Preparing for Calc II: Tips and Resources for Success

[Quixot]

What would be on your list if you were preparing for Calc II right after Calc I? If you could point out some web-sites or places to review, test, and check my existing knowledge and see if it satisfactory for a Calc II class.

Thanks.

 

[Highway]

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/

go here and teach yourself how to integrate . . . best thing you can do for yourself

 

[Highway]

you can't really do much in 3 days, so just google u-substitution since i don't see it on here, and start doing some integration by parts problems (IBP)

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcII/IntegrationByParts.aspx

you can also get this book for a penny and $3.99 shipping: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0070434093/?tag=pfamazon01-20

it was my secret weapon for calc2, as it had all of the derivatives and integrals of normal functions listed conveniently in the front, as well as log rules, exponents, etc. and the typical theorems for shells / cylinders, etc.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

I just finished it.

There are some neat little tricks that were helpful on some of the problems. Adding and subtracting a number from the numerator of a fraction to factor and split it. Things like that. It's important to know your trigonometric identities, particularly the half-angle. Completing the square happens quite often too. Aside from that, you really should just fully understand all of the calculus I material. I thought the following topics were more challenging than the rest, and you might work ahead before your course gets to these sections:

Parametric/Polar tangents and arclength
Sequence and Series
Integrals with Partial fractions/trig-sub/by-parts.

The "material" for the integrals sections is not difficult, however, there were (for me at least) many challenging integrals that involved many "tricks" involving algebra/trig that I would not have considered using.