• The book is the primary source of information for the course. You should read the appropriate section of the book before class or before using the online materials.

• When you read the book or use the WWW materials you should have a pencil and pad ready to use. You cannot learn mathematics just by reading mathematics. Just as an athlete or a musician needs to practice, you need to practice by doing mathematics.

• When you do the quizzes or drill problems online, you should first attempt the problem with paper and pencil. If you do not know where to start, check your book and the online tutorial. Only after you have tried all of these options, then you should look at the answer.

• There is a lot of material in the book. You should try to learn as much of this material as possible. The most important topics will be identified in the objectives, the tutorials and the rest of the online materials.

• The prerequisites of this course does not include high school calculus. If you have had calculus before then do not fall in the trap of thinking that you know all of this material and you do not have to work as hard. Again use the analogy of the college athlete or musician who participated in these activities in high school.

• The material in the calculus course can be categorized three ways:
  1. algorithms - step by step procedures to solve a problem
  2. concepts
  3. applications
  Most students can handle the first of these; the difficult part of the course is with the last two. Since concepts and applications are not, in general, algorithms, you cannot find a step by step procedure for working with them. Here is where you need to work a large variety of problems to gain some understanding.

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