Beginner's Guide to Calculus: Free Online Courses & Resources

[Larrytsai]

Hey,
can anyone please post some free online calculus courses?
Right now I am in Gr.11 and i am currently taking Physics 11 and I sort of want to get ahead in Calculus. I have no idea where to start in calculus and I don't think I have any clue what Calculus is and what to do. So a site that teaches you from the very beginning would be pleased.

I've tried many sites I've even downloaded books, so any recommendation on books would be nice.

Remember I am very VERY new to calculus its like learning 1+1 all over again

 

[rocomath]

I hate reading stuff on the internet, or reading anything on the computer in general. Book recommendations:

Calculus by Stewart - good introductory, optional solution manual if needed.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/053439339X/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Calculus Made Easy - I'm pretty sure you can check this out at any library.

Schaum's Outline of Calculus - go to Barnes and read it for free.

 

[Defennder]

I strongly advise against Schaum's outlines for a person who wants to learn Calculus from scratch. Stewart's calculus is advisable.

 

[ranger]

Here are some online video lectures:
http://online.math.uh.edu/Math1314/
http://dli.taftcollege.edu/streams/Calculus/calculus.htm
http://www.math.ncsu.edu/calculus/web/videos.html#ma141 (Calculus I, II, & III video lectures)

 

[Hammie]

I love the local friend of the library book sale. I have a library full of stuff from these sales from geometry to number theory, tensor analysis, advanced calculus, all kinds of stuff..

the advanced calculus book by Solkonikoff and the other by Apostel really helped prepare me for real analysis.

"even you can be a genius, for two dollars a bag."

:)

 

[Larrytsai]

well right now i currently have the Stewarts thrid edition calculus book and right now I've read a couple pages scanned through the book and its still confusing :|. I think i should just wait and keep studying physics until i take the calculus course for school.

 

[rocomath]

I agree that it's confusing and best to have a lecture introduce you to the concepts. After a few weeks you will probably be able to self-study on your own. Plus, you can always post here :-]

 

[Hammie]

I first studied Calculus on my own from an old book from the book sale here.. it was published in something like 1927 or so.

H.B. Phillips, PHD
Published in London, wonder how it made it's way to the states..

1927.

The only difference between this and the class I later took.. they showed me how to use a graphing calculator..

plus no vector calculus in the old book.

I learned math "backwards".. had to go back and learn how to do algebra, partial fraction decomposition, factoring, etc..

 

[Larrytsai]

I first studied Calculus on my own from an old book from the book sale here.. it was published in something like 1927 or so.

H.B. Phillips, PHD
Published in London, wonder how it made it's way to the states..

1927.

The only difference between this and the class I later took.. they showed me how to use a graphing calculator..

plus no vector calculus in the old book.

I learned math "backwards".. had to go back and learn how to do algebra, partial fraction decomposition, factoring, etc..

hmm i was wonderin if i could get the book name if not in posted in there

 

[Hammie]

The book name is worn off the cover.. on the title page it's just "Calculus".

Looks like it really was published in U.S.

New York
John Wiley and Sons Inc

Stewart's was really good though.

This old book didn't go into a lot of explanation about the algebra involved. Forced me to go to other sources to figure out what was going on. Maybe that's why I remember the material in Calc I and II so well.

One thing I can say.. no knowledge I have gained from old material was wasted effort.

 

[Larrytsai]

oh. Well i don't think algebra would be a major problem for me. I just want to understand some calculus so i can fully understand Prof Shankhar from yale in his free online lectures

 

[rocomath]

oh. Well i don't think algebra would be a major problem for me. I just want to understand some calculus so i can fully understand Prof Shankhar from yale in his free online lectures

Link please

 

[Larrytsai]

Link please

http://open.yale.edu/courses/physics/fundamentals-of-physics/home.html

seems really confusing if you don't know calculus. I only understood how to use the formulas not where they came from and how they got the formulas cause the calculus explains it i guess :|

 

[Hammie]

I think almost anything you can find would help. I personally like something written in front of me. Almost anything published in the last fifty years won't exactly steer you in the wrong direction..

anything that deals with differential and integral calculus would probably help..

MIT offers a downloadable package:

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Mathematics/18-01Fall-2006/DownloadthisCourse/index.htm

 

[nanoWatt]

Someone recommended on another thread: www.midnighttutor.com
I found this to be very informative and easy to understand.

 

[Larrytsai]

Someone recommended on another thread: www.midnighttutor.com
I found this to be very informative and easy to understand.

well that would help if i knew just a bit of calculus. I'm coming from straight out of physics 11 with no calculus background. I don't even know what a function is >.<. I've looked up the def but still makes not much sense like i knw that f (x) is probably a function (hopefully I am right) but i don't knw what f (x) means

 

[rocomath]

Well you may not know the "formal" definition of a function, but you have certainly used it a lot ...