Welcome to Algebra Foundations for Calculus! In this course, you’ll learn the foundational Algebra principles needed to be successful in Calculus, which covers:
- Solving equations and inequalities involving exponents, logarithms, trigonometric functions
- Graphing polynomials and exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions
- Defining and using the derivative–the most important concept in Calculus–to better understand how functions behave
- Using limits to graph functions and find the derivative
- Finding sums of finite and infinite series
This course is co-taught by Arun Sharma, PhD, Calculus Professor at UC Berkeley, and Katie Kormanik, math aficionado. In this course, you’ll watch videos in which Arun and Katie explain concepts and work through examples. We also provide many practice exercises so you can solidify what you’re learning. Remember, learning math is just like learning a language, and the goal of this course is to make you fluent. Or, at least conversational. 🙂
A few tips as you work through this course:
- Re-watch the videos to refresh your memory
- Keep a pen and paper with you so you can do the exercises
- Pause the videos occasionally to give you time to process the concepts
- There’s no need for calculators. This course is less about performing basic calculations and more about understanding the principles
Due to the COVID situation, I am making all educational offerings free until May 31. Enjoy!
Arun Sharma Bio
After majoring in math, Arun got his PhD in pure mathematics from UC Berkeley in 2009. Since 2010 he has been teaching introductory math classes at UC Berkeley. Because of this, he intimately understands the areas in which students struggle. He feels many students entering college math classes are not as prepared in Algebra as they should be. Because of this, he is excited to offer this course to help ensure students succeed in Calculus and beyond. A fun fact about Arun is that he is highly ranked in chess and runs the US Chess League.