Pre-calculus is a bunch of crap

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FantasyVesperia

FantasyVesperia

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This class made me re-think my career goals twice. A class never got me this angry, I'm so done with this class. Math in general just gets me frustrated. I'm starting to think that math is something your either good at, or not. I work too hard to get D's and F's on every test and expect nothing higher than a D on the test on Friday. Personally, I don't know how I'm maintaining a C in the class. This class has actually dropped my motivation, I don't really study much because I'll know I'll get an F or a D so what's the point right? The thing that really makes me laugh is that I'll spend four hours studying for pre-calc test (before I didn't care), and majority of the class will study for not even an hour and get an A or a B. Do you know how it feels to be the only one fail a test? I got an F and the rest of the class got a C's and up. The thing that bothers me the most are the ridiculous teacher comments, "It's fine, you'll be alright," or "You have great potential, just put all your effort into it and you'll be fine." It has got so annoying I feel like punching something. I try so hard to make my teacher happy, but constantly make myself look stupid. I said that I was going to work hard for this class and look where it got me. If I get a C or below on the next test, I'm changing my schedule for next year. I'm done.
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Thank goodness I'll never have to take that class 8D
 
FantasyVesperia said:
This class made me re-think my career goals twice. A class never got me this angry, I'm so done with this class. Math in general just gets me frustrated. I'm starting to think that math is something your either good at, or not. I work too hard to get D's and F's on every test and expect nothing higher than a D on the test on Friday. Personally, I don't know how I'm maintaining a C in the class. This class has actually dropped my motivation, I don't really study much because I'll know I'll get an F or a D so what's the point right? The thing that really makes me laugh is that I'll spend four hours studying for pre-calc test (before I didn't care), and majority of the class will study for not even an hour and get an A or a B. Do you know how it feels to be the only one fail a test? I got an F and the rest of the class got a C's and up. The thing that bothers me the most are the ridiculous teacher comments, "It's fine, you'll be alright," or "You have great potential, just put all your effort into it and you'll be fine." It has got so annoying I feel like punching something. I try so hard to make my teacher happy, but constantly make myself look stupid. I said that I was going to work hard for this class and look where it got me. If I get a C or below on the next test, I'm changing my schedule for next year. I'm done.
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Hey, it kills me seeing people get to the point they want to quit something because of its difficulty. There must be something wrong in your studying habits or fundamental math skills if you study for hours and still manage to fail the test. Find a tutor, look online or khan academy or similar youtube tutors that have videos, or simply look in the text book. Try practice problems, see why you are doing something wrong. I took honors pre calc this year and I struggled at the beginning but I have managed to pull an A both semesters. Lastly, don't compare yourself to anyone, it will only bring you down.

Also, what chapters or concepts of pre-calc are you not getting? I can help you out via G+ or Scriblink at your request! I enjoy teaching and doing math!
 
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I took Pre-Cal last year, and it was a very stressful class, I know. I was never very good at math, nor had an interest in it. But I struggled through it, took the pain, studied for hours, and managed to get an A. I was surprised that i passed the final. Make sure you need that class. And if you do, you must recognize that Pre-Cal is a necessary hurdle to get over for getting into med school. Even if you fail (YOU WILL NOT FAIL, I BELIEVE YOU WILL WORK HARD), you can take the class again, and show that you will do whatever it takes to reach your goal. But seriously, I want you to work your butt off, because one thing that i've realized about becoming a doctor, is that there will be things that you don't want to do, that you must do in order to reach your goals. Envision if that class was a patient? How hard are you willing to work? And please watch Khan Academy videos on YouTube. Sometimes, you will have a bad teacher. But if you find someone who explains things in a simple way, you will benefit and excel. Stay positive my friend. I believe in you
 
Pre-calc was by far the worst math class I've ever taken, including 2yrs AP calc and a bunch of college math courses. Pre-calc is just terrible. It's like middle school: it defines the low point of its educational genre.
 
I think pre-calc is not a waste of time nor is it terrible... It helps get you prepared for calc. Especially if you go over basic calculus topics (derivatives, integrals, tangent line prob ect.) it will really help when you have calculus which goes at a pretty fast speed, at least at our school.
 
Pro-tip: Do a problem, get it right, go back and do the same problem again and get it right again, then do it one more time. Move on to the next problem, repeat. This requires a greater time investment, but also better solidifies in your brain how the problems are supposed to work.

Hang in there! Pre-calc is definitely a pain in the rear, but it does eventually end. :) Get stubborn, get determined, get down to business, and get it done. :thumbup:
 
If you're only studying for 4 hours for an exam, just wait till you get to college and figure out that 4 hours isn't going to be enough to get a C...you have to study a little each day to keep up on the material. It sounds like you're not practicing enough.
 
