### Announcements

• Welcome to MTH 132!
• Check out the resources. Did you know we made new videos?
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• In an effort to provide the best educational experience to all of our students, the math department is continuously seeking feedback.

### Tips for Succeeding in Calculus

The key steps that students sometimes miss when learning a new subject are:

• Building a strong base.
• Multiple exposures to each new concept.

#### Building a strong base

It is often said that the most difficult thing about calculus is the algebra. Calculus builds heavily off of algebra and it is important that you have these skills mastered so that you can succeed in calculus. Some key algebra topics include:

• Manipulation of fractions including multiplying by a conjugate
• Factoring
• Long division with polynomials
• The unit circle and trig function properties
• Solving absolute value inequalities
• Solving rational inequalities
To help you review these skills the Math Department has created some documents and practice quizzes to refresh your memory which are available HERE.

#### Multiple exposures to each concept

Your goal is to put each calculus concept to memory so that you can recall it on quizzes/exams/final/life as need be. To do this successfully it is recommended that you get multiple exposures to each concept to really help them stick. For each section you please consider trying:

1. Try a WeBWorK problem or two to get motivated to learn the material. Having a problem in mind that you want to be able to solve helps to see purpose behind what you are about to learn.
2. Watch a video or two provided on the resource page to see the material once before going to class.
3. Go to class to gain a more in depth understanding of the material.
4. Try the rest of you WeBWorK problems.
5. Go to the Math Learning Center or your professor's office hours if you get stuck.
Before a quiz or exam you should make it your goal to be exposed to each concept on at least 4 different occasions.

Example: Suppose I have the problem: $\displaystyle\lim_{x\to2}\left(\dfrac{x^2-4}{x-2}\right)$.
• I try plugging in $2$ on top and bottom but that just gives me $\, \dfrac{0}{0}\,$.