Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Showing posts with label Pre-Calculus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pre-Calculus. Show all posts

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Study Aid Review: The Trig and Pre-Calculus Tutor Volume 2

 


One of the big complaints about the original Trig and Precalculus tutor that Jason released it is that it did not cover enough material. In that one Jason focused mainly on the concepts of angles, the trig functions using right triangles and the unit circle, graphing trig functions, and only touched on verifying trig identities. Basically, Jason covered the main points that you have to learn in a trig or pre-calc class to do well on the other, more advanced material.

This volume fills in a lot of the other material you are going to learn in class that was omitted from the first set. Specifically, Jason really expands the coverage of trig identities material. In this set, he has sections on the double angle, half angle, product-to-sum, sum-to-product, even/odd, and Pythagorean identities. There are also sections on solving trig equations and multiple sections on the law of sines and the law of cosines. All of the material is presented in the style of Jason's other DVD sets where is does a basic introduction of the topic and then works several example problems step-by-step. He rarely skips any steps and when he does, he always lets you know and it is usually because he has shown you how to do something several times and is trying to conserve space on the board.

If you get this, the original set, and the advanced algebra tutor
you will learn about 90% of the material you will see in a trig or pre-calc class. The only big topics that you will not see are conic sections and the polar and parametric equations that some classes introduce you to (usually at the very end of the class). In none of Jason's DVDs has he ever covered everything that you get in every class. He touches on the main topics and the things you are most likely to see on a final exam.

I have reviewed several of Jason's DVDs because I have found them extremely helpful. They usually lay out the material in the same or similar order you will find things in the book. The step-by-step approach really makes you learn the material (and improve the "lower level" skills that you need at that level). It is NOT a substitute for going to class or doing homework. Jason does not pick your quiz or test problems, nor does he do examples of every problem you will see in the book. You have to go to class to get an idea of what your instructor focuses on. You should use this to prepare for class or reinforce the lecture topics, and learn strategies for solving the problems. If you use it that way, you will definitely know the material well and get a good grade.

The other thing to keep in mind is your learning style. This is a videotaped lecture of a guy in front of a whiteboard doing problems. If you can learn from that kind of thing, it is the best investment you can make. If you have to be able to interact with a real person and ask questions, you are probably going to need to invest in an actual tutor.

Sunday, July 23, 2023

Study Aid Review: Pre-Calculus Demystified

 


What is in this book is very clear and straightforward. There is not a ton of jargon like you get in the textbooks and what theory it does cover is basic and understandable. It covers the theory you need to know and does not go wild with proving or deriving the equations. And, the examples that are shown are clear. One thing I really like is the book goes into detail on comics. Conics are always covered at some point in pre-calculus, but very few supplements go into any depth. 

What knocks this down a bit for me is that it only has 1 chapter on trigonometry. The curriculum from school to school can be different. Some schools have trig as a completely separate class, and others run precalc classes as essentially a quarter to half advanced algebra, half trig, and then a few other topics depending on how much time is left at the end of the semester. If your school does the latter, while this book will give you the basics of trigonometry, what you will need to know for a class will be much more in-depth than what you will get here.

It does do a good job of explaining the basic trig functions, graphing trig functions, and some of the trig identities. Basically, the trig that the book presents is the stuff that, if you do not know it, will make the rest of trig impossible. Just keep in mind, however, that depending on your class curriculum, you may need a supplement that goes deeper into the trig material than this does.

Textbook Review: Precalculus: Enhanced with Graphing Utilities

 



This is actually a very good math book. It gives lots of examples and clear explanations (at least as clear as any math book does). I have yet to come across a math book that is an "easy" read, at least until you are about three classes beyond your current class, but I understood this one pretty well when I was taking precalculus. I did luck out and get a really great teacher for precalculus so I really did not have to read this all that much when I was in class, but when I had to, it made sense. There were times however in Calculus I, II, and III where I had to refer back to this and found exactly what I was looking for and could follow the explanation easily.

I also used this book when I tutored students so I often times have to re-read parts of it to brush up on concepts. I think it does the balancing act of giving you enough information to help guide you, but still leaves you to have to figure some things out on your own. While it is not perfect, compared to some math books out there (the crappy one I had for Calculus III springs to mind) it is pretty helpful.