<p>I'm taking classes at a community college. I've completed Algebra I and Geometry in high school, and studied some trig over the summer. I took the compass placement test and it placed me in calculus. My question is what should I take. Class names include Algebra II, Algebra III and Trigonometry, Precalculus and Calculus.</p>
<p>Class descriptions at:
<a href="http://www.genesee.edu/academics/catalog/dsp_CourseList.cfm?subj=MAT%5B/url%5D">http://www.genesee.edu/academics/catalog/dsp_CourseList.cfm?subj=MAT</a></p>
<p>it placed you in calc then take calc...................</p>
<p>I don't think it was accurate because I was always remediated in math in high school.</p>
<p>If I was you I wouldn't take it. You haven't taken a structured trig class and therefore more than likely you have some holes of information. I don't take placement tests very seriously. One wrong or right question could be the difference between you taking calc and trig. And one question isn't enough of a difference for you to be taking a higher level of math.</p>
<p>do you suggest precalc, or more preparation than that, I honestly know so little about what's appropriate</p>
<p>Definitely not calculus based on your preparation...</p>
<p>I want to say precalc, but precalc requires relatively strong trig skills. How much trig do you know?</p>
<p>i don't feel that much, per se, I know what the trig functions are, their inverses and cofunctions, and I can interpret graphs of trig functions to a certain degree</p>
<p>i say you should go with precalc.. for me i felt like precalc was a reveiw of alg2/trig which i took my sophmore year. i found it very easy becasue before every new topic it would start with something learned in trig. or maybe alg 3/trig would be a better course to get a better understanding (and a gpa boost)</p>
<p>go to a bookstore and look through some books on precalc and see if you think you can handle it. do the same for trig to see if you feel you already know it all. definetly not calculus. there is no room there to not have a very strong math foundation because there are so many new ideas and techniques that require it.</p>
<p>Alright, thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll go with precalc, probably.</p>
<p>I would also suggest pre-cal, or possibly Algebra III/Trig (might be redundant for you). It's not really the pre-req for calculus, as its name implies, but it'll teach you a hodge-podge of skills that will be useful in later courses (calc included). I never had any significant trig before pre-cal. My assumption is that the course will use a lot of trig, but won't go too far in depth. What you've had sounds like it should be sufficient. A common math path is pre-algebra--algebra--geometry--algebra II--pre-cal--calculus (and then it really becomes a little less linear).</p>
<p>Geometry to calc is just too big of a jump, in my opinion, especially if math makes you nervous. Algebra III/Trig might bore you (or it might be a more advanced algebra, which would be too far down the line...you'd have to judge from the course-number and description). Pre-cal should be just right, even if it's not your own viable option.</p>
<p>Plus, it's fun ;)</p>
<p>how did you feel when you were taking the compass?
was it mostly lucky multiple choice guessing, or did you feel confident in knowing how to do the problems?</p>