Is it possible to skip precalc/trig? for calc

[TheKracken]

Is it possible to skip precalc/trig? for calc

Hey, I am in Algebra 2 right now, and I would like to start taking calculus if possible next year? Either I will take the AP Calc class at my high school or go to a local community college and take calc 1 first semester and then calc 2 second...(what would you recommend me doing?high school or college) Also do I need precalc/trig for calc? because I have heard a lot of people have skiped pre-calc...so just woundering how essential it is? or maby I could try to self teach myself some over the summer, and in that case, what is important for calc? thank you for your help!

 

[Woopy]

You need trigonometry to do calculus, going from algebra 2 to calculus would not be possible without knowledge in trig

 

[TheKracken]

what about pre-calc then? I can take a trig course over the summer f I wanted, so that's no problem, but what about pre calc? also what in trig is essential?

 

[Highway]

You need trigonometry to do calculus, going from algebra 2 to calculus would not be possible without knowledge in trig

don't listen to this. you can def skip trig/precalc and go straight to calc. as long as you can use a unit circle, you should be fine with the trig. precalc spends weeks on the first thing you learn in calc1, so it's pretty much a big waste of time.

the best thing you can do for yourself imo is to get a calc1 demystified or this bob miller book [ https://www.amazon.com/dp/0070434085/?tag=pfamazon01-20 ], since they will do a comprehensive review of the algebra/trig you need, and then streamline the calc topics, enabling you to familiarize yourself with them in less time before starting the class.

 

[Woopy]

You just need to be well versed in your unit circle, the various ways to manipulate sin and cos to get certain things. You need to know conic sections well from algebra 2 and be able to do algebra operations sufficiently. Seems to me that precalc was more or less like algebra 2 with the difficulty amped up a little bit, so I suppose it would be possible. The problem is most schools have college algebra and trig as one class so you can't really skip 1. What grade are you in, you might be getting a little ahead of yourself.

 

[Woopy]

how can you say you don't need trig...taking derivatives of trig functions without understanding what they are is ludicrous.

 

[TheKracken]

I'm in grade 10, I am take Algebra 2, AP physics (algebra based) (AP is the first year college course of somthing) chemistry, astronomy and those are my math/sciences, could someone give me a little more detail of what I need to learn before hand specifically :)

 

[Highway]

how can you say you don't need trig...taking derivatives of trig functions without understanding what they are is ludicrous.

just because you need an entire specialized course to be able to take the derivative of sin(x) doesn't mean that everyone else does. . .

 

[Highway]

I'm in grade 10, I am take Algebra 2, AP physics (algebra based) (AP is the first year college course of somthing) chemistry, astronomy and those are my math/sciences, could someone give me a little more detail of what I need to learn before hand specifically :)

get an AP calc book for the class you are taking (probably AP Calc AB) and see if you are comfortable with the material. . .

 

[Woopy]

ok well point is one way or another he needs to know what sin and cos and tan (as well as their inverses) and be able to know what the graphs look like. Taking the derivative of sin x without knowing what sin even is just seems dumb. You should atleast have a full understanding of what those things mean. You can't even skip so its out of the question. Calculus classes have trig as a prerequisite anyway, so its not like you will be able to just skip it

 

[Highway]

ok well point is one way or another he needs to know what sin and cos and tan (as well as their inverses) and be able to know what the graphs look like.

would literally take less than 5 mins to learn.

 

[TheKracken]

ya, its Calc AB, and I've looked through the book and the info doesn't seem to hard without a bit of practice, I just need to learn the concepts and such, and as for not being able to take Calc, my high school is allowing me to skip our pre calc/trig course and go straight to calculus, but I am thinking it would be a good idea to get some knolege of trig (I alredy understand unit circle and finding angels and side lengths of right triangles...but that is about it)

 

[Highway]

ya, its Calc AB, and I've looked through the book and the info doesn't seem to hard without a bit of practice, I just need to learn the concepts and such, and as for not being able to take Calc, my high school is allowing me to skip our pre calc/trig course and go straight to calculus, but I am thinking it would be a good idea to get some knolege of trig (I alredy understand unit circle and finding angels and side lengths of right triangles...but that is about it)

you'll be fine. just read / study / work problems from the ap calc prep/review book so that you will already be familiar with everything by the time the class rolls around. if you have an entire summer before the class starts, that would be ideal. you could probably cover the entire book in depth.

 

[TheKracken]

If i find a concept difficult do you know any resources I could use to suport the material in the book? because I ofton find a lot of my textbook show you step 1-5 (just and example) but they don't explain how they went from step 1 to 2 and so on

 

[Highway]

If i find a concept difficult do you know any resources I could use to suport the material in the book? because I ofton find a lot of my textbook show you step 1-5 (just and example) but they don't explain how they went from step 1 to 2 and so on

https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=3650128&postcount=4

schaum's manuals are usually good for practice problems, or any calculus text that is on cramster -- the solutions to the odd questions are freely available, and make a great resource to use for practice.

 

[eumyang]

Hey, I am in Algebra 2 right now, and I would like to start taking calculus if possible next year? Either I will take the AP Calc class at my high school or go to a local community college and take calc 1 first semester and then calc 2 second...(what would you recommend me doing?high school or college) Also do I need precalc/trig for calc? because I have heard a lot of people have skiped pre-calc...so just woundering how essential it is? or maby I could try to self teach myself some over the summer, and in that case, what is important for calc? thank you for your help!

I consider precalculus = college algebra + trigonometry. Why is it important to rush into calculus? Not only is trig needed, but having strong algebra skills is a must. Some students struggle with calculus because they rushed into it at the expense of having a good algebra and trig background. At the very least, taking precalc will give you a chance to strengthen your algebra skills. (If your algebra skills are very strong, then maybe you'll won't have a problem.)

 

[Vanadium 50]

I think that much of the advice you are getting is terrible.

If your only goal is to pass Calc 1, sure, you can skip analytic geometry and trig and you might get by. If your goal is to actually learn something, you should take those classes. Math profs are irate over the trend to rush to calculus - because these students (despite their passing grades) are often unprepared for college-level math. Including a serious Calc course.

 

[iRaid]

You can't skip trig and go to calculus because about 75% of the problems involve trig in calculus (at least in my class).. Also what's the rush, you'll have plenty of time to take calc, no need to rush and screw up your grades.

 

[DrummingAtom]

I did skip Precalc/Trig and went straight to Calc I. When I say "skip," I mean I never ever took Precalc/Trig classes before but I did self study them before taking Calc I. It worked for me but I had a lot of discipline to self study so it depends on the OP's case. In Calc I, we had some Trig stuff come up but mostly basic things. Calc 2 is where Trig becomes extremely important and if you don't know it by then it's going to be detrimental to your success.

I do fully agree with what Vanadium said. I saw some kids really struggle with Calc I and 2 because they didn't have solid basics down. Taking Precalc/Trig can only help you. If you get bored in those classes, then ask the teacher to give you some harder exercises or search for more challenging problems.