College Algebra is kicking my a**

Can't relate. I took 2nd year calculus as a freshman and was done with math. But I was in engineering.

 

I still vividly remember taking a college algebra class for the first time and being shocked at how elementary it was (I ended up convincing the registrar's office to "promote" me to a sophomore level math class in my first semester).

It really doesn't matter whether you're taking college algebra or numerical methods for engineers (now THERE'S a class that will kick your butt). The principle is the same. You have to understand the concept, the formula before you start doing anything. You have to learn to walk before you run. You can't "study" math the way you study government. It's not about how much you read. Once you've figured out the concept, you've figured it out.

 

I'm just trying to figure out why the OP has 1993 in his moniker if he was born in 1988?

Something special happen when you were 5?

 

Give us examples of your problems and maybe we can help you.

 

Math was a class that always took more time when it came to studying. I like to think i'm pretty good at math, but it just took a little more time to do well in the classes (test score wise)

Every other class, i could attend, take notes and study before the test and get an A. But math always required me to really study it on a weekly basis. It's also one of the few classes that I ever went to teacher office hours in, but it does help getting with them one on one.

 

They aren't even close if you're taking a true "college algebra" course. I suppose some schools teach it to non-majors as "basic algebra", the same stuff you learn in high school, and pass it as a college credit.

I took it in high school as dual-credit, and it was one of the two or three hardest classes I've taken. Fortunately I got a B and that was all I needed for my undergrad as far as math.

I just started taking grad. classes part-time and taking Statistics now, and it's nowhere near as hard as College Algebra was.

 

College algebra is a b***, it's my my b*** Like some posters said, if you have any specific questions just ask. My credentials? Well, here is one of them .

To do this little program I used almost everything in algebra plus a lot more in geometry and trigonometry.

You see, math can actually be useful and fun

 

Same here, I wasn't done with math after that though.

I never knew college algebra was considered a difficult course. I though it was one of those laid back freshman courses.

 

I was in the same boat... History major with no discernible math skills. I really struggled with math and never felt comfortable with it. I blame it on this gal who was in my high school algebra class. She was the object of my desires and all I could do was stare at her. I barely made it through that class and afterwards, I sucked at math. (That's not really true, but that's what I tell myself... she was damn good looking though.)

Anyway, do your best to muddle through. This is one of those hurdles in life that you have to get over and once your passed it, you might never have to deal with it again.

Incidentally, I aced the GRE verbal, reasoning, and subject tests and ended up getting in a Top 10 school for my graduate degree even though I did not do very well at all on the math section of the test.

 

I don't have trouble understanding how it is that you can get A's and B's in English and History. Do you want to know why?

You can B.S. your way through those and opinions (why did the British lose at Lexington vs. who won or lost, why is the economy different now than in the 1900's?) and it varies by teacher, but with Math, you can't B.S. anything: (a*a) - (b*b) will always be (a+b)*(a-b) and there's no way around it .

The way you get to it at the end is what matters. I hate the "F.O.I.L." bull for polynomials, but for some people it works.

You need PRACTICE. Keep practicing and don't get lazy. The more you work out problems on the book, and check on the back for the answers to make sure you're doing it right, the better you will get.

Don't skip steps. Don't be careless (be careful) with negative and positive signs.

 

For me it was linear algebra. For whatever reason, I always felt that calculus was intuitive, but when I had to take linear algebra, I couldn't wrap my brain around it very easily.

 

Algebra? Cal? Probability and Statistics? The real b**** is Real Analysis.

Before that my first stumbling block was Cal 2, where there was some abstraction involved that I hadn't really experienced before.

To the OP: the best thing about algebra(and most lower math for that matter) is that you don't really need a good professor to learn it(though it certainly helps). Most of the learning you do is through direct application(math problems).

What I would suggest is buying a book with a good solutions manual. Not one that just has the answers in the back, but one that actually works out the problems. Read the book, do the answers on your own as much as you are able, and then look in the solutions manual to see what you did wrong, or why you couldn't advance in certain problems. It's just a matter of practicing until you get it right, pretty much.

 

what's the difference between college algebra and high school algebra? isn't algebra just algebra? i took it in middle school too. took calc in high school. then again i have a masters in stat. anyways, can anyone give me an example of topics in college algebra? thanks.

 

I took College Algebra and it was by far one of the easiest math classes I ever took. The teacher was ridiculously lenient with homework and practice tests adding points to your exams.

Plus Algebra is the only math I'm really good at, I understand formulas and word problems.


I'm taking Logic 1 right now and I thought maybe I could coast, but hell no... this stuff is ridiculously involved, I am busting my ass studying right now because if I don't do well on my quiz on Monday, I'm up ****'s creek.

 

College Algebra was easy for me but maybe that's because I tested into the lower non-credited math classes. If you take intermediate algebra as a refresher course it is easier. I agree with the one poster, math is something that you just have to know the basic concepts to get by. Once I got to calculus I couldn't hang at all.

 

There are a bunch of idiots in my college algebra class. College algebra is such an easy class.... I don't know why people have trouble with the most basic of concepts... and then they talk about going to Calculus. Class is just full of idiots.... I waste my time going to that class.

 

Oh that was one I loved... I actually took it for fun the first time I was in college.

 

Got the hippie teacher with long hair?