math/calculus /precalculus help

[srainbow]

Hi haven't posted since new forum. Not quick at this yet. Anyway, my 10th daughter (and I) will finish up her Saxon Advanced math book in about a month. My question is should she take pre-calculus at the community college in the spring. She took the placement test and actually tested out of pre-calculus and could take calculus but for a couple reasons we would like to wait until the fall for calculus. Should she take pre-calc even if Advanced Math covers it mostly and she tested out of it? I think it might be a good idea to get her used to college prof. and new pace of class and maybe build confidence. My husband thinks she doesn't need to take the class andI admit it will takea bit of extra time out of the week to take it. If she doesn't take it, what do I do with her? I can spend the first part of the spring semester getting her ready for a math competition in Feb. Then maybe review for PSAT in fall? Maybe even delve into calc. a little bit with my old college book in April and May?

Still undecided what is best. First she said she didn't want to take calc in the fall unless she had taken pre-calc at the college this spring. Then after test result she said like her dad that maybe it wouldn't be a good use of her time. We do not know what her major will be. No clear direction from her or for her yet. I envy those whose kids know exactly what they want to do and pursue it so singlemindedly. My dd is up in the air. God please guide us! And any input is appreciated. Thank you.

[hsbeth]

Hi my oldest dd (11th) is just wrapping up her Pre-Cal class at our local uni. Like your student she had thoroughly covered Pre-Cal/Trig. at home already in 10th grade and according to the college's placement test she could have gone right into Calc. My dd took the advice of a few of her friends and went ahead and took Pre-Cal anyway. She is VERY glad that she did. Her first semester taking classes at the university level was really an adjustment for her. It's been great, but adjusting to the new environment, scheduling, and just the pacing and expectations of college was challenging at first. She appreciated having an easier time with the course itself.

 

Although she was familiar with all of the concepts covered in the class, she was still challenged by the difficulty of the problem sets which she felt were significantly more challenging than those she'd worked with in her high school text. Also the pacing was much faster. She is going into her final exam with an A average, but she truly does feel that she had to work for it.

 

In fact, she's taking a Poli. Sci and Spanish class at the uni. this spring but has decided to pre-study Calc 1 at home this spring before taking it next fall ( in 12th). She's glad now that she's been so accelerated in math as she has plenty of time to go slowly and thoroughly at this point.

 

Having the lighter load has also allowed her more prep. time for the PSAT this fall and for the SAT and ACT this spring. She also does competitive math and has several competitions coming up in Feb and March. She'll have time to get ready for those as well.

[kiana]

It might be a decent idea to get used to the non-saxon phrasing while repeating material she mostly knows already. It really depends on if your dd is the type who gets bored with stuff she already thinks she knows, and prefers to get pushed into the deep end, or if she's the type who gets overwhelmed by excessive challenge.

 

Another option, btw, might be to start the saxon calculus yourself at a gentle pace with plans to do calc 1 at the university anyway.

 

Another option might be to get a decent university precalculus textbook (cohen, lial, et cetera) and work through that in a diagnostic-prescriptive manner (i.e. do the odd problems out of the chapter reviews, and if anything is wrong, review that section).

[srainbow]

It might be a decent idea to get used to the non-saxon phrasing while repeating material she mostly knows already. It really depends on if your dd is the type who gets bored with stuff she already thinks she knows, and prefers to get pushed into the deep end, or if she's the type who gets overwhelmed by excessive challenge. Another option, btw, might be to start the saxon calculus yourself at a gentle pace with plans to do calc 1 at the university anyway. Another option might be to get a decent university precalculus textbook (cohen, lial, et cetera) and work through that in a diagnostic-prescriptive manner (i.e. do the odd problems out of the chapter reviews, and if anything is wrong, review that section).

