''In Calculus I (and II), I wish I had paid more attention to . . . ''
(advice from Dr. Woodland's Calculus III students, Fall 1999)
I wish I had paid more attention to the way the equations looked on the graph.
I do not really know what they look like now and I feel I would do a lot better
in your class if I did.
The thing I wish I had paid more attention to in Cal I was curve sketching of
more complicated functions.
I wish that I had paid more attention to limits in Cal I . . . and the surfaces and
volumes of revolution and how to calculate them. The main reason for this is
that there are several engineering courses that I am taking now in which we are
using revolved objects. I am having to re-teach myself everything I should have
picked up in Cal I.
I wish I had paid more attention to trig derivatives and methods in Cal I.
I have forgotten a lot of these. I also wish I had paid more attention to related rates
and max/min volume problems. I believe if I knew these better,
I would be doing better in Cal III.
Things I wish I had learned better are: trig functions, rules, and geometry.
Things that help me for homework and tests are: when working problems,
write out explanation so it makes it easier to figure out later on when studying.
Moreover, make out reference guides with equations, theorems, definitions, and so on.
I wish in Cal I wish I paid more attention to the use of radians. Every time radians come up
I have to think a little more than I would like. I also wish I paid attention to limits more carefully.
I wish that I had paid more attention to the applications of Calculus to everyday problems.
I understand pretty well when told how to do something. The problems come when I have
word problems or when there is more than one way to produce an answer. I just have
problems getting started. I believe that if I had a better understanding about exactly why
I did something, instead of just going through the motions to produce a result, I would
be much better off.
If I could change anything about Cal I, I would have a better UNDERSTANDING of
what integration is even though my professor tried to pound it into our heads. I was so busy
just trying to keep up and compute them that I really didn't understand what I was doing.
Integrals are very useful in upper level classes, so that is what I would change.
I wish I had paid more attention to the minor details and formulas of Calculus I.
I didn't know that they would come back to haunt me in Calculus III. I wish I had
gone to class every day and taken notes. It definitely makes life a lot easier. Going to see
the teacher when you have a problem is always a good idea. The farther you get behind
in a class, the harder it is to catch up.
Related rates; trig-related problems I always try to avoid these; word problems
did not have to do very many in past calculus classes, so it is harder to do them now.
The thing that I wish I had paid more attention to in Cal I is finding the equation of a line,
and also related rates. These are just some things that I still struggle with now which
would probably have been easier if I had a strong foundation.
I wish I paid more attention in Cal I to my teacher. The advice that every teacher gives
is to go to class and take notes. Well, I did this maybe 1/3 of the time. Also, I wish I
paid more attention to the rules of limits and logs.
I wish I had paid more attention to related rates and max/min application problems in
Calculus I. I had the most trouble with these areas in Cal III so far.
I should have learned integrals and derivatives in Calculus I. Integrals of tanX, cosX, and sinX
are a big problem for me. I am okay with regular integrals such as X^2 and Sqrt(X).
Learn what the definitions and theorems are really saying, not just memorizing them
well enough to pass the exams.
Word problems and related rates. Don't like them, however, they put all the definitions
and theorems to a practical use.
I wish I had learned to use my math skills in the varied applications that they deal with
especially area and related rates.
In Cal I, I wish that I had learned more about the concepts of math and how to use that
common knowledge in word problems instead of just math equations.
Truthfully, I think I am still learning Cal I, the whole subject in general is still wishy-washy,
but I think I would have paid attention to integration. I understand the general idea, really it's
more of Cal II integration I don't fully understand (ex. Integration by parts).
I wish I had paid more attention to series and summations of series in Calculus II.
I never really understood them, and they brought my grade down.
Most of my regrets come from Cal II. I wish that I had attended class more often,
so I guess I wish I'd learned to listen to my alarm clock. I wish I knew more about
trigonometric substitution, integration by parts, and most of all, series. I wish I'd learned
more about related rates in Cal I. I suppose that I also wish I had a better grip on
(exponential) decay and growth. Iım positive that if I'd learned the thing about
going to class, then everything else would have been easy to get a good understanding.
I wish I had paid attention to my alarm clock; it always knew best.
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last modified on 23 Oct 2002