Hey, I am an 18 year old college student who is taking calc for the first time. Since early algebra I have struggled due to short term memory problems (no I don't smoke pot). I simply can't understand math. I was wondering if any of you on this forum could help me think of ways to look at math to make it more understandable; maybe just the way of looking at it. How do you look at math?
Welcome JetPilot, I don't know that there is any magical way of looking at math to make it easy. I think the most important thing is to carefully and consistently apply the rules. Most students that I have worked with in the past understood the ideas at least well enough to apply them on some problems, but then they would go on to the next idea and forget the one that they had just learned and stop applying it carefully. You can't do math by only thinking about the current concept they are teaching you, instead each new concept needs to be added on to the entire framework that you already know. -Dale
perhaps newtons book would help... i believe its 'principia...' -MT http://members.tripod.com/~gravitee/toc.htm this link offers a few chapters...
here are a few sites that may help you: http://www.calculus-help.com/funstuff/phobe.html http://www.sosmath.com/calculus/calculus.html http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/AllBrowsers/2413/limits.asp http://www.math.temple.edu/~cow/ http://www.math.uakron.edu/~dpstory/e-calculus.html
Don't forget this website: http://archives.math.utk.edu/visual.calculus/ If you need any help on specific topics or specific types of problems, I'm sure anyone here will be happy to help.
For me, the calculus was a two part matter. Part one: it is very important to study and restudy until the derivation of calculus as devised by Newton is totally understood. This is clearly explained in the textbook; I wouldn't worry about dredging up a copy of Principia. Part two is memorization of commonly used terms: sorry, I don't know how to help anyone develop a phenomenal memory. I sure don't have one. To be redundant: it is EXTREMELY important to study as much as needed the few pages explaining the derivation. Once you really understand its basis, The calculus is not mysterious and is a wonderful thing.
Hi, Just stumbled across this forum and read your question. The important thing about approaching math is to get it out of your head that math is hard. Easier said than done, I know. But math anxiety is a HUGE stumbling block for many people. Just remember that people do math. Certainly, math is not only for geniuses. The second thing is to approach each problem like a computer algorithm. Just take it one step at a time. Don't doubt yourself. You CAN do it.
CANGAS suggested studying the derivation of calculus by Newton. I have studied that about 3 or 4 times at separate occasions when I felt I wanted to revisit the fundamentals. It was painful, until I found a derivation that makes a whole lot more sense to me. This derivation uses hyperreal numbers where integration and derivatives and limits are described as standard parts of hyperreal numbers, a concept similar to using a real part of an imaginary number. To me, this derivation makes a whole lot more sense. Look it up in this free online book "Elementary Calculus: An Infinitesimal Approach" by H. Jerome Keisler http://www.math.wisc.edu/~keisler/calc.html
I would recommend doing twice the number of problems that your teacher assigns. for me, how well I knew the material was directly proportional to the number of problems I solved. moreover, if you do non-homework problems, the teacher is much more likely to help you with it. some teachers don't like walking students through problems they assign because they are basically doing the homework for the student. I was lucky with calc3 and physics (1 and 2) to have an instructor that assigned a lot of homework, but it was lightly weighted, so he would solve it in class if you asked him. in fact, the teacher would only grade whether or not you attempted the problems, it didn't even matter if you got them right on the homework.
