Taking Calculus without precalc?

Question

Is it possible for me to pass calculus in my first semester in college with a A or B without taking Precalc/trig in high school?

I only took alg I, Geo, and alg II.

Maybe I could purchase a copy of "Calculus for Dummies" and do well? or should I spend the extra time by dropping the course and taking Precal (math 135 or 140) first?

All suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Algebra is precalc since algebra prepares you for calculus.

To take calculus, make sure your algebra is as strong as possible, and take trig.

Answer 2

trig is absolutely essential for calculus. not necessarily right away, but it's in there, a lot.

i took trig junior year and calculus senior. friends that did not take trig had much harder time.

Answer 3

it would be better if you take pre-calc first because it really is a waste if you spend money in college to take a class that you're not ready for and end up getting no credit for it, so i suggest you take it one step at a time and you will still graduate on time.

Answer 4

If this is what is typically called "business calc", then yes, it's entirely possible... and likely you won't need any trig.

If, on the other hand, it's "engineering calc", then you'll at least need a crash course in trig.  An A or a B is possible in this case, but you _will_ need to work a little more outside of class to supplement what you missed.

Answer 5

Be a good idea to take pre-calculus unless you can grasp the first two chapters of your Calculus book which is normally a review of everything you need to know before your get into Calculus derivatives and integrals.

Remember math is cumulative; everything you learned in past math is being used in future levels of math.

Answer 6

It is possible, but hard...  it's like asking if a guy who hasn't taken Algebra 1 go right ahead and start with Algebra II.   It's doable, but since he'll have to pick up all hte stuff he missed in Algebra I, he'll have to do twice the work to catch up.

Same with Calculus...  if you don't take pre calc, you can still pass Calc, but just much harder becuase you're not prepared..

good luck

Joe

Answer 7

Are you a math wiz?  I thought I was until calculus.  I took both Trig and Calculus in HS.  I never graded  below A in math until Calculus: C!  Granted it was my senior year, and I slacked off more than I should have, but the biggest problem was that I never really learned Trig.  I aced my Trig class, but I never really LEARNED it, only memorized what I needed to for assignments, exams.

You might do alright in basic Calculus until you run into problems that refer back to Trig, then you'll probably be in trouble.

I'd definitely recommend taking Trig first.