12-24-2025, 07:51 PM
I'm an engineering student who can follow along in my calculus lectures, but I completely blank when I'm presented with a new problem on a homework assignment or exam that doesn't look exactly like the examples. I understand the individual rules for derivatives and integrals, but I struggle with the initial step of figuring out which technique to apply and how to set up the problem. For students who have overcome this hurdle, what strategies or resources did you use to develop better problem-solving intuition and learn how to deconstruct unfamiliar calculus questions?