# Studying Having a hard time studying maths atm

#### nmego12345

I'm having trouble processing math atm, I'm a perfectionist so each time I delve into a topic on my "self-study" I try to understand all of it. but that generally takes too long a time to focus on other "important" math stuff that actually matters right then

like studying some trig stuff and trying to memorize, understand and prove all the trig identites on the wikipedia page. not to mention that delving relatively deep into some stuff and leaving them for like a month or so to focus on other stuff makes me kinda forget all I've studied once I returned to it 1 month later so I study it again, wasting more time.

#### fresh_42

Mentor
2018 Award
You haven't told us which level of mathematics we are talking about, except trigonometry. Trigonometry is full of formulas, and only a few dozen should come automatically to mind: definition of $\sin \, , \,\cos\, , \,\tan\, , \,\cot$, maybe the addition theorems and antiderivatives, Pythagoras, Thales, some areas and volumes. The rest can be looked up whenever needed.

To understand all of them, it only needs a circle and a right triangular. The rest are more or less deductions from them.

This is what I would do as a general strategy: read over it and try to understand what the goal is and maybe think about yourself how it could be achieved. Only then start reading it in detail. This way you can see what the details actually are good for. You do not have to memorize how Pythagoras or Thales are proven, but their content.

#### symbolipoint

Homework Helper
Gold Member
I'm having trouble processing math atm, I'm a perfectionist so each time I delve into a topic on my "self-study" I try to understand all of it. but that generally takes too long a time to focus on other "important" math stuff that actually matters right then

like studying some trig stuff and trying to memorize, understand and prove all the trig identites on the wikipedia page. not to mention that delving relatively deep into some stuff and leaving them for like a month or so to focus on other stuff makes me kinda forget all I've studied once I returned to it 1 month later so I study it again, wasting more time.
Too much "stuff". I like fresh_42's comments.

Use wikipedia just as an occasionally convenient reference. Use your assigned textbook and maybe one or two other's (for Trigonometry) that you like. Learn and understand the basic fundamentals, including the use of the Unit Circle. When you read the textbook, you want to read each section two times, while THINKING, and then reread any parts of the section additional times to try to understand better or cut-down some of (but not all of ) the confusion.
...There is more, but not saying right now.

If you are studying Trigonometry on your own not enrolled in a course, then use some actual syllabus and keep a regular study schedule. You must include regular section exercise problems.

"Having a hard time studying maths atm"

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