If an exam is missed for any reason, that will be the one which is dropped. It is essential that you do not fall behind. It becomes extremely difficult to catch up. The best approach to mastering the material in this course is to keep up daily, therefore you should spend some time every day working on the course. It is significantly better to spend 30 minutes every day for seven days than to sit down and spend 3.5 hours one day a week on this course.
Repetition is extremely important.
It takes time to master some of the difficult concepts in this course and going back over certain ideas will make them much easier to comprehend. In addition, new ideas which you learn later in a chapter will often make earlier concepts more understandable. This is why repetitive studying and working every day is so important. If you are having difficulty with the course, get help as soon as possible. Waiting until half way through the semester is too late.