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I have never failed so horribly in math since 5th grade. I don't know why, but I just can't pass the tests. I mean, I do kind of understand it, but I always fail the tests. I don't know what to do. I pay attention in class, I do the homework. But the teacher usually assigns the homework, then talk about it the day after, then collects it when half of my homework is unfinished because I didn't know how to do it. It's killing me!! I don't know what to do! It's going to hurt my grades so bad.

By Athlonmj (Athlonmj) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 12:28 pm: Edit

Go in early in the morning and have the teacher help you 1 on 1.

By Vtoodler (Vtoodler) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 05:51 pm: Edit

or go after school. Other tips are....

buy Calculus for dummies. The book explains calculus in lamen's terms unlike many calc textbooks. This book gives you the basic concepts on which your teacher will elaborate on.

Do extra problems for homework. Buy 3000 sovled calculus problems. The thing about math is that the more practice you get, the better you'll get.

Get some help from the web. try purplemath.com. Or just google a calc question. You may find some useful info. I did.

If all else fails, then you could post a brain-racking calculus problem here on cc. You know that there are a lot of math gurus on this board.

oh, one last thing, (please don't be insulted)--make sure that it is calculus that's killing you and not algebra or trig. A lot of the kids in my calc ab class don't get calc because they weren't taught the underlining algebraic and/or trigonometric concepts.

By Fabrizio (Fabrizio) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 06:59 pm: Edit

A. Be Calm.
B. Read the TEXT carefully. Not notes. The text.
C. Do the example problems as they come in the text.
D. Do the homework.

You'll be fine. At first, Calculus is pretty hard.

By Sherman1 (Sherman1) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 07:06 pm: Edit

come to my school. my calc teacher doesnt give homework and you can redo every test and classwork assignment for a 100. usually only 1-2 people out of a class of 20 dont make a 100 in his class. bliss.

By Thebiggambino (Thebiggambino) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 10:23 pm: Edit

Firstly, Sherman1, I hate you. My calculus teacher only gives A's to her favorite 7 students (I am one of them) out of a class of 33. She is one of those teachers that still believes in only the top students getting A's, and that most deserve C's.

Well, that aside, Mimi, I would suggest that you do some one-on-one with the teacher, if nothing else it will help the teacher know that you care about your grade and you are willing to work to change it. This will help when semester grades are determined, it can bump you up if you are borderline. The next thing that you should do is to not simply do the homework, but UNDERSTAND the homework. Many of my friends just plug the numbers into the calculator and do not understant what they are doing. This does not help at test time, since my teacher does not allow the use of calculators... I hope yours does.

I hope this helps.

By Magoo112 (Magoo112) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 05:32 am: Edit

I had two tests: one on precal (as a summer review) and one on derivatives... I get 100 on derivates and I think I got a 70-80 on precal... wtf.

Anyways, calculus really isn't that hard, just grasp the concept I guess and remember the formulas? I unno. My teacher just tells us: "If you want, do every problem for chapter 3.1-3.6" It's about 5-6 hrs work, maybe more, but you get 100 on the tests and really know everything.

Basically, that's what I do to "understand" everything. Practice and reading the text 10^10 times.

By Chocoman (Chocoman) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 06:47 pm: Edit

practice, practice practice. ask for help. then practice some more.

By Guitarshredder (Guitarshredder) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 07:25 pm: Edit

Check out this link:

http://www.karlscalculus.org/calculus.html

It is a great resource.

By Philntex (Philntex) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 04:06 pm: Edit

Mimi, I definitely know how you feel. I've never done so poorly in a class before, which sucks. The first grading period was okay (87), but out of the three tests we've taken this grading period, I've failed two. However, I've started asking some friends for help, and that's helped a lot. Our teacher isn't that great at explaining things on a level I can understand (yeah, I know I sound stupid, but whateva), so it's good to have people you can trust breaking it down for you. Besides, study parties filled with caffeine and occasional movie breaks are the diggity.

By Ultimatemath (Ultimatemath) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 06:35 pm: Edit

As a person who loves math and has 1st place in Calculus, I would say that if you want to be good at math, you always have to think math in and outside of your mathclass. When you hear this, you might say, "what kind of nerd is he?", but someday, you will understand what I am trying to express in these few words.

Some tips if I may:

1. Understand the concept
2. Understand the concept
3. Understand the concept
4. You got the point?

Hey, I don't know if I am a good example, but I don't even read text book and I only take notes because I don't like my hands doing nothing in class. However, I always try to understand the underlying concept and pattern. The benefit of this is that I practically excel in every science/math class. Why? Because I understand.

By Guitarshredder (Guitarshredder) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 07:01 pm: Edit

"I would say that if you want to be good at math, you always have to think math in and outside of your mathclass."

I completely agree.

I was never that great at math until I got into physics and I was able to visualize and understand the concepts better. Thinking about math and connecting different concepts helps a lot.

Another great idea is seeing your teacher early for help if you don't understand something. That has also helped me a lot.

By Fabrizio (Fabrizio) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 09:03 pm: Edit

A friend of mine passed Calculus I with a C last year as a senior.

He claimed to "understand" calculus, but come on - if he understood it, then he would have made an A or at least a B.

If you REALLY understand it, then you should be able to apply it in any shape, way, or form. If you can't, then you haven't understood it.