Question on Calculus for a middle schooler

[XB_Fan]

Hi Guys,

I have a 12 year old 7th grade son that is very much obsessed with math. Pretty much what he does in his free time.

He has self taught himself Algebra 1, 2 and Geometry from used high school textbooks and workbooks I purchase for him.

He still has Trig to start.

He is wanting me to get him some Calculus books so he can begin working on that.

I am math illiterate to be quite honest and I have never taken calculus.

He did request workbooks on "Logarithms and Exponentials", not really sure what those are to be honest. LOL

If he has a firm grasp of Algebra 1, 2 and Geometry is there any reason he can't self study calculus or will that be the course he actually will need someone to walk him through it? I want the little guy to achieve all he can, but will spend money and hire someone if I need to.

Thanks guys
.

 

[Creekside]

Hi Guys,

I have a 12 year old 7th grade son that is very much obsessed with math. Pretty much what he does in his free time.

He has self taught himself Algebra 1, 2 and Geometry from used high school textbooks and workbooks I purchase for him.

He still has Trig to start.

He is wanting me to get him some Calculus books so he can begin working on that.

I am math illiterate to be quite honest and I have never taken calculus.

He did request workbooks on "Logarithms and Exponentials", not really sure what those are to be honest. LOL

If he has a firm grasp of Algebra 1, 2 and Geometry is there any reason he can't self study calculus or will that be the course he actually will need someone to walk him through it? I want the little guy to achieve all he can, but will spend money and hire someone if I need to.

Thanks guys.View attachment 119928

I have no advice, just wanted to say that it's awesome that he likes math. Geometry is the highest math I have and I wish I could have grasped it better in school. Kudos to both of you.

 

[XB_Fan]

I have no advice, just wanted to say that it's awesome that he likes math. Geometry is the highest math I have and I wish I could have grasped it better in school. Kudos to both of you.

That is a very kind thing to say. I also wish I had gone above Geometry myself. It affected my career choices for sure. When he explaining how to solve a quadratic equation and I am absolutely lost, I have mixed feelings. One of a sense of pride that he is doing this at a young age and also shame that I cannot do this at 47 years old. Looks like a foreign language, especially the Algebra 2 stuff.

 

[DougR]

Your son needs to be proficient in trigonometry before starting calculus. It may be useful to study pre-calculus to review the important concepts of algebra 2, trigonometry and geometry before starting calculus. You'll find more information in a Google search

 

[XB_Fan]

Your son needs to be proficient in trigonometry before starting pre-calculus coursework, followed by calculus. You'll find more information in a Google search

Thanks Doug. He has the Trig book he's starting and then I'll get a Pre-calculus book. Thank God for online used book stores. Getting really nice textbooks for under 10 bucks is nice. Since schools do not give out homework anymore, he studies math on his own around 20 hours a week. He'll be through the Trig stuff very quickly.

 

[JavierH19]

There are full courses available on the web like YouTube. They can be well over a dozen hours long and the self taught ones can be better than teacher taught ones if they're explained well in the first place. Bad teachers don't explain things well or make mistakes then confuse the student. A student that doesn't have questions because he understood it means the lesson was taught properly without holes. There are also online learning sites like khan academy that the kids have used before for classes they didn't understand. My son's geometry teacher wasn't good so he supplemented the class with it and he got by. For him it would be best to start of with calculus concepts/fundamentals for beginners then pre calculus then go up from there.

It's honestly just great that he's good at math. I wish I and the rest of us were. That's mostly what you need to become an engineer, being good at math in college as that's where the meat of it is. Do you know if he understands chemistry? It's like math in a way but some can grasp it very well.

 

[Timmastertech]

The next step would be a precalculus course. This would contain sufficient trigonometry to prepare for calculus but would contain things that a trig course would not while omitting some things a trig course would contain.

 

[XB_Fan]

There are full courses available on the web like YouTube. They can be well over a dozen hours long and the self taught ones can be better than teacher taught ones if they're explained well in the first place. Bad teachers don't explain things well or make mistakes then confuse the student. A student that doesn't have questions because he understood it means the lesson was taught properly without holes. There are also online learning sites like khan academy that the kids have used before for classes they didn't understand. My son's geometry teacher wasn't good so he supplemented the class with it and he got by. For him it would be best to start of with calculus concepts/fundamentals for beginners then pre calculus then go up from there.

It's honestly just great that he's good at math. I wish I and the rest of us were. That's mostly what you need to become an engineer, being good at math in college as that's where the meat of it is. Do you know if he understands chemistry? It's like math in a way but some can grasp it very well.

Good evening,

He loves Khan Academy a lot as he has told me that it is a very thorough site and well done.

