It's been five years since I took calc 1...bad idea to take MATH141 this fall?

Take this with a grain of salt, but if you fancy yourself a math person and you understood the big picture of Calc 1 back then, then you'll be fine with review.

Like everybody else, I recommend Khan Academy. Also Paul's Online Math Notes (it is very aesthetically dry, but it is pretty darn thorough).

You'll want to review:

General Fundamentals * Trig Functions * Logarithms * Negative Exponents * Limits (don't worry about all the details...just get comfortable again with what they are)

Derivatives * Product/Quotient rules * ex and ax rules * Trig rules. Grind trig rule problems like it's your job. * Chain rule. This is the heart and soul of all derivative problems.

Integrals I can't remember where the line is between Calc 1 and 2 in this regard so you should defer to other people but, as Proclamation11 said, half of Calc 2 is integration techniques, so I'm just going to say: * Antiderivatives.

If you want to be extra prepared for some of the integral trickery, look for resources on trig identities and partial fractions. People who write Calc 2 problems get off on trig identities for some reason. And if you don't know what partial fractions are, don't despair. They are algebraic witchcraft and we all hate them, but they are very simple once you grind out a few problems.

In conclusion, I've tutored a handful of students in calculus, and what brings most people down is attitude rather than a lack of math knowledge. With that said, I recommend the following: * Review the above. Don't feel like you need to know everything, but even the simplest problems can be frustrating and time-consuming if you're constantly referencing your basics. * Get a tutor long before you think you need one. As a graduate already, you're undoubtedly familiar with this, but literally 100% of the people I've tutored got help because they were already on a sinking ship. Even if you're comfortable with the half of Calc 2 that is integrals, I recommend a tutor for the sequence/series stuff. It is a pretty jarring turn from everything else you're used to. * Keep your work organized and use tons of paper. I never understood why but, for some reason, people like to write small and condense everything, and THIS LEADS TO MORE MISTAKES THAN ANYTHING ELSE. If this was you in the past, it is time to change your ways. Calc 2 problems get especially unwieldy because you end out doing lots of side work (you'll understand when you get to integration by parts). and finally: * Don't stress out. Calc 2 can be a bear for math- and non-math-people alike, but a good attitude almost always makes the difference.

Good luck!

/r/UMD Thread