badmathdog

Hi. I am a math wannabe. lol. I'd like to take calculus in the future but it is very preliminary.

I think I can do it but i'm not really a whiz at much of anything I have to work to understand just about anything. Plus i'm older now and just don't seem to have the memory I used to which is probably related to 20 years of heavy construction and beer drinking.

Long story short I am getting ready to take a college algebra class. I had this class 25 years ago and got a B in it. I only got a B because I skipped out on a couple sections I didn't like because of the difficulty and didn't plan on going farther at that time. The credit is still good but since I can't remember any of it i'm currently in a lower level math class. I am doing well in it. And I plan on taking college algebra again only because I plan on going farther. I've had some basic trig in the past and did well with it but it was more simple stuff.

So questions............I've never had geometry. Do I need it?

And realistically.........if you can't get an A in college algebra is trying to take trig followed by calculus a complete waste of time?

I guess I am just trying to separate dreams from realistic expectations.

I had a bad accident and can't do construction anymore and I need to be able to use my brain more so now in order to make a living somehow which im still unsure of what i'm going to do. Basically I plan on not moving to tent city is the main goal.

v8archie

Two questions, two short answers: no and no.

Go for it.

Maschke

I think geometry is a good place to start. You learn what a proof is; and you learn geometric intuition, which is incredibly helpful when you take calculus. You get a good sense of lines and angles and logic, and you can't get that from skipping geometry.

You can certainly study math at any age and you don't need to have gotten good grades in any prior math class.

badmathdog

Thanks for the confidence boost!

Another question is I have a choice of taking calculus, should I get that far which I think I will, at 2 different schools.

It's a 5hr class at both schools. However one school it is just titled calculus, the other is titled anayltical geometry and calculus.

Would I be better off taking one over the other?