Jpatel2018 said:
I think pre-calc is not a waste of time nor is it terrible... It helps get you prepared for calc. Especially if you go over basic calculus topics (derivatives, integrals, tangent line prob ect.) it will really help when you have calculus which goes at a pretty fast speed, at least at our school.
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Lol.

At least for me, precalc had nothing to do with calc. If anything, my trig class was the most helpful for calc.
 
Our pre-calc class actually got into doing integrals and derivatives including the tangent line problem and other calculus topics. And I don't know about your pre-calc class, but we did a lot of trig practice and we reviewed a lot of rationalizing, logs, and polynomials.
 
We didn't do that. All I remember about precalc was hitting on the hot chick who sat in front of me.
 
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That's one damn good reason then. You're the man!
 
Pre-cal was harder than calculus for most people. Just make it through and know it'll be better after this! And it's only high school, college is where grades matter much more
 
I remember pre-calc not being easy...But calculus 1 & 2 were HELL compared to that.

Granted I had to take calculus with analytic geometry. Which from my knowledge is what engineering/physics/chemistry(me)/math majors take. If you can get into the basic calculus, which is what they make bio majors and basically every other major take you should be a little better off.

I like math...or I liked it until calculus. Calculus has very important applications in life...but to be honest it makes no sense. I never knew what I was trying to do or when I was done with a problem.
 
iforget2 said:
Pre-cal was harder than calculus for most people. Just make it through and know it'll be better after this! And it's only high school, college is where grades matter much more
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Well the hard part about calculus wasn't the calculus, it was the algebra and pre-calc/trig.
 
Abstract math is a killer. Worse than Precalculus or Calculus IMO.
 
FantasyVesperia said:
This class made me re-think my career goals twice. A class never got me this angry, I'm so done with this class. Math in general just gets me frustrated. I'm starting to think that math is something your either good at, or not. I work too hard to get D's and F's on every test and expect nothing higher than a D on the test on Friday. Personally, I don't know how I'm maintaining a C in the class. This class has actually dropped my motivation, I don't really study much because I'll know I'll get an F or a D so what's the point right? The thing that really makes me laugh is that I'll spend four hours studying for pre-calc test (before I didn't care), and majority of the class will study for not even an hour and get an A or a B. Do you know how it feels to be the only one fail a test? I got an F and the rest of the class got a C's and up. The thing that bothers me the most are the ridiculous teacher comments, "It's fine, you'll be alright," or "You have great potential, just put all your effort into it and you'll be fine." It has got so annoying I feel like punching something. I try so hard to make my teacher happy, but constantly make myself look stupid. I said that I was going to work hard for this class and look where it got me. If I get a C or below on the next test, I'm changing my schedule for next year. I'm done.
Click to expand...

Could be curved. My quiz average in calc 3 was a 65. Exam average was about a 59 without the curve. Got like a 60 on the final and got a B. However, the professor openly told us she curved and my exam averages were better than most of my friends who averaged in the (20s-30s). I heard they still passed. Does help approaching the professor for help, I used to spend at least an hour in my professor's office asking questions even if we didn't have exams/quizzes that week. I may have had a C in the class but due to my effort, she gave me a B.
 
Seahawk said:
I remember pre-calc not being easy...But calculus 1 & 2 were HELL compared to that.

Granted I had to take calculus with analytic geometry. Which from my knowledge is what engineering/physics/chemistry(me)/math majors take. If you can get into the basic calculus, which is what they make bio majors and basically every other major take you should be a little better off.

I like math...or I liked it until calculus. Calculus has very important applications in life...but to be honest it makes no sense. I never knew what I was trying to do or when I was done with a problem.
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Not sure about you but I don't think I will be walking around and look at an object and decide to use multivariable calculus to find the volume by double integrating and using polar coordinates. :barf:
 
Dreamstoo said:
Not sure about you but I don't think I will be walking around and look at an object and decide to use multivariable calculus to find the volume by double integrating and using polar coordinates. :barf:
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True, it part of the game, if anything take stats, that the math of life and gambling.
 
