a calculus thread in the middle of summer

[EmperorNero]

I wanna get a head start for this upcoming school year. one of the classes I'm taking is college prep calculus...for people who took this class, what kind of stuff did you learn?

I just picked up a copy of schaum's outlines calculus 4th edition, which I'll use to learn calc on my own and I wanna get an idea of what calc classes in high school taught.

btw, there was calculus the easy way at the bookstore...anyone know if it's any better than schaum's books?

 

[Pretender]

try Calculus for Dummies or Calculus in 24 hours. I can personally vouch for Calculus in 24 hrs, it's one of the more in-depth books.

 

[jaydee]

Yeah, I was wondering this myself. I really struggled in Pre-Calc, but I need calc my senior year to 'one up' college (planning on Computer Engineer major). Plus if I skip one year of math altogether, who knows how bad my 'skills' will erode in that time.

 

[Doomsday]

I learned absolutely nothing in my pre-calc class...partly because I was sleeping through most of it. It was just his voice, just the right voice to make you go catatonic. I seriously thought about bringing a tape recorder to class, recording it, and listening to it at night so I could fall asleep fast. Never did, it would have been a great idea though. I didn't sign up for A.P. calculus, because I got a D in pre-calc....wonder why???

 

[MrCodeDude]

The Dummies Books don't really help.. I have Photoshop 6.0 for Dummies, and I haven't learned very much.
-- mrcodedude

 

[EmperorNero]

that reminds me: anybody know of calculus books that are ideal for self studying?

and can someone answer my original question: what topics did you learn in college prep calculus?

 

[ggavinmoss]

In general, the Schaum's books are pretty good. I haven't used the Calculus book, but their Stats book was a nice resource.

-geoff

 

[Pyro]

<< Calculus for Dummies >>



that sounds like an oxymoron to me.


like Quantum Mechanics and the SuperString Theory for Dummies

 

[cchen]

imho you don't need a head start.... calc is really easy... at least for me
if you have strong algebra and problem solving skills, you'll do fine...

 

[EmperorNero]

<< The Dummies Books don't really help.. I have Photoshop 6.0 for Dummies, and I haven't learned very much >>



that's only pretender trying to be funny (or was it annoying?) when he suggested calc for dummies/calc in 24 hrs.



<< In general, the Schaum's books are pretty good. I haven't used the Calculus book, but their Stats book was a nice resource. >>



I also saw the statistics book...what course did you take that the book was used for? and would that same book be helpful for ap stats and probabilities?



<< imho you don't need a head start.... calc is really easy... >>



bahh..I struggled like hell in pre-calc (but then again, I also slept almost everyday in the class) so I'm not taking any chances.