Advice needed

[SomeFloridaKid]

Guys, i need some advice. This year, i am breezing through algebra I. (eighth grade)
Next year, in my freshmen highschool year, i was thinking of taking up a study hall period to do both Algebra II and Geometry. Do you guys think this is a good idea? Would i be behind in Algebra II without geometry? (i don't think i will though...)

Anyways, all i wanna know is your opinions. would doing them both in one year be a good idea?

[Narius]

From what I remember, the two subjects are pretty much separate but equal. You don't have to have geometry to take algebra II, and vice-versa.
I took them both my freshman year in high school, but we did block schedule (you only have 4 classes, and you switch classes each semester) so I didn't actually take them at the same time. I remember my counselors saying I should take geometry first, but looking back I'm not sure if it matters too much for algebra II. (this all based off of my memory, I could be wrong)
The only problem might be having two potentially challenging classes at the same time. I don't know what kind of math student you are, and it depends on the teachers too. If you're up for the challenge, I say go for it. It sets you up for being able to take more advanced math (Up to Calc BC or something) later on in high school. But it's really up to you to decide how hard you want to push yourself your first year of high school.

[rubber314chicken]

Take them both. That leaves you with calc you junior (and senior) years which, if you wanna get some kind of degree that most XKCDians want, will be a great help. Take all the math you are allowed to. I'll be graduating from my high school with a record (I think it is, I'll have to check with the principal before graduation) 8 math credits, which I've been earning since the 6th grade. Two classes isn't an overload if you stay up with the work. Good prep for college too, because word is that's more work than high school.

[SomeFloridaKid]

Thanks.

I'd say in highschool, our algebra II teacher is the best math teacher at school. I'm also a good math student, so i doubt it will be much of a problem. I can actually expect it to be a bit of fun. I've always loved math, so i want to get ahead. i'll try it and see how it goes

[Dromtry]

Algebra 1 is incredibly easy. Not only as a student currently taking Calc looking back, but it's just a natural extension on basic mathematics. There are a lot less rules and formulas to remember in Algebra 1 than any other math class (besides the basic stuff).

About taking Geometry and Algebra II at the same time though, my high school made the prerequisites for Algebra II so that students could take it and Geometry at the same time (Alg. 2 required taking Geometry, Geometry and every other math class required completion of the previous class). But this was set up so that freshman were ineligible, and designed so that the 4/5 of the sophomore class who was a year behind could catch up.

[Turiski]

I don't know how Florida sets up its standardized testing, but in Arizona the math portion state req test for graduating, while stupidly easy, is also almost entirely Geometry. Given the choice, I probably would never have taken Geometry (and if you ask me what I did in it now I'll scratch my head and come up with some lie) but I'm glad I did because it would have been very embarrassing to have to retake the exams once or twice.

Behind in A2? No. The only think you might be "behind" in is graphing - if that even happens in Geo - but I don't think you should have much of a problem with that.

Both in one year? You will have math homework every night, and if you end up liking one over the other you can't just stop doing the work. On the other hand, if you think you would be able to keep your motivation up, sure, especially if you have a course titled "Trigonometry" because that can be a very slow year (in that there's not too much material to cover, not difficulty).

[SomeFloridaKid]

Oh man, trig.... oh god... not trig....

1/n sin(x)=?
n's cancel
six=6 I R WINNER!

[Jorpho]

Advice: Learn to write better thread titles.

Also, never start a land war with Russia in the winter.

[SomeFloridaKid]

well, since it is in the school thread...

you see were i am going with this?

[Shivari]

a land war with Russia

As opposed to a fierce naval battle in the Arctic Ocean.

[rubber314chicken]

Advice: Learn to write better thread titles.

Also, never start a land war with Russia in the winter.

http://xkcd.com/405/ ?

[SomeFloridaKid]

http://xkcd.com/405/ ?

one of the best ones

[RogerMurdock]

Algebra II and Geometry are easy, and they do not depend upon one another at all. If you're interested in math it's the best course decision to take anyway, as it will effect you greatly down the road. I took
Pre-Algebra in 6th grade,
Algebra I in 7th grade,
Geometry in 8th grade,
Alg II in 9th,
Precal 10th,
Calc AB 11th,
and I'm currently a senior in BC.

So you see how just a years delay greatly changes your learning later on? If you're interested in math, you want to get as many high level courses in while you're in high school as possible, and the only route that is faster than the one I've done is the Math Analysis in 10th ----> Calc BC in 11th course (which I'm not sure is even viable at most schools, it certainly isn't for us since as a senior you want to take multi-variable calc...but it's not taught at our high school, so you might as well just take BC senior year).

I've found that a healthy interest in math is better than raw ability anyway. I'm not the greatest student ever, I actually scored a lot lower on my Math SAT section than my reading, but I still do well in math courses due to my desire to actually learn the material and put in some effort.

[modularblues]

You can start taking both in the beginning and see how it's like. If there's any indication that there's too much work you can drop one of them. As mentioned previously these two courses are about mutually independent. Keep in mind that workload tends to increase linearly with time with spikes right before exams or projects...

[Internetmeme]

I took Geometry last year in Freshman year. It's just different from Algebra II. We haven't used anything from Geometry that we didn't learn in Algebra I.
They both base off of Algebra I, think of them like to separate branches. Imagine a Y, where the | is Algebra I, the / is Algebra II, and \ is Geometry.

Take 'em both.

[SomeFloridaKid]

I took Geometry last year in Freshman year. It's just different from Algebra II. We haven't used anything from Geometry that we didn't learn in Algebra I.
They both base off of Algebra I, think of them like to separate branches. Imagine a Y, where the | is Algebra I, the / is Algebra II, and \ is Geometry.

Take 'em both.

Thanks. for a good response, i gave you an internetz.