0kazak1 said:
True, it part of the game, if anything take stats, that the math of life and gambling.
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Nope, one more Calc 4 exam and I'll make a bonfire of my calc books, quizzes, exams, and run around in joy screaming like a crazy man :thumbup:
 
Dreamstoo said:
Nope, one more Calc 4 exam and I'll make a bonfire of my calc books, quizzes, exams, and run around in joy screaming like a crazy man :thumbup:
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I didn't even have a textbook for Calc 4 (Diff Eq?). So, I didn't get to burn anything. :(
 
Dreamstoo said:
At my school
Calc 4 = Multivariable Calculus
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Uh okay. Yeah it really depends on the school My school had Multivariable as Calc 3. And then just Diff. Eq (it wasn't called Calc 4 though I think some schools do do this. )
 
0kazak1 said:
Uh okay. Yeah it really depends on the school My school had Multivariable as Calc 3. And then just Diff. Eq (it wasn't called Calc 4 though I think some schools do do this. )
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What was your major that made you take Calc 4?
 
To go off track a little, we took the final test, before the final exam part 1 & 2. It was on limits and area under a curve. I feel pretty confident, maybe a high C or low B. We'll see :)
 
FantasyVesperia said:
To go off track a little, we took the final test, before the final exam part 1 & 2. It was on limits and area under a curve. I feel pretty confident, maybe a high C or low B. We'll see :)
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Limits and the Area Problem are too fun!!!!!
 
Lol classmates think I'm weird cause I like to go home and spend all my time learning about the lessons we learned. Limits, integrals, derivatives and the area problem seem to be my fave at the moment. LOL
 
A lot of what you're saying is similar to how I feel with Calc II, but then again I'm attempting to self-study it (and failing miserably).

Though why would struggling with pre-calc make you re-think medicine? If you were struggling like this with bio or chem then maybe, but I don't think math is really a huge deal. Just take stats in college instead of calc? Or you may have to do Calc I and stats, not completely sure. Calc I isn't that bad and the only big things that carry over from pre-calc to calc are limits and derivatives, and some small things like finding asympotes, extrema, concavity, etc.

Also I don't think you said how you study (I didn't read every single reply so if you did, sorry). If you're staring at your notebook memorizing things then you aren't studying right. You have to understand how to do each problem. For calc, before tests I usually wrote down each formula/theorem/concept on a blank piece of computer paper over and over until I knew them and could write them faster than my own name. But understanding how to do every problem that was assigned was key.
 
YankeesMD said:
A lot of what you're saying is similar to how I feel with Calc II, but then again I'm attempting to self-study it (and failing miserably).

Though why would struggling with pre-calc make you re-think medicine? If you were struggling like this with bio or chem then maybe, but I don't think math is really a huge deal. Just take stats in college instead of calc? Or you may have to do Calc I and stats, not completely sure. Calc I isn't that bad and the only big things that carry over from pre-calc to calc are limits and derivatives, and some small things like finding asympotes, extrema, concavity, etc.

Also I don't think you said how you study (I didn't read every single reply so if you did, sorry). If you're staring at your notebook memorizing things then you aren't studying right. You have to understand how to do each problem. For calc, before tests I usually wrote down each formula/theorem/concept on a blank piece of computer paper over and over until I knew them and could write them faster than my own name. But understanding how to do every problem that was assigned was key.
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Youtube or mathtutordvd will help you.
 
Jpatel2018 said:
What was your major that made you take Calc 4?
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Biochem. I also took some stats classes to get the minor in math. I took both Vector Calc and Diff. Eq. my first semester in college.

If I wasn't lazy and at least 80% sure I could've gotten an 'A' I probably would've done Proofs (this is the class that makes Math Majors change their minds at my school) instead of stats and gone for the major.
 
0kazak1 said:
Biochem. I also took some stats classes to get the minor in math. I took both Vector Calc and Diff. Eq. my first semester in college.

If I wasn't lazy and at least 80% sure I could've gotten an 'A' I probably would've done Proofs (this is the class that makes Math Majors change their minds at my school) instead of stats and gone for the major.
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This is arguably the toughest class my friend who graduated took during his junior year. You must be really smart :thumbup:
 
I honestly know what you mean.
Math is just something that never came to me; and most of my family when I asked them!
I'll study for hours and the next day I won't be able to do ****. Just keep trying, my friend, try not to give up.
 
Yazo said:
I honestly know what you mean.
Math is just something that never came to me; and most of my family when I asked them!
I'll study for hours and the next day I won't be able to do ****. Just keep trying, my friend, try not to give up.
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For me, it was about the same. My father's brothers are all engineers and can go beyond vector calculus (my uncle's daughter, my cousin knew vector calculus before entering college). I tried asking questions of Calc I to my dad, he laughed and said, "I never understood any of that ****"
 
0kazak1 said:
Biochem. I also took some stats classes to get the minor in math. I took both Vector Calc and Diff. Eq. my first semester in college.

If I wasn't lazy and at least 80% sure I could've gotten an 'A' I probably would've done Proofs (this is the class that makes Math Majors change their minds at my school) instead of stats and gone for the major.
Click to expand...

