If you did poorly on Midterm 1...
... you will not succeed in MAT1320. Whether it is because of your academic habits or your mathematical background, by failing this very easy first test you have made it clear that you are not ready for MAT1320. Your options include:
- Proceed as you have been, and earn an F.
- Make some adjustments to your study habits, and struggle to maybe achieve a D, because you still can't understand the mathematical notation you are trying to read and write. Evaluate your progress at the second midterm, which is two days before Drop Date.
- Work on the material you are missing, either by taking the prerequisite course or working with a tutor, while at the same time working on all the problems from the list of suggested exercises for each class. You will be overwhelmed, and unable to devote time to all of your classes, and it will be miserable. But with enough effort you could pass.
- Work on the material you are missing, either by taking the prerequisite course or working with a tutor; treat this extra work as equivalent to an actual course in terms of how much time and energy you devote to it. Take this class in the Winter term when you are ready, then follow up with MAT1322 next summer, to get back on track.
- Sign up for one of the prerequisite classes (see below), and then take MAT1320 and MAT1322 once you have passed those.
How you got to this point...
... you may have been incorrectly registered in MAT1320 even though you do not have the prerequisites. We offer MAT1339 (equivalent to Ontario high school Calculus and Vectors) each semester, as well as MAT1318 (equivalent to Ontario high school Advanced Functions). Mathematics is built on foundations -- you cannot skip a math course at this level, because each course uses everything in the preceding. Talk to your academic advisor, or make an appointment to speak to the Associate Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Yves Bourgault, matugrad@uottawa.ca to talk about your individual situation.
... you may have passed courses without achieving understanding. Algebra and functions are the language of Science and Engineering; you cannot succeed in these fields without being able to manipulate mathematical expressions. Learning to manipulate mathematical expressions properly involves learning the fundamental rules and then practicing at length; there are no shortcuts. Here are some links to Khan Academy videos:
- Rational expressions like \(\frac{x+5}{x-1}\).
- Radical expressions like \(\sqrt{x+3}\).
- Exponential and Logarithmic functions
- Absolute value
- Limits
- Taking derivatives