2011-11-10, 01:35 AM
(This post was last modified: 2011-11-10, 11:33 AM by ChaosCorpse.)
Multivariable calculus is tedious. Tremendously so.
Personally, I always have a tendency to make simple mistakes in the process of solving problems. Silly things like writing a number out wrong from one step to the next or a negative/positive swap. This only occurs with math for me since I'm likely just not that interested (as opposed to my work in Quality Assurance on games).
My solution up to this point was use of my TI-89 to check the answers I get at the end and backtrack any errors from there, or view a graph to see roughly what I should be expecting. I have not once in this process downloaded any programs to aid in things or those that I hear can return all the steps to get to the result as I see that as blatant cheating. You have to show understanding in the content being presented in the course at the time, and without personally showing your work, you haven't done that. I also get lazy with the old algebra sometimes, and that is not the content currently being tested anyhow
. Now stepping back, I also have a scientific calculator, and in lower levels of math, the TI-89 was restricted from use for obvious reasons.
All of this has come crashing to an end with multivariable calculus. I have found no apparent methods for double checking the answer, and this particular professor is not too kind with partial credit (ie -4 out of 10 for forgetting a + or -).
So, I'd like to know if there are any tricks to getting an equation f(x,y,z) graphed, without converting it to z=, along with obtaining tangential planes, normal planes or even just getting the intercepts. Worst comes to worst, I'll take a program for it, but I still insist that it NOT give away the steps in the process.
Otherwise, I'll take any advice for a guy with ADD who is barely not finishing the last problem in time regularly. (Ironic considering I won awards in math way back in 3rd grade). Currently at triple integrals with problems involving showing; "integral signs" dxdydz = "" dxdzdy = "" dydxdz = "" dydzdx = "" dzdxdy = "" dzdydx. So yea... tedious. Not hard, but tedious.
Personally, I always have a tendency to make simple mistakes in the process of solving problems. Silly things like writing a number out wrong from one step to the next or a negative/positive swap. This only occurs with math for me since I'm likely just not that interested (as opposed to my work in Quality Assurance on games).
My solution up to this point was use of my TI-89 to check the answers I get at the end and backtrack any errors from there, or view a graph to see roughly what I should be expecting. I have not once in this process downloaded any programs to aid in things or those that I hear can return all the steps to get to the result as I see that as blatant cheating. You have to show understanding in the content being presented in the course at the time, and without personally showing your work, you haven't done that. I also get lazy with the old algebra sometimes, and that is not the content currently being tested anyhow
. Now stepping back, I also have a scientific calculator, and in lower levels of math, the TI-89 was restricted from use for obvious reasons.All of this has come crashing to an end with multivariable calculus. I have found no apparent methods for double checking the answer, and this particular professor is not too kind with partial credit (ie -4 out of 10 for forgetting a + or -).
So, I'd like to know if there are any tricks to getting an equation f(x,y,z) graphed, without converting it to z=, along with obtaining tangential planes, normal planes or even just getting the intercepts. Worst comes to worst, I'll take a program for it, but I still insist that it NOT give away the steps in the process.
Otherwise, I'll take any advice for a guy with ADD who is barely not finishing the last problem in time regularly. (Ironic considering I won awards in math way back in 3rd grade). Currently at triple integrals with problems involving showing; "integral signs" dxdydz = "" dxdzdy = "" dydxdz = "" dydzdx = "" dzdxdy = "" dzdydx. So yea... tedious. Not hard, but tedious.