It's funny how diff schools have way different versions of the same courses.

At my school, what you'd call 'Proofs' was a 100-level (though still difficult). I imagine that was because there were no prereqs for it at all, though, aside from maybe Calc which almost everyone had coming in. Had a solid A in that course until I just...didn't take the final due to extenuating circumstances which I foolishly didn't bother telling the school about. Or not so foolishly...'twas a strange situation!
 
I personally HATED, I repeat H-A-T-E-D Pre-Calc. :mad:

I was forced to take it as an inexperienced Sophomore thanks to the AFM class being full. It was the only class I've ever failed. I retook it Junior year and managed to get a passable C (Goodbye Top 10 GPA).

So to keep a long story short. SCREW PRE CALC! :thumbdown:
 
Solomon said:
I personally HATED, I repeat H-A-T-E-D Pre-Calc. :mad:

I was forced to take it as an inexperienced Sophomore thanks to the AFM class being full. It was the only class I've ever failed. I retook it Junior year and managed to get a passable C (Goodbye Top 10 GPA).

So to keep a long story short. SCREW PRE CALC! :thumbdown:
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Yeah, they had most of us (the ½ of my school who cared about grades at all) take it sophomore year so we could fit both AP Calc's in before graduation.
 
V3NOM said:
Youtube or mathtutordvd will help you.
Click to expand...

Using khan academy

mehc012 said:
Yeah, they had most of us (the ½ of my school who cared about grades at all) take it sophomore year so we could fit both AP Calc's in before graduation.
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Taking both AB and BC is extremely redundant and a huge waste of time.
 
YankeesMD said:
A lot of what you're saying is similar to how I feel with Calc II, but then again I'm attempting to self-study it (and failing miserably).

Though why would struggling with pre-calc make you re-think medicine? If you were struggling like this with bio or chem then maybe, but I don't think math is really a huge deal. Just take stats in college instead of calc? Or you may have to do Calc I and stats, not completely sure. Calc I isn't that bad and the only big things that carry over from pre-calc to calc are limits and derivatives, and some small things like finding asympotes, extrema, concavity, etc.

Also I don't think you said how you study (I didn't read every single reply so if you did, sorry). If you're staring at your notebook memorizing things then you aren't studying right. You have to understand how to do each problem. For calc, before tests I usually wrote down each formula/theorem/concept on a blank piece of computer paper over and over until I knew them and could write them faster than my own name. But understanding how to do every problem that was assigned was key.
Click to expand...

Alright, when I study for a test, I also rewrite the equations that we need to know about 10 - 20 times so it can become natural. Then I will do some more odd-numbered questions that weren't assigned in the homework, check my answers and re-read the question and look at the method of how I got my answer. This is pretty much it.
 
Honestly, pre-calc is pretty useful for calculus. The most important thing you should get out of pre-calc is the simplification of big and complicated looking irrational equations. If you get this down, calculus will be easy!

As someone else has said, there is a big difference between the math you are learning now and the one you're going to be applying in your science classes. In classes like general and physical chemistry, there is a specific reason why you perform every single mathematical step and this helps some student learn better. When I took physical chemistry and had to derive a whole bunch of equations, understanding the mathematical purpose behind each step really helped me learn the material.

I suggest that you take your time on your hw and really try understanding why you're doing a specific step, don't just do it because you vaguely remember seeing a similar problem using the same function. Ask yourself, why am I doing this specific step, and watch your math grades soar sky high :)
 
YankeesMD said:
Using khan academy



Taking both AB and BC is extremely redundant and a huge waste of time.
Click to expand...

Search for patrickjmt on youtube. In higher math related things, he is really good.
 
morisseth said:
I took Pre-Cal last year, and it was a very stressful class, I know. I was never very good at math, nor had an interest in it. But I struggled through it, took the pain, studied for hours, and managed to get an A. I was surprised that i passed the final. Make sure you need that class. And if you do, you must recognize that Pre-Cal is a necessary hurdle to get over for getting into med school. Even if you fail (YOU WILL NOT FAIL, I BELIEVE YOU WILL WORK HARD), you can take the class again, and show that you will do whatever it takes to reach your goal. But seriously, I want you to work your butt off, because one thing that i've realized about becoming a doctor, is that there will be things that you don't want to do, that you must do in order to reach your goals. Envision if that class was a patient? How hard are you willing to work? And please watch Khan Academy videos on YouTube. Sometimes, you will have a bad teacher. But if you find someone who explains things in a simple way, you will benefit and excel. Stay positive my friend. I believe in you
Click to expand...

Precal is not a hurdle to get over for getting into med school tbh
 
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