Taking AP calc? (question for the Calc vets)

Animus
Wed, 16 May 2007 00:49:53 +0000

AP Calc AB is the easiest math class I have ever taken. BC is probably pretty simple too.

Just remember: Don’t try to understand why certain things work in Calculus. Just know how to actually calculate them. It’s a waste of time, for instance, to try to understand why derivatives or antiderivatives are what they are.

This is exactly opposite of what most people would recommend. Memorizing formulas can work for some people, but real calculus is all about understanding the concepts behind the functions and formulas, much more than earlier math classes (Geo, Algebra II etc).

One of the biggest pitfalls people stumble into with Calc is knowing all the equations from previous math classes but not knowing how to apply and tie together the nature of the different functions. If you have a strong conceptual grasp of the basics, Calc becomes trivial memorization.