Please my friend,s URGENT HELP

[Cyrix]

Ok, so I'm doing my computer science course with maths methods as a subject, which is a prerequisite to do this course, but I never done it in high school but somehow they accepted me (due to the fact I done another tertiary course in IT then went into Computer Science in university). So anyway, I figure they'll just revise the math methods formulas and such, and although I'll be a little behind, I'll be able to catch on quickly and wing the tests.

 

So, heres the dilemma -not only are they not revising ANY math methods / specialist / calculas concepts, the lecturer is flowing through it like WATER! The people in my class have done 2 extra years of advanced maths in high school which I haven't done. Everyone else in my lecture theatre is nodding away and you can hear the faint whispers of people calculating the formulas in their head, all the while I'm sitting poker faced realising how deep in dog shit I am.

 

So, I need a crash course in math methods / specialist and calculas, PRONTO. Have a small test next week, and positively everything the lecturer said today, I hadn't the slightest clue what he was talking about except for the algrebra...but the formulas and theorems he was using mind blew me. Does ANYONE know of any free ebooks online for math methods / specialist and calculas? A quick google search guided shit all results, and my local library had basically nothing, or if anyone is kind enough to send me some notes , my goodness, I would be forever in your debt!

 

From australia with love, lol

 

-Cyrix

[the tree]

Crash course in calculus eh?

 

Differentiation

 

O.k. Imagine the graph of y=x², actually don't. Draw it on a piece of paper.

 

Now, look at it's gradient, it's steeply negative at first, but gets shalower until it reaches 0 at the origin and then it get's steep again.

 

If you were to draw that you'd get the graph of y=2x¹, that's called it's deriative or rate of change.

 

As a rule, the deriative (or rate of change) of kxⁿ is knx^n-1.

 

If there is a number on the end, that isn't a coefficient of x, forget it, it doesn't affect the gradient.

 

To find a curves gradient at a specific point, just differentiate then subsitute the x.

 

You'll need to know the notation. Curves are expresed as [math]y=knx[/math] or whatever but sometimes just a function is given as [math]f(x)=knx[/math] (meaning the same thing), the deriative of [math]f(x)[/math] is [math]f'(x)[/math] or [math]\frac{dy}{dx}f(x)[/math].

 

 

Read more....

 

Indefinite Integration

 

Let's say you know the rate of change, and you need to know the original function. So if [math]f'(x)=kx^n[/math] and you wanted [math]f(x)[/math] then the rule that you want to apply is: [math]\int knx \cdot dx = \frac{kx^{n+1}}{n+1}+c[/math]

the swooshy thing means that you're integrating

the dx means that you intergrating with respect to x, i.e. that your looking for the function for x.

the c is the number that may or may not have been forgotten when deriving.

 

Read more...

 

Definate intergration

 

I don't know enough to explain, but someone else will.

 

 

With that you should be able to get a couple of marks, I hope.

 

p.s. Try to push your way though this wikibook as well.

[insane_alien]

Definite integration:

Step 1: integrate the function but leave out the +C part.

Step 2: substitute the upper limit into the equation (upper limit is 5 so x=5, for example) and do the same for the lower limit.

step 3: take the calculated value with the lower limit away from the calculated value with the upper limit(eg, in step 2 you got 6 for upper limit and 3 for lower limit, 6-3 = 3 <answer)

step 4: admire your work.

[Cyrix]

Ahhh ok excellent, thanks people for your help! Let's hope these borrowed speed reading books can speed the process along

[Dave]

What exactly are the theorems that the lecturer is doing? With some more information I might be able to help you a little more.

 

It's also more useful to post examples explicitly, rather than ask for help on general topics.