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Can you teach yourself calculus?

S

Shadow Conception

Golden Member
Or is it one of those subjects where you need a teacher?

I may be taking AP Physics C: Mechanics next year (junior year), and apparently the course is very calculus-based. Unfortunately, I'm only in Algebra II/Trig (as well as most of my friends), and I take Functions/Analytic Geometry (i love you) next year. The bare prereq for the class is completion of Alg II/Trig with a B or better (which is no prob, semester average was a 96). The standard is completion of i love you with a B or better, and recommended is concurrent enrollment in an AP Calculus course.

Supposedly, the teacher is supposed to teach you all the calculus involved in the calculations, but I'm assuming it'd only be a brief overview.

I don't wanna take AP Bio, AP Chem, and AP Physics B because they are all two periods instead of one. I'd rather not devote my precious two electives to one class. Physics I (basic level) is the standard science for our grade level, and is filled with dumbasses.

So assuming the teacher really does only give us a brief overview and we find ourselves confused out of our nuts, is it the kinda stuff you can go home and look up on the internet (this is how I got through Digital Electronics 'cause my teacher was a fucktard)?
 
Grab a AP Calc I review book and learn from that. THe basics aren't very difficult and I dont think AP Physics C uses anything past simple integrals
 
Sure it is. Newton didn't have someone teach it to him so that he could invent it. Just sit under an apple tree and watch the stars.
 
Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
You have to take a course called i love you?
Click to expand...

Yeah!

The other lower-end option is FAT, which stands for Functions and Trigonometry. I hear they're trying to change i love you to FunAG though... don't know how far that'll get.
 
Originally posted by: Shadow Conception
Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
You have to take a course called i love you?
Click to expand...

Yeah!

The other lower-end option is FAT, which stands for Functions and Trigonometry. I hear they're trying to change i love you to FunAG though... don't know how far that'll get.
Click to expand...

wow your school board is retarded. Even just switching it to analytical/function geometry would make it AFG, which is totally innocuous
 
meh, i cant teach myself algebra or geometry, i wouldnt do anything with a calculus book but scream and set it on fire
 
Probably stuff you could pick up pretty easily. And really, they may not even use that much calculus. For example, the teacher may use calculus to derive the equations of motion, but once you have the equations it's all algebra. You don't need any knowledge of calculus to work them.
 
Originally posted by: Mo0o
Grab a AP Calc I review book and learn from that. THe basics aren't very difficult and I dont think AP Physics C uses anything past simple integrals
Click to expand...

This is a good suggestion. I think the AP Calc review book would be more than enough to teach you the basics you'd need for physics.
 
depends if you want to truly understand the concepts behind Calculus. Otherwise, you NEEd Pre-cal. Pre-Cal by any means is much more abstract and difficult because it introduces a whole new dimension of math that one never experience before; once you got over Pre-Cal, Caculus itself is not THAT hard.
 
None of the calculations that you will need to do will require considerable learning. If you want to get a head start, you should learn how to take basic derivatives and integrals. I would definitely advise taking Physics C if you have a good teacher.
 
Originally posted by: andylawcc
depends if you want to truly understand the concepts behind Calculus. Otherwise, you NEEd Pre-cal. Pre-Cal by any means is much more abstract and difficult because it introduces a whole new dimension of math that one never experience before; once you got over Pre-Cal, Caculus itself is not THAT hard.
Click to expand...

What exactly are you referring to? My precalculus class was just a slightly more in depth view of algebra and trigonometry. There was a handful of new things, but not much. We discussed scalars, vectors, and planes for a short while, but I don't really think those are necessary concepts for the first two semesters of calculus.
 
Physics w/ calc isn't that bad, the mechanics stuff will barely make use of calculus, and the e&m stuff is fairly simple.
 
You'll be fine. If anything my AP Physics teacher taught it in clearer/more useful terms than my Calc teacher.

For example, going straight to the "shortcut" method of derivatives/integrals without mucking around with the definition of such. And no, iirc you don't get very deep into calculus in AP Physics C
 
Originally posted by: Cheesetogo
Originally posted by: andylawcc
depends if you want to truly understand the concepts behind Calculus. Otherwise, you NEEd Pre-cal. Pre-Cal by any means is much more abstract and difficult because it introduces a whole new dimension of math that one never experience before; once you got over Pre-Cal, Caculus itself is not THAT hard.
Click to expand...

What exactly are you referring to? My precalculus class was just a slightly more in depth view of algebra and trigonometry. There was a handful of new things, but not much. We discussed scalars, vectors, and planes for a short while, but I don't really think those are necessary concepts for the first two semesters of calculus.
Click to expand...

The precalculus course in my HS was more like the OP's "i love you". OP, I highly recommend the learning the basic material in the "i love you" course before trying on calculus if you're on your own. It could be really helpful. As for calculus, one can learn the basics of one dimensional differential calculus - what you'll need for "physics C mechanics" if it hasn't change in the last 15-odd years - in a day with a decent teacher (e.g. upperclass pal). But to internalize it and learn / memorize / practice the derivative rules you'll need will take some time.

My opinion? You're being too ambitious. Do the "i love you" course in tandem w/ the calc course and do Physics C your senior year w/ a second year of calculus (if available). That's what I (and like 50-60 others in my HS) did. Seriously, my HS had the baddest math team in the country and nobody did what you're proposing. There's really no point in doing it that way.

Where do you go to HS?
 
I really don't know why so many people think calculus is so hard. Personally I really like calculus and never found it all that difficult to learn. Certainly there are some twists and turns that are hard to wrap your mind around at first but nothing major. There are far more difficult areas of math.
 
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