Thread: Hi, taking Calculus this summer

I love math; at least I want to. I am taking calculus online and it's such a pain in the rear. I should have paid more attention in algebra and pre-calc because I get hung up on little things. I forget to reverse all signs when multiplying by -1 or get stuck on things like factoring or inequalities. I understand quite a bit of what I'm expected to learn, but there might be one step--just that ONE step--that keeps things from clicking in my head so I understand WHY. I have the Calculus Lifesaver, my coursebook and even another calculus coursebook that I refer to, and it seems this isn't even enough. I run into a problem online and I can't find an equivalent anywhere so I can learn step by step. I use the video tutorials and even yahoo answers (sometimes good, mostly just frustrating) and I have even signed up with Mathway. I have seriously considered paying the $60 for a year of step by step, but there is only so much an automated website can solve.

I guess I'm just looking for a place where I can ask a question and understand why I don't understand something, if that makes any sense. I don't want answers (well, I do but that's secondary), but rather the knowledge of how to solve that type of problem.

Practice practice practice. You could try the Khan Academy.

Originally Posted by rortiz81

I have seriously considered paying the $60 for a year of step by step, but there is only so much an automated website can solve.

Before you go paying for anything, have you tried Wolfram Alpha? Its basic functionality is free, and it can show you the steps on many problems.