Learning math / question for engineers

[cbennett926]

Hello,

I am currently a student at the University of Oklahoma, I am struggling with math and I was wondering how many others have had this issue and still able to succeed. Could it be me being bad at math, or a bad math student? I feel as though it's the second, I honestly have never learned how to study, ahhh but I digress, so the question is once again, can you learn math even if you have never been good at it before?

[alan21276]

I'm afraid to say that mathematics is an engineers most important tool.
I struggled with it during my mechanical design degree....more specifically fluid dynamics equations.

Now I specialise in water pumps.........so what I used to struggle with is now my strength.

My advise is to figure out which part you find most difficult and then go back to basics and try to re-learn in a way that you can understand.

Alternatively if you can afford to hire a good tutor then that might be worth a try.

Don't lose heart or give up, it will finally click and then it will all seem easier.

[cbennett926]

Agreed, I was taking Calculus, and did very poorly (failed) and I am now in College Algebra to relearn everything. It's really helping and I'm regaining confidence. I just have to find a proper way to study, apparently you can't just show up and listen

[Smilax]

you have to do the math.

get the past papers,

figure out how to do the questions for 2-5 years ago, last years paper is a guide to whats prob not going to be asked in detail

do each question 10 times untill you can do it without any reference but your brain.

pass!

[Stovey]

Hi. I recall first week of first year Calculus. The professor was demonstrating a simple problem, and I noticed that he replaced tan x with sin x / cos x (or something to that effect). I piped up and asked, how "he knew that", and he responded sarcastically that he knows because he graduated from high-school.

In other words, I was behind at math, but I caught up and succeeded.

For you, I would respectfully suggest learning how to learn. If there is a concept you do not fully understand, then it would be helpful to investigate the "first-principles", and try to understand. And with math, lots of practice and repetition is necessary.

[mag1strate]

I have a couple friends that were awful at math yet do amazing in all of their engineering classes. So all I can say is that you have to keep at it. It gets a lot easier (but more time consuming) as you near the end of your second year. KEEP AT IT!!

[Chdslv]

Hello,

I am currently a student at the University of Oklahoma, I am struggling with math and I was wondering how many others have had this issue and still able to succeed. Could it be me being bad at math, or a bad math student? I feel as though it's the second, I honestly have never learned how to study, ahhh but I digress, so the question is once again, can you learn math even if you have never been good at it before?

It is not that you are bad at maths, but it is your attitude--you are giving up, before trying.

Okay, let's do it this way.

You have few subjects, which are not related to maths. Choose 3 of them. Now, find time to study, say 2 hours. Find a place, which is silent, and take your music with you and your earphones. The Music must be soft. Have a timer/alarm clock with you (your mobile must be shut.)

Put the music on, choose the first subject unrelated to maths. Study it for 20 minutes. Whether you finished the subject or not stop after 20 minutes. Go for a walk, gaze at sky for next 10 minutes. Don't think of that subject at all. After the 10 minutes, start studying maths. 20 minutes study, stop, 10 minutes rest, no thinking of maths. Then the next subject, same procedure, and the next subject.

Once you finish go have a coffee or chat, or do something leisurely. Don't try to think of what you just studied.

The next day, start with maths, where you stopped, and randomize the next 3 subjects. Remember 20 study, stop, 10 minutes rest, don't think of what you studied, study the next. Do this for a week and let me know, how it went.

Do this with all your subjects. In a month's time, you'd be surprised how you remember everything! I have a lot of engineering behind me...

[mastablasta]

^^ good advice

i was good at solving difficult problems but the easy ones got me stumped. also not so good in logic department. somewhat mediocre. I was good in phisics (mechanics particulary and electronics). Also i loved chemistry and was quite good at is as well. History (particulary ancient era - Greek&Rome) & Psychology were my other "passions".

i really wanted to go study law. had more than enough points to enter.

in the end i went to study social sciences ... what a waste of potential.

looking back i think i should have gone with electrical engineering. i like to programme but my logic was porbably not that good to get me through uni. or at least it would have been painful experience.

[sffvba[e0rt]

Maths... *shudder*


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[Paqman]

Don't sweat it. Maths is a skill, it can be learned. Just keep practising and apply yourself and you'll improve.

Most of what you'll do as an engineer is actually quite simple mathemtically. A good grasp of basic algebra and trig will be sufficient to solve a lot of stuff. The requirement to break out some calculus-fu is pretty non-existent in my experience, although I imagine some engineers are working in fields that do it all day every day. In your working life you'll probably find yourself doing a lot of the same stuff over and over, so you'll either get very good at it, and/or you'll have automated the process to some degree (or at least you should, if you call yourself an engineer!). All the really hardcore computational stuff like analysis of complex shapes and fluids is done by computers, although you do need to understand the principles to be able to verify the output of your models.

I was never particularly good a maths in school, but manage alright as an engineer. The fact that's it's practical applied stuff makes it more interesting than all the pure maths they'll make you wade through as a young 'un.

TL;DR: Keep trying, you'll be fine.