I appreciate this feedback so much. I wouldn't mind doing some calc 1 with her before the fall to prepare her. AS I mentioned below(still learning how to do quotes) I would almost rather she take a year long calculus class next year online But money is a factor And she has it in her head to get all 3 semsters of calculus done by time she graduates. This from a girl who says she doesn't know what she really wants to major in and hasn't chosen a particular area of study. She may see some wisdom in slowing down at some point with this idea. Common sense isn't necesaarily her strong suit and motivating her can be an interesting concept. That's why it surprises me when she says things like this. Then in the same breath says "I don't want my whole life to be math".

Anyway, I diverge. Can I just say a big thank you to ladies like you who respond and give their experience too? Sometimes I just get all worked up!

 

. My dd took the advice of a few of her friends and went ahead and took Pre-Cal anyway. She is VERY glad that she did. Her first semester taking classes at the university level was really an adjustment for her. It's been great, but adjusting to the new environment, scheduling, and just the pacing and expectations of college was challenging at first. She appreciated having an easier time with the course itself. Although she was familiar with all of the concepts covered in the class, she was still challenged by the difficulty of the problem sets which she felt were significantly more challenging than those she'd worked with in her high school text. Also the pacing was much faster. She is going into her final exam with an A average, but she truly does feel that she had to work for it. Having the lighter load has also allowed her more prep. time for the PSAT this fall and for the SAT and ACT this spring. She also does competitive math and has several competitions coming up in Feb and March. She'll have time to get ready for those as well.

 

Here are the two reasons why I can't decide. If she takes pre-calculus, she will get more experience etc. with college setting, if she doesn't take it ( and just plans to jump into Calculus 1 in the fall), then we will have more time this semester to work on the math competion in Feb. and then maybe PSAT stuff that comes in the fall and maybe a little calc.

So which one do we do? AAH!

I should add that she wants to get all 3 semesters of calculus done by the time she graduates (which is why she wants to start calc by this fall at the latest). I don't necessarily agree with this idea. I actually wouldn't mind if she took a year long AP calculus class her Junior year (next year) or the one semster of calc1 at the college in the fall and then maybe calc. 2 her senior year (at the college).

 

On a side note, we live in a small rural town area. This AMC 10 math competition is the first one we have ever heard of. She takes the test Feb. 5th. We bought an Aops book to review a bit and got past years tests online. Any experience or opinions on this test and the benefit of doing it?

[hsbeth]

My dd originally had the same idea about doing all three calcs before finishing up. She is strongly considering some sort of engineering major even though her primary interest is architecture. Her rationale is that she'll do civil or architectural engineering as an undergrad and then pursue arch. in grad. school. She's great at math and enjoys it, but like your dd doesn't want her career to be "consumed" by it.

 

Here are a couple of additional thoughts...

Has she done any dual enrollment classes or does she know anyone students who have taken classes at the school she'd be enrolling at? If not she may want to at least look at the rate my professor website and view information about the professors/courses she's considering. While definitely not 100% reliable, at least she could gain some information. My dd really under estimated how difficult the transition would be. She's determined to be "successful" at the uni., which in her book means only an A is acceptable. Calc. classes can be extremely tough. My dd also had to get used to entering all of her homework answers in on the uni. website which was also tricky. Gently- just be sure she's got a realistic idea of what she's in for. It'd be terrible if her first experience wasn't a good one.

 

Also, as much as possible you want to check into what courses would be acceptable for the schools/majors that she seems most likely headed for. Many STEM degree programs are picky about which science and math classes fit their requirements. Come to find out many of our likely options insist that you take Calc 2 and Calc 3 with them. DD may still take Calc 2 next year in the spring (with an eye on getting a leg up), but it would be a shame to have to repeat both classes if you had thought you'd get transfer credit for them.

 

As far as the math testing, our dd did the AMC testing in 8th and had a good experience. Yes, AOPS stuff is the best way to prep. Since 9th though she competes in team math competitions. The only individual pen/paper test they do is the Mandlebrodt (sp?). She preps for those very lightly, the team meats once per week and goes through released older versions of the various exams and practices some ciphering.