<p>This is a really strange subject... It's not like history or English where you can just read the concepts and definitions and understand how to do everything.</p>
<p>The problems on tests are always variations. How do you figure out how to handle them? And what do you do if you don't understand a homework problem? I just look in the step-by-step solutions manual, but I don't retain how to do the problem.</p>
<p>I’m lucky enough to have a really awesome calculus teacher. She gives us note sheets to fill out, which are incredibly helpful and make calculus a lot easier. The tests are pretty much just problems that are similar to the notes sheet problems or difficult problems that showed up on our homework. We go over the homework in class and people will work out difficult problems on the board. To study, I usually just go over my notes multiple times as well as review all the previous homework assignments. My teacher explains the concepts so well that we can usually reason out the challenging problems.</p>
<p>With math and physics… practice practice. You can’t read and get it. I learned it the hard way… for the AP physics C exam, I only learned half the matieral from class… so i just read about the later content, never did a practice problem lol. 3 :D</p>
<p>Do all the problems in the book for the topic you need to study… Always worked for me last semester and I got a test average of 98 in calc 1</p>
<p>Sent from my SCH-I510 using CC App</p>
<p>What types of problems are giving you trouble? I’m guessing some type integration technique, which is understandable. Integration topics tend to require more practice than differentiation topics.</p>
<p>^
Actually, all types. Integration and optimization especially. Especially official definition integration.</p>
<p>Even limit/derivatives/ln derivatives give me fits when they are the non-straightforward types.</p>
<p>If you’re struggling with “non-straightforward” problems, I recommend going through the topics you’ve learned and actually understanding each concept through insight rather than rote formulaic memorization. </p>
<p>For instance, recall that to find the highest height an object will go, given the position equation s(t), is found by taking the first derivative to find where v(t)=0, then setting the t value into the original equation s(t) for the height. But why? It’s because when v(t)=0, then velocity is changing from positive to negative or vise versa. And what’s velocity? It’s the rate of change of an object. When it changes signs, that means it’s hitting a poin where the slope of the original curve changes, hence the highest or lowest point. The next time you might a similar but differently phrased problem, (e.g. Find the acceleration when y object changes direction), you should know how to go about it.</p>
<p>Insight over memorization :)</p>
<p>Go on Amazon or ebay and buy Schaums Outline ([Amazon.com:</a> Schaum’s Outline of Calculus, 5th ed. (Schaum’s Outline Series) (9780071508612): Frank Ayres, Elliott Mendelson: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Calculus-5th-ed/dp/0071508619]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Calculus-5th-ed/dp/0071508619)) There are a bunch of these books and they are AMAZING.</p>
<p>You’ll get a <em>ton</em> of practice. This helped me a lot through high school and college. I’ve passed my books down to my brother now, who is in high school.</p>