I got an easy A is calculus, but a hard to obtain B+ in precalc
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Hey, BoxingTiger,
I'm with you. When I first took calculus, I was blown away by the simplicity and elegance with which it allows us to solve problems that are so tedious and labor-intensive using algebra and trigonometry.
Some people find calculus to be more difficult, though.
I think it's got something to do with different thinking-styles.
There are people who like to solve problems by memorizing rules and step-by-step algorithms, and learning how to apply these to come up with "correct solutions" on exams. I think these people typically have a difficult time when it comes to calculus, because then they have to memorize a whole new set of step-by-step algorithms, and nothing ever really makes sense to them anyway.
On the other hand, those of us who like to figure out the overall patterns and grasp the hidden meanings behind all this mathematical symbolism find that calculus opens up a whole world of possibilities! I gotta tell ya, it blew my mind, and made me think about the way the universe works in a whole new way.
I think people who see the overall patterns in mathematics -- the symbolic "poetry" of it all -- naturally take to the beauty and elegance of calculus. On the other hand, people who look at mathematics as a set of random rules and algorithms to be memorized probably prefer statistics and other numerical methods.
I'm with you. When I first took calculus, I was blown away by the simplicity and elegance with which it allows us to solve problems that are so tedious and labor-intensive using algebra and trigonometry.
Some people find calculus to be more difficult, though.
I think it's got something to do with different thinking-styles.
There are people who like to solve problems by memorizing rules and step-by-step algorithms, and learning how to apply these to come up with "correct solutions" on exams. I think these people typically have a difficult time when it comes to calculus, because then they have to memorize a whole new set of step-by-step algorithms, and nothing ever really makes sense to them anyway.
On the other hand, those of us who like to figure out the overall patterns and grasp the hidden meanings behind all this mathematical symbolism find that calculus opens up a whole world of possibilities! I gotta tell ya, it blew my mind, and made me think about the way the universe works in a whole new way.
I think people who see the overall patterns in mathematics -- the symbolic "poetry" of it all -- naturally take to the beauty and elegance of calculus. On the other hand, people who look at mathematics as a set of random rules and algorithms to be memorized probably prefer statistics and other numerical methods.
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Precalc puts you into a whole new world of polar and parametrics that you've never experienced before, whereas in calculus you're dealing with prior knowlege with functions and what not. So thats prolly the reason why pre calc is a bit hard for a few
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Probably because you're taking it in high school.