LISTS & DEFINITE INTEGRALS

This week was all about using lists in programming and definite integrals in calculus. I know you’re just as excited as I am about it! Python Data Structures from the University of Michigan on Coursera is going really well so far, as is integral calculus on Khan Academy.

I’m starting to get my groove back with my studies. I’m not doing as much on a daily basis as I was, but I’ve been able to manage my time better as of late.

Programming

In Python Data Structures, we focused on using, creating, and manipulating lists in Python. Lists are a great way of extracting data. They can also be more useful than straight strings (as in sentences or paragraphs). Rather than slicing data like we did in strings, we can select the number of the word in the list.

I’m absolutely terrible at explaining things. But it’s good and I like it.

My writing today is also dreadful. I’m not normally poetic, but today I’m barely articulate. Sorry about that!

Anyway. . . as usual, we had two programming assignments at the end of the week. I struggled for a while on the first one, because I was unable to extract the desired output. It seemed that every line of code I entered made it worse and my output became more and more ridiculous. Nothing seemed to be going my way and I nearly gave up and searched for a solution online.

But I kept with it and figured it out on my own. I know it’s not a huge accomplishment, but I’m still thrilled about it.

The assignment asked us to open a small text file and add each word to a list, ignoring repeated words. Then, we had to sort the list in alphabetical order and display it. I really despise explaining my assignments because it sounds so much simpler than it actually is. At least for someone with no programming experience, anyhow.

I didn’t really have any trouble with the second assignment, as it was similar to things we learned in the lecture.

I’m not sure how many coding classes I’ll take before returning to Machine Learning. I have 6 months from the time I enrolled in my machine learning class to complete it, so obviously I must return to it somewhat soon. But this programming specialization is so helpful and informative, that I’ll probably attempt to complete as many courses as possible.

Mathematics

I haven’t completed very much of integral calculus, but thus far, it has been simpler than differential calculus. What we have learned use differentials as a foundation, so it makes sense. But I still have much to learn.

This week, I mastered Riemann sums (I use mastered loosely). Riemann sums are used to approximate the area under the curve of a function between points. It uses the area of rectangles or trapezoids (if I remember correctly, Riemann only used rectangles) placed under the graph to calculate the approximate area.

Definite integrals take the idea one step further. They’re used to calculate the exact area under the curve by taking the limit as there becomes an infinite number of rectangles with an infinitesimally small width between the points. Once again, I’m really terrible at explaining concepts today.

We haven’t learned how to calculate definite integrals just yet, but we have learned about their properties and meaning, which is an important first step.

The lessons for Riemann sums and definite integrals are reversed on Khan Academy. I began the definite integrals lessons, and I was completely lost. I read a suggestion to start with Riemann sums and everything made sense.

Next, I’ll be learning the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Sounds important!

Conclusion

And that’s all he wrote. I’m enjoying both of my courses and feel as though I’m improving my mind and knowledge. I’m working toward my dreams and I hope you are too!

Thank you for your support. Take care and I’ll see you next week!