Should I just learn Algebra 1 basics or should I learn it with more detail?

[AniJan]

Just now, Clanscorpia said:

Just start with the basics, then expand. I did what Dash suggested and learned the basics on Khan Academy then used my moms calc book for more info

should i take heavy notes on everything that i dont know?

[dalekphalm]

4 minutes ago, AniJan said:

should i take heavy notes on everything that i dont know?

The only person who can answer this is you.

 

Do you require lots of notes to learn something well? Does it help when the time comes to study for a test?

 

If yes, then of course, take as much notes as you can.

 

However, not everyone is the same and some people don't need to take notes at all - I rarely did in school.

[AniJan]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

The only person who can answer this is you.

 

Do you require lots of notes to learn something well? Does it help when the time comes to study for a test?

 

If yes, then of course, take as much notes as you can.

 

However, not everyone is the same and some people don't need to take notes at all - I rarely did in school.

It's a good habit to do, so I do it.

Though I'm not really good at it, or so I think, because I don't have a.. 'system' to go by. I just write anything that I think is note-worthy meaning I cram vocabs, main ideas, extra notes, and etc all in one place, which I think causes disorganization. I also tend to write everything in order and when I find extra notes that were supposed to go before OTHER notes, I get confused of where I put it. 

 

is it bad to cram everything into one and not dividing each notes into different categories?

 

so. in short, i'm not a good note-taker, but i do it anyway(because im anxious that i'll forget something important and wouldn't have a reliable source to depend on for mind refreshment)

[2FA]

11 minutes ago, AniJan said:

It's a good habit to do, so I do it.

Though I'm not really good at it, or so I think, because I don't have a.. 'system' to go by. I just write anything that I think is note-worthy meaning I cram vocabs, main ideas, extra notes, and etc all in one place, which I think causes disorganization. I also tend to write everything in order and when I find extra notes that were supposed to go before OTHER notes, I get confused of where I put it.

 

so. in short, i'm not a good note-taker, but i do it anyway(because im anxious that i'll forget something important and wouldn't have a reliable source to depend on for mind refreshment)

If anything writing notes helps you memorize the information better.

 

The info on Khan Academy is honestly probably good enough for a foundation. Algebra 1 really is very simple in just about all of its aspects and you're really just getting an idea on most of it before taking the class anyways since the teacher is likely to show quite a bit of the stuff differently.

2 hours ago, Dash Lambda said:

9^th: Algebra 1

10^th: Algebra 2

11^th: Precalculus

12^th: Calculus

 

Is there something I'm missing?

For my HS it was:

 

9th: Algebra 1

10th: Geometry

11th: Algebra 2/Trigonometry

12: College Pre-Calc

[AniJan]

Just now, DeadEyePsycho said:

If anything writing notes helps you memorize the information better.

 

The info on Khan Academy is honestly probably good enough for a foundation. Algebra 1 really is very simple in just about all of its aspects and you're really just getting an idea on most of it before taking the class anyways since the teacher is likely to show quite a bit of the stuff differently.

For my HS it was:

 

9th: Algebra 1

10th: Geometry

11th: Algebra 2/Trigonometry

12: College Pre-Calc

but taking notes in math takes organization because everything is split into different sections; what if I have extra notes to input, but i don't have space to put it into the designated spot?

[2FA]

Just now, AniJan said:

but taking notes in math takes organization because everything is split into different sections; what if I have extra notes to input, but i don't have space to put it into the designated spot?

It's called rewriting notes? That is a thing you know...

[AniJan]

Just now, DeadEyePsycho said:

It's called rewriting notes? That is a thing you know...

i have over 40 pages of algebra notes, all with explanations and examples. it'd be hell for me to rewrite them all

[dalekphalm]

11 minutes ago, AniJan said:

i have over 40 pages of algebra notes, all with explanations and examples. it'd be hell for me to rewrite them all

Dude, it's 2017. Use a laptop or tablet to take notes.

