I'm about to have a geometry test!!!!!

[Troll King]

Different regions have different cirriculums and use different names for course, so forgive me when I ask what pre-calculus is. Is it mainly concerning functions and relations? Does it touch on calculus at all, with maybe a start on derivatives or is it purely as the name implies, only preparatory for calculus?

[Ewan]

I was wondering the exact same thing.

[Dias_Flac]

Good thing it wasn't a spelling test, huh?

(multiple)

yes yes my grammar isn't that good..but it's gotten a lil better since last year...*didn't realize that so many people replied to his topic while he was away :wub: *

[Dias_Flac]

me and dea hope that you get cancer and fail at your exam !

*wonders if all brazilains are so hateful* third world countries are important too, there's no need to have such malice. :P

[pv=nrt]

Different regions have different cirriculums and use different names for course, so forgive me when I ask what pre-calculus is. Is it mainly concerning functions and relations? Does it touch on calculus at all, with maybe a start on derivatives or is it purely as the name implies, only preparatory for calculus?

we had pre-calc and trig as one class. I think it was mainly the basics for calc. I think I remember the derivatives not appearing until the actual start of derivatives. So maybe every up to the point of derivatives is counted as pre-calc? too long ago to remember what was covered.

[DoTheFandango]

IT has Derivatives and Interlatives and second half we do Trig. I'm not sure.

[Pandagirl!]

Our school doesn't even have trig. The highest you can have is calculus. My brother who is a junior has to drive to college to take trig because our school doesn't have it.

[DoTheFandango]

Our school doesn't even have trig. The highest you can have is calculus. My brother who is a junior has to drive to college to take trig because our school doesn't have it.

Trig is a part of Pre-Calc in our school

[dchao]

Meh, I'm in Precalculus in 9th grade.

[Troll King]

Okay, another question then: I want to know how many secondary school level calculus classes from regions outside of Ontario cover integration. The recent curriculum reform here in Ontario eliminated integration a few years ago and that created problems because many first year university courses that require calculus expected at least a rudimentary knowledge of antiderivatives. I've always felt that if you are going to to teach derivatives then you have to at least do a bit of integration, but I just want to see how other school systems approach it.

[Ewan]

I'm in England over here. This is how I learnt stuff:

In year 9 (Age 13 - 14) we learnt stuff like Pythagoras and the basics of trig.
In Year 10/11 (Age 14 - 16) we did more trig, up to the level of cosine rule & sine rule (although these were given to you in a formula book in the exam).

Everything after this was not compulsory (I.e. I could have dropped out here and got a career at McDonalds)

In first year of sixth form, I learnt more advanced trig (Still only sin, cos etc) and did some calculus (including differentiation and integration). As far as derivatives went, we went as far as chain rule, product rule, quotient rule for diff and I think it was just basic integration at that stage.

In second year of sixth form, I learnt stuff about sec, cosec etc, and all those triginometric functions (cos^2x+sin^2x=1 that sort of stuff) and the things like sinAcosB=.. (can't remember them off by heart anymore, they're in our data book at uni). As far as diff went we did more complex stuff, like differentiating trig and dipped into differential equations (dy/dx + x = 3 etc). for integration we did integration by parts, by recognition, by substitution and basically at the end of college, anything I could differentiate, I could integrate back (i.e. they were at the same level).

Of course there was non-trig and non-calculus stuff I learnt as well, I just couldn't be bothered to mention it as it didn't seem to come up in earlier discussion.

Now I'm at uni, the first few modules of maths were revision of what I did at college. I've now learnt more difficult differential equations, differentiation and integration (and I still have 1 more diff module and 3 more integration this semester).

I've done stuff like complex numbers and functions too (hyperbolic stuff, inverse functions etc) at uni.

Basically, at age 18, I have quite a high level of calculus and trig. (Although I don't know what sort of level an 18 year old would be at in America or Canada.)

Could someone please give me a little guide as to what ages grades are? I know they aren't strictly age based, but I assume most people pass so most people of one grade are the same age.

[Ewan]

Our school doesn't even have trig. The highest you can have is calculus. My brother who is a junior has to drive to college to take trig because our school doesn't have it.

Trig is MUCH lower than calculus..

You start trig at about 12 here, you don't even know what calculus is until you're 16 (and are taking a maths A-Level)

[ZeUs!!]

I took AS maths. I got bombed off the course about three weeks before christmas

[Blindmonkey21]

Yeah I am taking the advanced form of Pre Calc at my school. Basically if you are smart enough you go to the local community college and you take your first year of college math for Pre Calc. If you are dumb you take Pre Calc. What I am taking is called College Algebra/Trigonometry. Just finished College Algebra <Sarcasm>Can't wait for Trigonometry</Sarcasm>

[DoTheFandango]

I just got my progress report for PreCalc

I have a 64%.

Sigh.