How to Ace Your Math Class

In my college history I've taken 4 math classes and have aced them all.  I can definitely say that by no means am I a genius, I've just discovered several tools that have helped me along the way.  This semester I'm taking Calculus 2 and Statistics, as well as Calculus based Physics 1 which could also benefit from these tips.  By writing this ible I'm hoping my experience will prove beneficial to those struggling in your mathematics classes this semester.

Step 1

Tip 1: I've found out quickly that not all instructors are created equally.  Especially in math.  I really feel for you if you're taking a difficult math class this semester taught by a stone face, monotone teacher that puts half the class asleep in 5 minutes.  If you find you're having a hard time learning from your instructor you may need to go elsewhere. 

On youtube there are plenty of helpful math videos; however there is one author that has set himself apart from the rest.  You can find his site here, PatrickJMT.

Trust me on this one.  I've watched math videos from many authors on Youtube, many of them are just as bad as the professors that put you to sleep.  Some have an accent so thick you can't understand them.  Of all the video's I've seen PatrickJMT has the best, and is the easiest to understand.

Comments

[shadow wave rider]

thanks. im year 7 and ive got a math test thingo coming up about fractions. our teacher says its hard. he says he coud give some of the questions to the staff and not even they would get them right. the test is some sort of worldwide called the ICAS. fortunatly i get to miss out on 5th period. yay

[must invent]

You're taking Paper E or F?

[shadow wave rider]

im not sure. i live in aussie so it is probly different to americcan

[must invent]

I live in the Philippines, so I took Paper E

[auwalup]

not bad with bagatrix

[SonOfaVermonter]

WolframAlpha probably helps me with 50% of my chemistry homework. I wish more people knew about it. Nice 'ible my good man.

[farzadbayan]

(removed by author or community request)

[critterfluffy]

This isn't fraud unless you abuse it. Having the answers there will help boost confidence when doing the problem and prevent you from worrying about what your are doing before you have even finished. Just ensure you only look after you are done. Knowing you got it right will help you feel good about your answers and prevent you from thinking you know how to do it and come to find you didn't at test time.

As long as you don't turn in a photocopy of the back of the book to your teacher it is fine. Also, I am sure it doesn't give you the answer step by step, just the final answer. Your teacher( or TA ) should still check that you showed your work properly.

[farzadbayan]

Sorry ! I understand it now . That isn't fraud . It's a very helpful reason . Thanks for your nice job !

[noirengineer]

thanks this hit the spot :)

* got math class tomorrow evening; appreciate all the tips

[Spaceman Spiff]

No problem, I really hope they help.

[CameronSS]

Just wondering, what kind of calculator are you using that couldn't solve
∫ (1/x)(sin x) faster than Wolfram Alpha? WA is a great tool, I used it all the time last year to confirm answers if I wasn't sure I'd done them right, it's just sometimes a pain to enter an equation in a format it understands..

[Spaceman Spiff]

I attempted this on a TI-86, then on Bagatrix: Calculus Solved. Both of them couldn't calculate it, or I should say, they gave me wrong answers. I've since used WolframAlpha to double check anything I wasn't sure about and it's been amazing.

I for one am not a big fan of the graphing calculator anyways, I may not have been using mine correctly. Seriously though, these things can be so much smaller and easier to use. In any case, WA is a life saver.

[CameronSS]

Weird, my TI-83+ is considered a more basic calculator and it gave me the correct answer.

WA is also handy for quick information...I often need to know sun/moon rise/set times or quick weather, and just typing "sun" or "weather" has it check your IP and local data. Quite handy.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yup, probably my error, It's a good thing I didn't need it! I think in all the years of math I've taken I've seriously used my graphing calculator less than 10 times. The best thing I've used it for was to find the surface area of a curve revolved around an axis. I've gotten along great using other methods for everything else.

[noirengineer]

This is so true! I’ve been really enjoying these videos!

[PKM]

"This could only be the man they call... Mr. Billion.

ANSWER: 1,000,000,000"

Given the conjunction of the topic and your name I expected the solution to involve blistering bolts of frap ray :)

[Spaceman Spiff]

Ha Ha, I was thinking about it!