How To Ace Calculus

This is the method I used to ace 3 semesters of calculus. Also linear algebra, differential equations, and a semester of physics. It should work for any math or science class, at earlier or later level.

When I say ace, I mean getting a grade of 100 on most homework, quizzes, tests, midterms, and finals. In all cases, the top grade in the class. Yes, I was the one breaking the curve.

Sounds arrogant? Well, I didn't start off in that lofty position. So before I give you the recipe for success, let me give you the recipe for failure.

The Recipe For Failure

In 1978, I entered Northwestern University, in Evanston, IL, as a mechanical engineering major. My dream was to work for NASA.

This was a major in the Technical Institute, requiring calculus, physics, and mechanics (statics and dynamics).

The recipe:

1. Show up for all classes and pay attention.
2. Complete all reading assignments on time.
3. Complete all assigned homework on time.
4. Study for tests, reviewing homework.

This was the recipe that had gotten me through high school, where I was usually able to do most of the homework in the last 5 minutes of class allocated for that purpose. Then just a few minutes in "study hall" period or at home to complete it, and another 10 or 15 to read the next section.

Sounds like a pretty good plan, right? Sounds like a good student, right?

The problem was that the material in college was more difficult and faster paced. Doing just the assigned problems was barely enough to keep your head above water, sometimes not even enough for that. It didn't give you enough practice thinking through and performing the work.

Back in algebra, problems were simple, they had one procedure to follow to the solution. Calculus wasn't like that. There were multiple procedures depending on the style of the equation. A good portion of the battle was classifying the equation to determine what approach to bring to it.

Physics was similar. Both topics required a more analytical approach. That meant building up a problem database in your mind so you could pick the approach. That meant experience doing lots of problems.

The result of following that recipe? C's, D's, and finally, an F in physics. Where I had prided myself on my math and science abilities, my favorite subjects, I had failed. Distraught, I dropped out of Northwestern.

The Recipe For Success

About 5 years later, I started part-time classes at Richland College, part of the Dallas County Community College District.

Oh sure, you may say, community college. That's easy, it's not a real college.

Negative. Richland used exactly the same textbooks as Northwestern, just the next editions. So it was exactly the same material. And I had Ralph Esparza as instructor for calculus I and III. Ralph was feared among students as a tough math teacher, who cares if it's community college or Ivy League.

I was determined to repeat all those classes in my favorite subjects, and do well in them. Somewhere in hindsight, I had realized the need to do more than the minimum.

The recipe:

1. Show up for all classes and pay attention.
2. Complete all reading assignments on time.
3. Complete all assigned homework on time.
4. Complete all remaining odd-numbered problems in the section and check against answers in the back.
5. Complete all remaining even-numbered problems in the section.
6. Study for tests (regular tests, midterms, and finals), redoing all problems that the tests cover.

This is a great way to work in study groups, too. When someone in the group has difficulty, everyone can contribute to helping them understand it. Or maybe the one person in the group who understands it is able to help everyone else.

This boils down to doing every problem in every section of the textbook at least twice, more like three or four times.

You may say, that's a lot of work. Yes, it is.

In Nike ads, athletes show how tough they are. Just do it. Be tough.

The result? Redemption.