Getting ready to (re)take Calculus after 12 years, looking for good lecture videos/sources

Factual Questions
1

Hi guys, I had just come across this place after googling a similar question and finding this topic (What do I need to know to be ready to take Calculus? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board)

I found the answers to be very useful but my situation is a little different and I am also wondering if anyone is familiar with any free sources to help me facilitate my studies.

Essentially, I want to study Calculus 1 again but I am not sure where I stand in terms of the ability to do so and how to achieve this ability in the most efficient way. Okay that sounds strange so let me clarify - I’ve aced math in high school and passed the AP Calc exam with ease (I was the typical nerd math wiz in HS who slept through classes because numbers just made sense to me back then). That was 12 years ago and I have not taken any math classes since then and now… numbers don’t make as much sense but I would like to change that. (I am thinking about pursuing a career as an actuary).

I am looking at all of the online resources currently available and I’m wondering which source would be best to prepare me for Calc in terms of speed. For example, Khan’s Academy (not sure if I can link it) has a super extensive intro to algebra course that begins with a video about the history of where the word comes from. Udacity, has a course on Algebra that is ‘fun’ and ‘easy’ but after watching a few videos it’s equally time consuming (in terms of providing actual information… like it starts by explaining what a number is). There are a couple of interesting choices such as the corealgebra1 website and a math 101 college algebra course on education portal, which both seem like actual/most relevant courses to get me started. There isn’t anything at the moment on coursera, but there is a calc 1 course coming up with calc 2 after that for which I would like to be in shape.

So basically I have done my research (I think) and I am looking for suggestions about anything I might have missed. My main issue is that I know at least 50% of what is discussed, but I don’t know where I stand when it comes to the things I actually don’t know. I would very much like to find a couple of very condensed Algebra 1 and 2 courses that refresh my memory (and in turn, would allow for me to perhaps recall the things I might not know and need to learn). I am not lazy and am willing to sit through hours of these lectures because I’d still be learning something regardless, but I would prefer to find a viable source to get me ready for Calc without all of the high school-level introduction stuff. It’s a weird situation to be in since I’m not exactly sure where to even start because I don’t know how much I have forgotten. One thing I do remember, however, is that it is very important to not skip over stuff when preparing for higher level math because you won’t understand how to approach future content; so, while a site like purplemath is pretty useful if I run into a brick wall with a problem, it’s less so if I’m not sure what the problem is.

I really apologize in advance if my elongated explanation of my current situation is not clear. I did my best. Basically, to summarize, I breezed through calc-level math up until 12 years ago and then have not touched it. Now, I would like to re-learn it but I do not feel that I am ready for Calc/do not know where I stand at all and would like to begin with Algebra 1 and work my way back up. I would like to do that in an efficient manner without sacrificing the content and am looking for feedback/suggestions on how I could do this. Ideally, I would have loved to take the Algebra 1 and 2 courses on the MIT site, as they come with both lectures and problem sets but the videos appear to have been taken down; similarly, coursera doesn’t currently offer anything and having taken their courses before, I enjoyed the format quite a bit.

At the moment, I am leaning towards the educational portal lectures as they move all the way from Algebra 1 through Calc and Pre-Calc Algebra (not entirely sure what this is, but it’s listed as a higher level than Calc).

2

I’m still not sure exactly what you are asking for? High-school level math IS the stuff to learn to prepare for Calculus, so there’s no point in skipping that. If your Algebra and Trigonometry skills are strong, then you are ready for Calculus. if not, then you need to re-learn it. IMO Khan Academy has the best in terms of free online lectures and resources, and it’s broken down into easily manageable sections. You can always skip ahead to the relevant parts.

3

Have you ever heard of the “Great Courses” video and DVD series? I would recommend those. If you don’t want to buy them, your library would have them or could get them.

4

Paul’s Online Math Notes might be helpful.

5

Thanks :slight_smile: I am zooming through educational portal but I will give Khan another look as they are more comprehensive.

I guess I wasn’t sure what I was asking either or how to ask it. Basically, I was looking for a way I could prepare for Calculus without learning overlapping stuff that I may already know to save time. In any case, it’s all slowly coming back to me :slight_smile:

I will also check out the other resource that was recommended, thank you.

6

Sorry for double post - thought I could edit my other post after I checked the site - either way just wanted to say thanks again after looking through it. Very intuitive and clear. He specifically says it’s primarily made to complement a class or to refresh the knowledge of Algebra which is exactly what I was looking for and that’s exactly how the notes/problems are organized. Thanks again!