Study plan for Spivak's Calculus

carlosbgois

The main textbook for my calculus course is much easier to grasp than Spivak's,
and I may be in risk of getting behind the class, as I take much more time in each subject when using spivak instead of the indicated book.

Then, I was thinking about solving all the exercises on spivak which have answers in the book (I think they're 1/2 of the total), and moving on to the next chapter's, to come back for all exercises if I find some free time.

Is it a good plan? Will I be able to understand the next chapters by doing only half of the exercises?

Thanks

micromass

Yes, certainly. In fact, you'll be able to understand everything without making any exercise at all!! I don't think Spivak hides essential stuff in his exercises...

That said, exercises improve your intuiton and might give you examples, counterexamples, techniques, etc. that you wouldn't normally have. So while making exercises isn't necessary, it certainly has a lot of value. The more exercises you make, the more you understand what exactly is going on!

carlosbgois

Thank you. I've always had some doubt about what is best, in relation to time spent and amount or learning: reading or exercising. I'd rather be able to read and learn, and apply the knowledge only when really necessary, instead of spending a lot of time exercising, but I'm coming to the conclusion that exercising is way better then reading and re-reading.