Thread: How can I get an A in my Calculus AB(Calc I) class?

I'm a junior.. Well I had an 85% in the class until we got a test, which I bombed.. I ended up getting a 21/40 and tests are 53% of the overall grade.

I got a 85.7% on my limits test, 97.5% on my derivative test, 82.5% on my relative extrema test, and then just bombed getting 54% on another test.

What do I need to get an A?? Do I have to get an A on every test for the next 10 weeks in order to get an A??

Originally Posted by Reefer

I'm a junior.. Well I had an 85% in the class until we got a test, which I bombed.. I ended up getting a 21/40 and tests are 53% of the overall grade.

I got a 85.7% on my limits test, 97.5% on my derivative test, 82.5% on my relative extrema test, and then just bombed getting 54% on another test.

What do I need to get an A?? Do I have to get an A on every test for the next 10 weeks in order to get an A??

Accept that you won't always get an A in every test. It happens. (But I'm not saying you shouldn't shoot for an A!)

What was the test you got 54% on? Revise the topic, practise a bit, etc.

Originally Posted by janvdl

Accept that you won't always get an A in every test. It happens. (But I'm not saying you shouldn't shoot for an A!)

What was the test you got 54% on? Revise the topic, practise a bit, etc.

He may be shooting for that A actually

Okay, I have a 6-year long practice in finding which marks to have

- how many exams do you have left ?
- what percentage P is an A ?


- sum up the marks you've had --> S
- multiply P by the total number of marks you'll have --> M
- calculate M-S
- divide M-S by the number of marks that are left


and you'll get an average you gotta have for the remaining marks

Originally Posted by Reefer

I'm a junior.. Well I had an 85% in the class until we got a test, which I bombed.. I ended up getting a 21/40 and tests are 53% of the overall grade.

I got a 85.7% on my limits test, 97.5% on my derivative test, 82.5% on my relative extrema test, and then just bombed getting 54% on another test.

What do I need to get an A?? Do I have to get an A on every test for the next 10 weeks in order to get an A??

Sorry but this sort of question really really annoys me. What sort of an answer are you looking for and how can it possibly help you?

Forget about marks. Just do your best in preparing for each test. If you get an A, then you get an A. If you don't get an A, then you don't get an A and there's nothing you could have done about it.

Originally Posted by Reefer

What do I need to get an A??

I prefer to approach it in a Zen-line fashion: the style of no style, to move without moving, to solve . . . without solving. But how can that be you ask? One must look to appreciate the beauty and elegance in Mathematics. That's it! That's it! Search for the beauty and the rewards are much greater than the A. Find the beauty and you shall have what you seek.

[edit] I wish to explain my comment "solve without solving" so people in here won't think I'm weird: sometimes when you're confronted with a tough problem, it's best to put it up and work on a similar simpler problem sometimes, way simpler, solve that, then add onto the problem, gradually working your way back to the original problem. So in essence, you're solving the original problem by "not solving" it initially in hopes that the knowledge you gain by working on the simpler ones will enable you to do the original one. Ok, I'm done.

Originally Posted by mr fantastic

[snip]
Forget about marks. Just do your best in preparing for each test. If you get an A, then you get an A. If you don't get an A, then you don't get an A and there's nothing you could have done about it.

Originally Posted by shawsend

I prefer to approach it in a Zen-line fashion: the style of no style, to move without moving, to solve . . . without solving. But how can that be you ask? One must look to appreciate the beauty and elegance in Mathematics. That's it! That's it! Search for the beauty and the rewards are much greater than the A. Find the beauty and you shall have what you seek.

A rose by any other name .....

Agreed. I just like making the references to Bruce Lee and Dune.

How do you bounce back after failing a test?? I currently am at 80.5% and an A is 89.5%.. I've got 10 weeks left can I get an A??

And how do you study for math??

I never studied for math tests and got an A or B on each one until this one where I jsut ran into a brick wall..

How should we know? We don't know what your mark is based on. How many tests are there? Is each test weighted equally? If you have say 10 tests, then bombing 1 of them isn't going to severely hurt your chances of getting that A if you do well on the next 6 tests.

Calculate it yourself. You should be able to if you're already learning calculus =/.

Originally Posted by Reefer

... how do you study for math??

(1) Do math. (2) Make mistakes. (3) Learn and correct.

Repeat steps 1 through 3 until you are confident.

I never studied for math tests ...

Clearly, you have no vested interest in your math scores.

What is your motivation for starting this discussion?

~ Mark