He loves Physics and Chemistry. Wants to be a Physicist for a career field. He can balance chem equations, but I do not know if that is on the easier side of things as I am chemistry illiterate. Strangely enough, he idolizes Issac Newton and has pictures of a scientist on his wall who killed his own cat in an experiment named Schrodinger. ha!

 

[DougR]

His request for a workbook on logarithms and exponentials is reasonable and the books are inexpensive. Google

 

[Number_35]

I highly recommend the book Calculus Made Easy by Sylvanus P. Thompson.

It was written well over a hundred years ago, but remains an excellent introduction. It's leavened with some dry British wit as well.

As others have said, it's important to have a good understanding of geometry and particularly algebra before jumping into calculus.

 

[XB_Fan]

The next step would be a precalculus course. This would contain sufficient trigonometry to prepare for calculus but would contain things that a trig course would not while omitting some things a trig course would contain.

Thank you for the reply Tim. I think that is where this needs to head at this point. He and I have talked as the ultimate goal of having all math courses through Calculus before entering 9th grade. He has a year and half to do this. He even has his own Youtube channel now where he gives chalkboard lectures on algebra and rudimentary physics stuff. It is pretty cute when he's doing math videos. Really gets into it like a real teacher.

 

[XB_Fan]

I highly recommend the book Calculus Made Easy by Sylvanus P. Thompson.

It was written well over a hundred years ago, but remains an excellent introduction. It's leavened with some dry British wit as well.

As others have said, it's important to have a good understanding of geometry and particularly algebra before jumping into calculus.

Thank you for that author recommendation. Duly noted. Geometry is his absolute favorite that he's completed. He kept telling me how much fun it was and made me and his mom sit for these lectures on various theorems or proofs, etc. Good stuff.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Calculus can be thought of as Arithmetic over time. You generally study differential and then integral Calculus.
edX.org is my favorite on line school.

 

[XB_Fan]

He has a ton of books from this author Dr. McMullen. And at 9.99 each, not terrible!

 

[DougR]

He loves Physics and Chemistry. Wants to be a Physicist for a career field.

It's great to see your son's desire for multi-discipline studies. Encourage this. I pursued three degrees, mathematics, computer science and mechanical engineering, which altogether helped me to be a much better engineer (now retired).

 

[XB_Fan]

Calculus can be thought of as Arithmetic over time. You generally study differential and then integral Calculus.
edX.org is my favorite on line school.

I'll bookmark that edX.org site. Thank you! So many neat resources online that I didn't have growing up.

 

[XB_Fan]

It's great to see your son's desire for multi-discipline studies. Encourage this. I pursued three degrees, mathematics, computer science and mechanical engineering, which altogether helped me to be a much better engineer (now retired).

Thank you Doug. This all started when he was around 7 or so. I told him that I do not enjoy the job I do, but am limited by what I attained academically. I basically told him to not be me earnings and career-wise, and it really stuck with him. There is nothing worse than being limited at a later age because you didn't hit the books hard when you had the chance.

We drive around the million dollar neighborhoods in our city and I tell him that he can have any of these if he keeps his foot on the gas education wise.

 

[xgmad]

Your son needs to be proficient in trigonometry before starting calculus. It may be useful to study pre-calculus to review the important concepts of algebra 2, trigonometry and geometry before starting calculus. You'll find more information in a Google search

Yep, pre-calculus. I would highly recommend after he gets the pre calculus done with to learn calculus based on college board's AP calculus ab and bc.

 

[Belker]

XB_Fan,

The following fives courses are helpful before starting Calculus:
1. Elementary Algebra (a.k.a. Algebra I);
2. Intermediate Algebra (a.k.a. Algebra II);
3. College Algebra;
4. Geometry;
5. Trigonometry.
In my experience, College Algebra seems to be the course that is often skipped before starting Calculus. This is unfortunate, as the graphing skills taught in a rigorous College Algebra course make understanding how to apply the concepts of differential calculus a lot easier.

Belker

 

[Creekside]

XB_Fan,

The following fives courses are helpful before starting Calculus:
1. Elementary Algebra (a.k.a. Algebra I);
2. Intermediate Algebra (a.k.a. Algebra II);
3. College Algebra;
4. Geometry;
5. Trigonometry.
In my experience, College Algebra seems to be the course that is often skipped before starting Calculus. This is unfortunate, as the graphing skills taught in a rigorous College Algebra course make understanding how to apply the concepts of differential calculus a lot easier.

Belker

I took Algebra I in 8th grade and then skipped straight to Geometry. I think that's where I went wrong. I was loosing grasp of it in Algebra I and the Geometry was like another language. Those are the only two math classes in your list that I have completed in the public education system.