 

That way if you need to insert a page, you just do it.

 

Furthermore, if you cannot use a laptop in class, then use a standard 3-ring binder with regular lined paper, not a booklet. That way, again, if you need to insert a page, you just move it into the correct position.

 

Lastly, I'd scan those 40 pages using a scanner and turn them into a PDF file. Bonus points if you use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software to convert the text into actual selectable and editable text.

[Dash Lambda]

2 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Dude, it's 2017. Use a laptop or tablet to take notes.

I've tried that for math. Every other subject is fine, but math... Keyboard aren't meant for math, man.

My brother used a Surface tablet for a while, I can see that working okay, but not perfectly. I want computers to replace paper altogether, but we don't have a good replacement for a math notebook yet.

[Dash Lambda]

Just now, wrathoftheturkey said:

Are you Canadian?

No. 

[dalekphalm]

9 minutes ago, Dash Lambda said:

I've tried that for math. Every other subject is fine, but math... Keyboard aren't meant for math, man.

My brother used a Surface tablet for a while, I can see that working okay, but not perfectly. I want computers to replace paper altogether, but we don't have a good replacement for a math notebook yet.

Fair - a keyboard typing in Math Equations is a terrible combination.

 

I've heard that using Surface Pro tablets is much better.

 

But either way, not being able to "insert" a page into existing notes is a bad excuse  Even using paper, there are efficient ways to avoid that.

[AniJan]

how long do you think it'll take to learn the basics and specifics effectively?

[Clanscorpia]

11 minutes ago, AniJan said:

how long do you think it'll take to learn the basics and specifics effectively?

Depending on how long you practice, if you do the 1 and 15 minutes a day you do in school probably 2-3 months

[Bouzoo]

3 hours ago, Dash Lambda said:

I've never taken a geometry class. Isn't that effectively covered in Algebra?

Not really. They do correlate to a degree, but each one of them is a separate branch of mathematics. What you're talking about probably is algebraic geometry?

 

Source: I have a bachelor's degree in mathematics. I've no intention on going for master's in that. 

[Dash Lambda]

19 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

Not really. They do correlate to a degree, but each one of them is a separate branch of mathematics. What you're talking about probably is algebraic geometry?

 

Source: I have a bachelor's degree in mathematics. I've no intention on going for master's in that. 

Yeah, they are different topics, but I just remember geometry being rather comprehensively covered in algebra classes. I've always thought of it like trig, in that it doesn't really deviate from what other classes already cover.

Though, with geometry, higher level topics can actually be quite different -Just not high-school.

 

As an aside, what higher-level (let's say, after ODE) math classes have you taken? I'm currently working on a math degree, so I'm curious what that sort of path can look like.

[TurtleZero]

3 hours ago, AniJan said:

OK. So:

Should I go back and learn the specifics from the start to the current point?

or

Finish all of the algebra basics and learn the specifics after.

Personally I would recommend going back and learning the specifics, because knowing Algebra is EXTREMELY important in Algebra 2, Precalc, and Calc. At least that's what I would do in your position.

[Bouzoo]

40 minutes ago, Dash Lambda said:

Yeah, they are different topics, but I just remember geometry being rather comprehensively covered in algebra classes. I've always thought of it like trig, in that it doesn't really deviate from what other classes already cover.

Though, with geometry, higher level topics can actually be quite different -Just not high-school.

 

As an aside, what higher-level (let's say, after ODE) math classes have you taken? I'm currently working on a math degree, so I'm curious what that sort of path can look like.

I'm not sure really how your education system works, but ODEs are standard in my course, and taking PDE are a separate subject in one of our 7 Masters courses, and it's arguably the hardest thing to do pass if we exclude the doctoral or post masters.

