Questions on first year undergrad math courses

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges faced by a first-year undergraduate student in an honors calculus course that is primarily focused on real analysis. Participants explore the difficulty of the course, the effectiveness of the teaching, and the student's preparedness for such material.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses difficulty with the course material and questions whether the challenges stem from the course difficulty, the professor's teaching style, or their own preparedness.
  • Another participant questions the appropriateness of the course for the student, suggesting that prior calculus experience may be necessary for success.
  • A different participant reassures the student that struggling with analysis is common and indicates that it may be overwhelming for someone without prior exposure to upper-level mathematics.
  • One participant confirms that analysis is generally considered a challenging subject, particularly for math majors.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the course is difficult and that many students find analysis challenging. However, there is no consensus on whether the difficulty is primarily due to the professor's teaching or the student's background and preparedness.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the importance of prior calculus experience and the potential need for supplementary resources, but do not resolve the specific challenges faced by the student in understanding proofs or exercises.

Who May Find This Useful

First-year undergraduate students in mathematics or related fields, particularly those struggling with advanced calculus or real analysis courses.

oinky
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It's the middle of the semester of my first year and I'm finding this math course extremely difficult. The course is essentially teaching real analysis and they labeled the course honors calculus. I am finding the professor is not teaching the material well which made me find some supplementary books: Calculus, M Spivak and Understanding Analysis , S Abbott . I guess what I mean to ask is: is it really supposed to be this difficult or should I just not be taking this course, or is it the professor? If it is considered really difficult is there something I can do to help me understand it better? I've been reading quite a bit but when I go to the exercises I sometimes don't know where to start. A big problem is when I understand the questions and know the answers but can't turn my thoughts into a proof. Any thoughts appreciated thank you.
 
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I'm not sure what kind of answers you expect to get. How can we (strangers from the interwebz) say anything about the quality of your professor??

Did you do well in calculus in high school? Did you even take calculus in high school? If not, you're probably in the wrong class.

Edit - sorry if that sounds harsh. Welcome to PF, you can get a lot of help here if you can ask specific questions. Maybe take one of the exercises giving you trouble, and work your way through it in a separate thread here.
 
If you're worried that you aren't cut out for STEM or something, I wouldn't sweat it too much. It sounds like you've been benefiting from the use of an actual analysis textbook, and so I would guess that it's just a lot for a freshman without experience in upper level math classes to digest.
 
Yes, analysis is supposed to be difficult. It's probably the most difficult class many math majors take.
 
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