For those starting the course

Welcome to those students visiting this page that are just starting the course. On the drop down tabs above, you will find an introduction to each unit of study for the course. Below you will find advice about how to approach the course from former students themselves.

Make sure to take time to ask questions and fully understand the conceptual side of things. It will help you with investigations and tests.

I would recommend that you ask questions. Asking questions generally leads to a deeper understanding to the topics/units conceptually and that has been a huge advantage for me.

My advice would be to complete the homework on time and schedule meetings in the mornings consistently.

I would say make sure you understand the concepts, especially at the beginning of the year, because they build off eachother. Even if the next unit has no correlation with what your learning now, you still need the base concept to get a grasp of the idea.

Study the topics a little ahead of time in the second semester, as you jump around alot, and go to your teacher for help a few days before an assessment if its necessary, don't try to cram meet with the teacher on test day

Study a lot. The material is also very different unit to unit

I would say not to be scared by previous student's remarks about how hard or terribly stressful this class it. Honestly, it was a very intellectually stimulating class and Mr. Bridge is very understanding. Obviously, it's going to be a difficult course, but if you clearly are suggested for the class and have a passion for math, you will definitely do more than fine!

This course is unlike any other you have taken before. It really challenges you conceptually and think of math beyond just numbers, variables, and hard calculations, so be prepared for that.

Do your homework early

Reading the textbook as you go along with the lessons to get an even better understanding of the content.

LEARN YOUR TRIG VALUES. Also, always seek help if you're struggling. It will help you out in the long run, both for the course and in later classes.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE 100% READY FOR EXAMS, IF YOU THINK YOU'RE PREPARED ENOUGH YOU AREN'T!

Start everything long before it is due

Start homework early. Use the Textbook to supplement the teaching and give grounding to complex issues that we learn in PreCalc.

Definitely be on your toes each unit. PreCalc has a different track and tends to bounce from topic to topic. Unlike other math classes, where topics build upon each other, PreCalc investigates a lot of different topics that start from building up from the bottom. However, there will be concepts that are essential to carry forward: trig values, unit circle, laws cosine and sine, and some algebra.

Memorize unit circle and be open to doing things differently

Make sure you understand the concepts behind each unit. Try not to rush through the homeworks but instead make sure you understand what's going on in them.

Stay ahead on your topics. It is a fast paced and complex course so it is imperative to know

exactly what work you have each night and to stay on top of it.

You need to be prepared to do independent studying as there is a lot of content you need to grasp and you will only have time to go through them very quickly once in class.

Stay ahead on textbook problems for homework. The problems lose their purpose when you rush through them.

PreCal is the most important math for one to know. Unlike, its name, it has very little to do with Calculus, but summarizes every thing that we've touched on in previous years. It is a conclusion class to all we've been learning since elementary school. Take is course EXTRA-SERIOUS.

Be diligent in doing all the homework assignments. Don't slack and let it fall to one day. It's a cumulative class, so all the concepts will continuously build up.

If you want to truly understand a concept, teach it or design a test for it.

I would advise them to make sure they know the Unit Circle early, and that they completely understand it! It is a critical component the entire year and it is necessary they understand it.

Be willing to do lots of practice problems in preparation for tests and quizzes.

This class is super hard, try to study as much as possible.

don't just sit back and think you can learn something later in the class, always pay attention or it will come back to haunt you.

The second semester is definitely more difficult than the first. Though the homework might seem like a lot of problems, it is super helpful to understand the topics.

Memorize trig values!

I would tell them to be prepared for a good amount of homework each night and to prioritize your time for math. I say this because the homework is a big part of kinds of problems we usually see. I would also tell them to be patient if they don't understand a topic at first because you will get that AHA moment.

Always do the homework on time and ask questions about it. And make sure to come in during frees and work on difficult problems with the teacher.

Be ready to work in other dimensions and variables that is different than exponential. Even though the course is very spread out and there're many things to learn, the most fundamentals, sin and cos will be very important for the course.

Be prepared to adapt to many new things. Be prepared to learn a new language.

Do your homework

Just study, put extra time in, the concepts are not that difficult if you study enough

Make sure to study everyday, and truly learn the basic things. Don't study a night before, it is easier to study everyday 15 minutes, with the class notes that Mr. Bridge provided.

it gets much easier. The first month or so is meant to scare off most kids.

Always stay prepared and always stay on task. Never lose sight of your goals in this class just because it might be challenging

Learn to enjoy math for what it is, not what it can help you do in "life."

Be prepared to push yourself. There is a lot of new material, so be ready to learn and be open to new concepts.

Take time to understand the why even more than simply executing each problem. In algebra II, one could just complete all the excursuses in the hw and feel prepared, but in precalc, the same preparation will not always suffice.