<p>Is reading the textbook that crucial to the true mastery of Calculus? I have a Stewart’s Calculus textbook but I rarely read its chapters, because I don’t think it’s that useful (though its problems at the end of chapters are useful for extra practice). I feel that textbook explanations or teachings of concepts and topics aren’t that much different or usually are even worse than those of the great online websites. This is why I prefer online lessons over my textbook.</p>
<p>What I’m worried is if I might be teaching myself Calculus the wrong way. Some of my friends, who previously took AP Calc at school and scored 5s, told me that if I get away with just reading notes and not reading the textbook, then my understanding of Calculus will be superficial, and therefore, in the future, I’ll be struggling in higher level math and science-related courses in university and graduate school, because of weak Calculus foundations. Is this true? What kind of understanding is considered “superficial” and what is considered “deep”?</p>
<p>But I don’t see much difference, if any, between how the textbook teaches topics and concepts and how the online lessons do them.
Is reading the textbook that crucial to the true mastery of Calculus? If so, how should or how much should it be read? If possible, I don’t want to have to read the textbook.
Thanks.</p>
<p>calculus textbook isn’t necessary, as long as you understand everything by using excellent online lessons… calculus textbook is, as you said, only useful as a source of extra problems for further practice.</p>
<p>Given that textbooks usually discuss topics with greater depth with more varied examples (I use the Stewart book myself), it hurts more not to read them. There is a reason why textbooks are still written and used; calculus is ALL about understanding, and online notes by themselves will not foster understanding.</p>
<p>samuelc: What you said contradicts what bkiersted said. If you’re right, then I’m screwed :eek:… Should I start reading the textbook from the beginning from now on? But is there enough time to read about all the AP Calculus BC topics on the textbook until May? When reading the textbook, how should you read it? I’m worried, because I never read more than five pages on the textbook… I may be able to do well on the AP Calc exam, but later in university and graduate school, not having read the textbook and therefore lack of firm basics will have negative effects on how I do on higher-level math and science courses, won’t it?</p>
<p>Todpose: I had probably misworded what I was trying to say… what I meant is that reading the textbook allows you to develop a deeper understanding, i.e. not only about the mechanisms but also about how the concepts work. You don’t /need/ it for the course or exam, but if you want to improve your chances of doing well, you do. If you are this short on time and but is already very familiar with the concepts you’ve already learned, I don’t recommend you to start in the beginning. But it is wise to start reading it for the new topics to come.</p>
<p>Textbook reading is a critical skill to have for post-secondary… When you read your textbook, do it methodically and make sure you understand what it says. Take brief, concise notes you go along, and make sure you examine the examples shown.</p>
<p>samuelc: Thanks for the post… But one weird thing is, I’ve previously seen several people who only studied from prep books like PR and Peterson and then scored 5s… Isn’t this alright too, if you can still learn everything well and develop deep understanding? My time is limited, so I can’t always afford to study from the textbook in addition to online lessons and prep books even if I wanted to.</p>
<p>the textbook isn’t the only tool with which to develop a deeper understanding of calculus. you can also do it by using only the prep books and online lessons, but those must not be just ordinary ones… they must be excellent in quality and well-explained. some of the prep books and online lessons succeed in teaching not only about the techniques and mechanisms but also about how different concepts fit together to various situations and problems. these, without the textbook, are enough for doing well on the ap calc bc exam. in fact, last year I only used peterson’s and princeton review to self study, and got 5 on ap calc bc exam. some of the other kids at my school did the same as I did and they also got 5s. only a few of them got a 4, but no one got a 3. so you can take my word for it.</p>
<p>Todpose: As bkiersted said, excellent, in-depth work/prepbooks alone will suffice if your primary goal is to get an excellent mark on the exam. My point is that if you want to do even better on the exam and gain an even greater understanding for future studies in calculus, you still more or less need the assistance of a textbook. Since there are still 2 months to go, it wouldn’t hurt to peruse the textbook for some of the deeper concepts.</p>
<p>samuelc: Thanks for your post. My goal is to get a 5 on the exam, but it is also to gain a true mastery and deeper understanding of calculus. I was just wondering, but the one online website I always use is <a href=“http://www.archive.org/details/ap_calculus_bc[/url]”>Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine;
It’s not like any other online notes; it’s really comprehensive, and very much resemble how my actual Stewart textbook is laid out and explained. I know the importance of the textbook, but I don’t feel it’s worth it to read it, and I simply don’t have much time. This online notes save me more time too. Do you think it can replace the textbook and still have the same effect?</p>