need/extreme want for a good book containing algebra-to calculas teachings.

[cameron marical]

hey, im a freshman in highschool, so im barely educated in too much complex math, but i want to learn it all{ i know, big statement}. im in an algebra 1 class right now. any good book suggestions teaching this to calculas math? or anything higher than calculas? thanks.

[Bignose]

Well, first of all you probably need to spell it right: calculus. (I'm not trying to be snotty here, but to use Google or something similar, having the correct spelling will yield you much more meaningful results.)

 

Secondly, I don't think that you need to rush through it. Take the advanced math classes your school offers and maybe talk with your teacher if you are looking for something more advanced. But, the classes do build on one another. Typically after Algebra 1, you are going to want to have Algebra 2, Geometry, and Trigonometry under your belt, and maybe even a Pre-Calculus class before starting Calculus. A mastery of algebra and geometry and trigonometry will make calculus go much, much smoother. If you gloss over algebra and geometry and trig, you are going to struggle mightily with calculus.

 

So, if your goal is indeed to get to calculus as quickly as possible, working through the rest of your algebra book and a trig and a geometry book is the way to go. And you have to really work through them. Don't just read the sections, but do a great number of the homework problems and check to make sure you get them right. Don't skip over things you don't understand -- you can use the forum for that help if you need to (that's pretty much what this forum is for!).

 

I'm sincerely not writing this to discourage you, but I think that having a good teacher go through these subjects can help a great, great deal. So, if you want to go through it on your own, I'd suggest you find a tutor or math camp or work something out with your school and its math teachers is a much better way to go than just working independently. As much as anything, a good instructor can make sure that you understand the concepts correctly rather than thinking you understand the concepts and having some wrong ideas.

 

And, yes, there is a great deal of math higher than calculus, but the leap from Algebra 1 to Calculus is big enough for now. No need to run a decathlon before you know how to crawl.

[cameron marical]

sorry about the misspelling. wont happen again.

 

i understand the need for algrebra and the others before calculus. i meant something that teaches it from algebra up, to calculus.

[Bignose]

Well, like I said, you'll need good courses in Algebra, Trigonometry, and Geometry to be ready for calculus. There are many, many books that teach these subjects. I suspect that your local library probably has a several. Check a few of them out and see if any of them click with you.