<p>I am taking a semester of Trig now and feel like Im drowning. I have a D in the class and have tried getting help from the teacher but she believes I should figure it out on my own- tutors confuse me because my teacher is apparently teaching us incorrectly (ex wanting 2 answers when there is only one) and I dont know what to do. Should I drop? I havent gotten to Pre-Calc and Im a junior.</p>
<p>I’ve learned this the hard way, but, you just got to do it. I’m taking AP calculus, I have a D too, unfortunately. We don’t have a trig course at my school, it’s incorporated in the algebra III and pre-calc curriculum. To be the angel, I will encourage you to stick with it because trig is SO important if you further your math. In calc is comes here and there and you need to on top of it, and really recall those trig identities, trig values, unit circle etc. I SUCK at math, but I’m sticking it out because I love to prove people wrong and help others who faced the same dilemmas I faced. </p>
<p>One method I picked up along the way is to do EVERY problem in the section, or go far beyond your homework set. By doing this you are exposed to a wide variety of problems and it’ll help you recognize patterns and the like. Also, a strong math student knows the theory. Many students chug and chug problems and forget why the equation works and what it represents. For the more difficult problems, they test if you understand the subject and can utilize what you know. If you don’t understand something, go see your teacher, or go to another teacher. In AP physics, the calculus get really busy and confusing so I go to my calc teacher for help, not my physics teacher for many reasons. </p>
<p>If I have to go through Hades and back with AP physics and calculus, then you have to with trig lol. Remember, it’s just high school, high school is a learning experience. If you end up with a D, who cares. Learn from it, and try to do better in the next subject. I got a C in pre-calc and went on to calculus because I was told that I couldn’t do it. I’m working my tail off and trying to do my best. Even if I get a D or a C this term, I could say to myself that I’ve tried everything I could and move on.</p>
<p>Good luck, and I’m sure the more math oriented users on here could give you better advice.</p>
<p>Internalize key facts/concepts and worry less about answers than understanding how to solve questions.</p>
<p>when I was trying to learn trig, at first it was hard to keep all the concepts together, accept the concepts to be true, you can prove them later.</p>
<p>There can definitely be two answers in trig. For example, cos(theta) = 0 at pi/2 and 3pi/2.</p>
<p>but the principle value of cosine doesn’t include 3pi/2 so there may be one answer depending on the question.</p>