We don't get into really high end (pun intended) stuff on bachelor's. Furthest I went would be Applied mathematical Calculus (which is the course after Calculus 2), Combinatorics and Discrete Mathematics/Probability and statistics, Basics of Number Theory, Algebraic/Vector/Euclidean spaces, Complex analysis, Differential Geometry. Our other Bachelor's course goes a bit further, but I was not interested in that. That's why I swapped to computer science this year. 

 

The thing is that you can't really look a separate branch of mathematics on it's own, you need, and will have to use pretty much everything you know in more complex stuff. I hated it at first when I was studying some calculus stuff and all of a sudden it turns into algebra, and vice versa. 

Edited September 9, 2017 by Bouzoo

[Teddy07]

31 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

That's why I swapped to computer science this year

 

 

Do you think having math classes is helpful in the computer science master?

My university has reduced the math part quite a bit in the computer science Bachelor. I only have one class in discrete math + math for engineers (30 points out of 180) which I have to take and numerical math if I want to.

I thought about taking math as a minor which means I have to pass two additional math classes (Analysis 1 & 2, linear Algebra 1 & 2). I could do it at the end of my Bachelors degree because I currently suck hard at math and need to pass the other classes first.

 

I say to myself that it can´t be that hard to pass analysis 1 & linear Algebra 1 when I work through the course material in the semester break before the course starts.

 

I am just starting small because I worked for years so I lost all my math skills. I am interested in math but I suck balls

 

Still, I am interested in your opinion.

 

[Bouzoo]

3 minutes ago, Teddy07 said:

Do you think having math classes is helpful in the computer science master?

My university has reduced the math part quite a bit in the computer science Bachelor. I only have one class in discrete math + math for engineers (30 points out of 180) which I have to take and numerical math if I want to.

I thought about taking math as a minor which means I have to pass two additional math classes (Analysis 1 & 2, linear Algebra 1 & 2). I could do it at the end of my Bachelors degree because I currently suck hard at math and need to pass the other classes first.

 

I say to myself that it can´t be that hard to pass analysis 1 & linear Algebra 1 when I work through the course material in the semester break before the course starts.

 

I am just starting small because I worked for years so I lost all my math skills. I am interested in math but I suck balls

 

Still, I am interested in your opinion.

 

Honestly, I just entered master's, still waiting for stuff to begin next month, but looking at the subjects in the next 2 years it may help I won't lie. How much? I do have few exact courses I had on my math bachelor's, so If you decide to take them it will help quite a bit (Linear Algebra, Combinatorics and Discrete Mathematics, Complex analysis). For starters I won't have to pass them again but that's not the point of this story.

The thing about math in general is that it's not the usual programming/algorithm way of studying where you have the algorithm's and you literally just learn them but don't understand them (many can argue that's the bad way to do it, and it is, but it's absolutely doable that way, seen it multiple times). In math you can do that to a lot of things, no arguing there, but there will be a point where you will actually have to understand something to understand something else, or to solve a problem. Everything in math is connected. It helps you to think on your own as a problem solver. In my experience, and in experience of bunch of people that I know that took multiple programming classes, math does that far better than any other subject ? took, be it programming/algorithm classes or any other class (I had to take a bunch of psycho and seminar/public presentation classes). That's why I would urge anyone to take math if they can. 

 

Just to be clear, I know a bunch of really smart people who were made for math, my gf being one of them. I am not one of those people. In math most things you will have to study for and learn on your own (of course, lots of people are always willing to help you), you just need the dedication to do it, which I lost on many occassions, but if you wanna do it, you better suck it up.  

 

I may have a more detailed answer in few months. 

 

 

[BuckGup]

math is the essence of life

[arnavvr]

7 hours ago, Dash Lambda said:

I've never taken a geometry class. Isn't that effectively covered in Algebra?

It might be, but the schools (at least in the US) require you to take a Geometry class. 

[AniJan]

to practice, should i just use khan academy's practice problems or find other problems from the book and other sources?

also, how much should I practice? till I'm comfortable with the basic problems, then advancing to more harder problems?