough. Pre-Calculus may be able to prepare you, but personally I think it’s a waste of time, as memorizing the unit circle or how to factor doesn’t take me 3-4 months to figure out. I don’t find calculus difficult at all (I assume you mean single-variable calculus), and I was never the best at math.</p>
<p>I agree, all I got out of my Pre-calculus class was trigonometry. However, if you NEED to take Calculus courses and don’t place into it, you will need to take Pre-calculus first. At least at my school, Pre-calculus is a prerequisite for Calculus, while College Algebra is basically a dead end. If you are confident in your Algebra, you should be fine. </p>
<p>Other than trigonometry, you should be fine if you did well in your Algebra courses. Ultimately, as long as you can manipulate equations, you shouldn’t have any problem with derivatives.</p>
<p>By the way, could someone explain why some institutions name this course differently? Why not just “Calculus I” instead of “Single-Variable Calculus”, “Calculus with Analytic Geometry”? Always found that interesting.</p>