Can I Become a Particle Physicist? How to Improve Mathematics

[QuantumJon]

I've already decided to go off to college, and take the scienceline to work with. I'm just very unsure if I can become what I want to become. My dream is to work in the field of particle physics, and I'm not sure if I'm capable of it (this is because I lack some skills in mathematics).

I got an A in my physics exam, and a C in my mathematics (I got D in my head calculation). Is there any good ways to improve this, before I'm off to university in about three years, and how so? I hope I can become better in college, but the calculation is of course harder than high school, so if I lack some skills there, I might just also lack in college.

Should I try to improve drastically, or should I just stay in my average way of calculating?

 

[jbrussell93]

I got an A in my physics exam, and a C in my mathematics (I got D in my head calculation). Is there any good ways to improve this, before I'm off to university in about three years, and how so? I hope I can become better in college, but the calculation is of course harder than high school, so if I lack some skills there, I might just also lack in college.

Should I try to improve drastically, or should I just stay in my average way of calculating?

For some reason, many people think that in order to be labeled "good" at math you must be able to instantly calculate anything in your head. This is not at all true. Math majors don't just add numbers in their head all day, as some people may believe. Mathematics is much more than mental math calculations. If you want to get better at math then I would suggest PRACTICING (and this doesn't mean practicing multiplying numbers in your head). If your class assigns only the odds, then do the evens as well. Practicing math is like practicing anything else, or even building muscle. The more you practice with math, the more comfortable you will become. The more comfortable you become, the easier it gets. The easier it gets, the more enjoyable it becomes. And the more enjoyable it becomes, the more you will WANT to practice and... the cycle continues. It really is a "snowball effect", and the end result is that you WILL improve.