<p>Sin = cos/tan so sin<em>cos</em>tan = (cos/tan)<em>cos</em>tan = cos^2, if I'm reading your formatting right.</p>
<p>ADA - How well did you do on the SAT? A lot of the math is algebra based...did you touch trig at all? I'm not that strong at math, and I'd almost say it'd be better for you to suck up the extra semester in rock math (remedial) to get a solid grasp on the basics before going on to discrete dynamical systems, calculus and statistics. I DID take calculus in high school and I wish I had taken the remedial semester. Math is really freaking important to your academic GPA, it's like 4.5 credits and a low grade there when you could have rocked it out with a little extra help would be bad. Academics are 55% of your class rank and math was 16 of the 72 credits I took plebe and yuk year. </p>
<p>That being said, here is my sure fire, fail proof way to do the best you can in math. Thayer can bite me for all the good his method does to teach me math. I can't read it and learn it, I really benefit from seeing examples. So, this is how I passed all my math classes.</p>
<p>Math is taught in a double block. So, for example, you have A and B hours devoted to calculus. Normally they only teach for 70 minutes, so you pay attention, take notes, and ask questions. Pretty standard so far. Here's the surefire part. After your instructor is done, follow him back to his office and set up shop on the table outside his door. Open your book, and look at today's lesson. Are you sure you understand it? If not, ask him to explain whatever it is you don't understand again. Set now? Turn to the next lesson and start the reading. Read it through once. Read it again, highlighting key points. Read it a third time, and this time, put question marks next to what you don't understand. Go to the first assigned problem. Try it. Check and see if anything you didn't understand makes sense. Check the answer against the back of the book. If you got it right, and you now understand, great, go on to the next. If you don't, skim the rest of the assignment. If all the problems are of the same type that you don't understand, knock on your instructor's door and see if he can give you some quick AI. Ask about your question marks. Pay attention. Take notes. Try another, under his supervision. Keep at this until you've done ALL the problems for the next lesson, and you think you've got it. Write a summary for the lesson in your own words. The night before you have class, pull the lesson out again. Look at it. Make sure you still understand. Go to class and check that understanding...and the cycle starts over. Also works well for chemistry and physics, which are also taught in double blocks. For English, find an editor for your papers and pay attention in the group discussions. Take notes. For history, read, take reading notes, find a study group. IT, you want an excellent good project partner. Start EARLY, like the day you get the project assignment. PL100, do the reading, that one's pretty easy.</p>