Fredbill30 wrote: |
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I don't think I was ever "spoon fed" in school. |
Fredbill30 wrote: |
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Once you know formulas just plug numbers in. |
When I got into high school, I realized how much "spoon feeding" I received in previous grades. Luckily the teachers at my high school actually attempted to help us understand the subjects. I'm not sure if I can attest to critical thinking however.
Anyway, as you get into higher levels of mathematics, you'll start to realize that memorizing every single darn formula is just not very feasible. As many of my math professors would say (and I hold this true for myself), it is easier to learn how to derive the formulas. For example, I don't even both with remembering all the basic trigonomic formulae. I just remember: sin
2(x) + cos
2(x) = 1, sin(2x) = 2*sin(x)cos(x), and cos(2x) = cos
2(x) - sin
2(x); and I'm good to go with the other derivations like: tan
2(x) + 1 = sec
2(x) and sin
2(x/2) = (1 - cos(x))/2.
Plus, by knowing how to derive formulas you need, you can check to make sure your work is correct (as I often do).
@OP
Like others have said, go for it. I suggest doing plenty of practice problems, so that information remains ingrained in your mind.