<p>I am very disappointed that I failed my math exam! Although I studied a lot for it, I felt like I was behind because I'm really bad with simple math laws such as square roots and exponents because I am Soo used to using calculator(calculators aren't allowed during the test). I feel so bad and I'm getting kind of depressed! It is still possible for me to pass the class with an A- but I will have to get near perfect scores on the other exams! What should I do? Are there any sites that can help me do better in calc?</p>
<p>The answer may be as simple as youtube. In addition to doing practice problems and attending tutoring/discussion, I watched all of this guy’s videos which related to my class:</p>
<p>[patrickJMT's</a> Channel - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/user/patrickJMT]patrickJMT’s”>http://www.youtube.com/user/patrickJMT)</p>
<p>It is also imperative that you practice doing your math without a calculator asap. Even simple things like roots, and exponents because those will come back chapter after chapter :(. I also hated math but its definitely possible to pass (I won’t guarantee you an A though if by fail, you mean you got a F). Algebra is perhaps even more important than the Calculus part of the course. I almost never had a problem with Calculus. It’s actually interesting and kind of fun. Every single mistake I made was related to algebra. It’s kind of sad because I get all the material, I just lack the basic algebra skills (I blame my high school experience) to get the problems right. In the end, this lowered my grade. That’s why you should review your algebra as quickly and as efficiently as you possibly can.</p>
<p>thanks so much, I realized that my problem is because of my reliance towards using my calculator soo much</p>
<p>“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” " Practice, practice practice."</p>
<p>Really the only way to be good at math is to do a lot of problems. I think the stuwart book is really good for practicing if you don’t have it already. Get the solution manual (or cramster) and do other odd problems not assigned. Before the exam, look over all the problems you did and redo any you don’t think you can solve at a glance. </p>
<p>Calculus is never about calculation. Try not to do any calculation until the very last step should earn you most of the points in a problem.</p>
<p>Start converting all square roots to exponents. </p>
<p>For example, SquareRoot(3x) = (3x)^(1/2), where the “1/2” is up in the exponent.</p>
<p>Then review your laws for exponents. I never liked dealing with stuff in the radical, it was always easier to change the whole thing to exponential notation, for me.</p>
<p>Practice, practice, practice. You really need to complete at least 5-10 hours of practice problems to adequately prepare for a college calc exam.</p>