Math and science are often mistakenly attributed as the bulk
of engineering work. Conventional
wisdom states that if you are good at math and science, you will be good at
engineering, but if you struggle with those classes, your dreams of being an
engineer are hopeless. This just
isn’t true. Above all else,
engineers need to be able to think creatively and logically to solve all
different kinds of problems.
Imagination is just as important, if not more important, than calculus.
That being said….you’re going to have to do some math and
science.
Luckily at Penn State, there are a multitude of resources to
help you out! There are your
professor’s office hours, your teaching assistant’s office hours, review
sessions, math tutoring, and this blog post! I’ve worked as a math tutor for the past two years, mainly
tutoring calculus, and I’ve picked up on some tips to help freshman engineers
succeed at math and science.
- Browse through the book before or after class so
you can pick out important formulas or concepts that your professor will cover
in class. This makes it easier to
follow along with example problems.
- Keep track of all of the equations that you
learn on a special equation sheet.
This makes homework and studying so much easier!
- When doing homework, try every single
problem. Even if you’re not
grasping the over-arching concept for that assignment, you should still attempt
each problem so that you have questions ready if you go to tutoring or office
hours.
- Take a very regimented approach to your homework. Do it step by step, write each step
down, and do not skip any steps.
For example, if you’re trying to figure out an integral and think it’s
impossible, try every single method of integration that you know. It has to be one of them!
- Something that helps a lot with homework is to
space out your work and make it very legible. The biggest mistake I made when I was a freshman was that I
tried to fit my entire homework assignment on one piece of paper. This just makes your work a
jumbled, confusing mess, and neither you nor your teacher will be able to
understand it.
- Once you’ve tried everything on a problem and
still can’t get it, go to one of the three math tutoring centers on campus
(completely free for students!) and they can help you out. Once you leave, try to do it again to
see if you followed what the tutor did.
- Study with a friend. Explaining a concept to someone else helps exponentially in
your understanding of it!
- On exams and quizzes, take your time and avoid
easy mistakes. The most common problem
that students have on calculus exams is mistakes in algebra! You can prevent this by not skipping
steps and writing down everything.
- If an exam doesn’t go too well, that’s
alright! There are a lot of
opportunities to bring up your grade in math and physics classes! Make sure you come to a tutoring center
or office hours right away when you get your test back so you can review it and
see where you made mistakes.
The biggest thing to remember is that there is always help
available! Taking these classes
with your friends or roommates makes it much easier and much more fun. Also, definitely take advantage of the
free tutoring offered on campus, as well as the exam reviews held by your
professor. If you put your mind to
it, you can easily succeed in math and science at Penn State!!
