Stupid Calculus test...

Math teachers are generally complete cocksuckers. This is why Americans have a phobia of math.

My HS calculus teachers were great. You would ger assigned a bunch of programs in HW that (like usual) got progressively more difficult. However, on tests, they didn''t pick the most difficult or ugliest problem evar; they were pretty reasonable in just picking out problems that simply showed that you knew how to do the assigned task. Sounds like you weren''t so lucky

Yeah, well I''m talking about college calculus. You know, the math where they would rather challenge you than teach you.

I have a Calc II test on monday, it''s the first one with this teacher. I hope he doesn''t pull stuff out of his arse for this test. I hate it when the homework is far simpler than the test problems...

I''m in an equivalent of college year 2 and taking a math-oriented class for the second consecutive year...

The teacher is just like a god, he knows a whole load of things, his courses are clean, clear, and not exhausting at all. He often makes a pause and tells us things about how a result was first discovered, how Abel and Galois dies early, who discovered what, what this 20k page proof no one is able to read is all about (proving that a certain group, nicknamed "the monster", is "simple"), how people were able to prove that no one can prove that there exist no contradictions in the current math theory, etc...

The homework we get is harsh though, we get a week to do an entire page of exercises (so hard we''re allowed and even pushed towards working in groups on them).

The tests are very hard, and are created to prepare us for the end-of-year exam which is a special selection test. They are intentionally hard and usually do not cover any of the exercises the teacher gave us. Of course, he chooses te ugliest and hardest problems he can find.

I think that if your teacher gives you tests that are extremely hard to do, it''s maybe because he''s an arse, but if you fail on them maybe you didn''t prepare them well enough. I work approximately 8 hours per day in school, and about as much at home, on my various books : it isn''t homework, I''m preparing myself alone for the tests, just like everyone else in my class does.

It should be noted that in math courses in non-applied mathematics courses they are out to test mental limits rather than your ability to simply memorise.

This means that they wish to see how well you can apply what you know rather than simple puke back stuff you were SHOWN. A math test that one can aces is a poor math test, one wishes to know your limits. These tests are relative and are scaled. If they''re not, then the teacher is a professor and thusly, scum.

Note I''m not saying the test is there to exclusively test one thing, but what the predominant goal is.

quote:

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Original post by Zefrieg
Yeah, well I'm talking about college calculus. You know, the math where they would rather challenge you than teach you.

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My mitake, I didn't know they really reviewed much in college and I assumed it was highschool.

EDIT: I'm scared about college now, after reading some of these description o_O Makes me glad I decided to start in the first level of Calculus (even though I had taken the second in HS) instead of trying to jump ahead. I have a feeling I would have been lost, otherwise.



[edited by - Peon on September 5, 2003 6:55:37 PM]

quote:

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Original post by Zefrieg
I mean, shouldn''t the homework he assigns suppose to prepare you for the test? How are you suppose to know how well you are doing if all the homework questions are easy; whereas, the test questions are difficult? What about the people who had trouble with the homework, but studied alot to be able to do it? Well, their studying was probably in vain, because I''m sure they got crapped on in that test.

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During the second semester of Algebra II I had a teacher who would have simple problems from the book for homework and the problems on the tests were much more complex. I''ve had many people complain about this (and have even gained some tutoring clients from this...) but the problems were always something that if you knew the material you could do. Usually the problems combined a few different portions of the material together, which is what yours sound like. Do what I did, take each problem slowly - dont be scared if it looks complex. If you know the material you can do the problem.

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Colin Jeanne | Invader''s Realm

I'm a self admitted dumbass when it comes to Math. I never studied in highschool (especially not math). I took every Calculus class twice in College. I failed the first time then I would pull a B the second time. Huge waste of money, but it was the only way I could learn it; initial shock/exposure then work my ass off.

My suggestion is get the solutions manual; I could spend hours on one problem and still not see the 'trick'. The guys above are talking about 'a good test will test your limits'. Bullshit. I just wanted to make it thru with a decent grade.

A friend once said "The secret to learning Calculus is to work problems till you puke, then wipe off the puke and work some more"

EDIT: oh yeah, and work the problems the teacher DOESN"T assign, I don't know how many times I've seen them on test.

[edited by - nonnus29 on September 5, 2003 10:57:57 PM]

I remember skipping the entire back page of a test in Algebra II once because I was too lazy to do the problems. Probably not the best idea I ever had, but hey, it was fun. I also finished the final in that class in like 30 minutes and got a B+.

math is easy. for me. the trick is to wrack your brain till it turns red (grey to red? hmmm) trying to remember what the teacher said two months ago while you were thinking about singleton classes and polymorphism. or in my case, why the room was so fucking hot.

What''s the point of setting you work that''s easier than the test? It doesn''t test how well you know the topic, it just pushes you beyond your limits.

This is the exact reason why fewer and fewer students want to pursue an engineering degree. In other disiplines you have a clear idea of what you need to cover and study to properly prepare yourself for a test. In anything dealing with mathematics, you are messing with a pandora''s box.

If the professor wanted to "test your limits" like all of you say, he could vary well require you to factor out a 5th degree polynomial before getting to use what you learned in that chapter. As an added bonus, it doesn''t have to be an easy one that falls under the binomial theorem or pascal''s triangle. Well shit, I guess you should have learned how to do scientific division. This does challenge you, but it also wastes time and prohibits you from reaching the part of the equation that you can successfully work out. I actually had a teacher who did this. He didn''t even cover scientific division either. Luckily, I had a program on my calculator that automatically did it for me (score for the computer science students).

If you ask me, there should be some sort of standardized mathematics tests. They do it for medical studies, why not engineering too? That way, you don''t run into teachers that offer a varying degree of difficulty on tests, and the book problems would afford the same difficulty as test problems.

Personally, I don''t get why any of you feel it is appropriate for the test questions to be harder than the homework questions. The purpose of the homework is the PREPARE you for the test; to give yourself an understanding of which weaknesses you need to focus on. If you don''t recieve homework that challenges you, then how can you possibly find out what you need to study? You don''t get a reference on a test, and time is very limited.

Don''t get me wrong though. I understand the problem isn''t only with the teachers. The fact is, many college mathematics texts have really dumbed down alot of their problems. Go pick up an older math text and you will see what I mean. Unfortunately, you have lots of old professors out there that still give the same problems, but the book doesn''t offer the same amount of difficulty as the professor does.

I was in a similar situation in my physics classes. We were assigned homework that were difficult, but at first glance, the corresponding exams seemed out of this world. In my first two physics classes I struggled mightily on everything. Exams seemed impossibly long and complex, and homework seemed undoable since so much material was involved.

In my last physics class, I decided to get my act together and really studied the material hard. I tried my best to actually understand the concepts behind it, and surprise, everything became easier and even enjoyable. I had a good professor, so everything on the exam was on the exam information list the professor gave us. And wow, it was such a strange feeling to sit in the room during an exam and being able to look at the exam with confidence, while the guy sitting next to me was nervous as hell and sighing every few minutes. The exams were complicated and each problem tied everything together, but it was easier than previous exams. Still, what was more important to me was that feeling of confidence and accomplishment. To simply know all the material was euphoria.

Edit: Actually, on one exam there was something I did not know. While studying for it the previous night, I came across a formula that I dismissed as easy. I knew the concepts and thought I knew the formula, and so I paid little attention to it and forgot to write it down. I needed that damn formula the next day and had to rebuild it from the exam. Luckily, I got the problem right

[edited by - mutex on September 6, 2003 3:02:51 AM]