Teaching yourself pre-cal/calculus ... somehow

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>I'm graduating this year, but I feel really uncomfortable with pre-cal/calculus, especially since college is creeping up. I'm looking to take a couple of freshman calculus classes but I don't think I'm ready at all. I'm about to finish senior year pre-cal with an average of 83.</p>

<p>Therefore, does anyone have any experience/tips on maybe "teaching yourself" pre-cal/calc the summer before college? Any good online courses, great textbooks, or study help will do.</p>

<p>I understand I won't get the same out of taking, say, AP Calculus, but if I could just review and get a heads up on calculus that would be great.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

2

<p>My class used "Advanced Mathematics with Discrete Reasoning" last year. Great book.</p>

3

<p>I'd recommend you pick up one of the Baron's AP Calculus AB prep books (or a similar title by another company) and use that to brush up on your calculus. These books are surprisingly comprehensive, and a friend of mine learned all the material for Cal I and II just from reading Baron's BC book. He tested into multivariable Cal at the beginning of his freshman year.</p>

4

<p>Ask your counselor to recommend a tutor. Both of my daughters did, and ended up with a retired high school math teacher, who put both of them well on the road toward comprehending--and even enjoying--calculus. Worth a try.</p>

5

<p>Speaking as someone who has successfully (I hope) taught himself calculus with only a rudimentary knowledge of algebra and trigonometry, I think it'very possible and very self-rewarding to teach yourself subjects in math and science. The first book I used was Larson's 7th edition calculus Amazon.com:</a> Calculus (With Analytic Geometry)(8th edition): Ron Larson, Robert P. Hostetler, Bruce H. Edwards: Books . Some notes about this book</p>

<ul>
<li>The descriptions are usually lucid but sometimes the discussions can get technincal. If it feels like you're getting bombarded with two much information try to stick to the big (as in simple and important) ideas. for example in the first chapter, Larson unwisely introduces the rigorous (as in proof oriented) definition of limits which is unnecessary for a first class in Calculus</li>
</ul>

<p>I then used some calculus with theory texts like Apostol or Courant. These are good because they are more difficult than regular texts but still more computational than full Analysis texts.</p>

<p>After this you should have a good grounding in Calculus which is required for most courses in science.</p>

<p>P.S. Seeing as though you have an average background in precalculus I would recommend that you brush up on some topics such as trigonometry, algebra, and graphs before you start calculus.</p>