Precalculus: A Concise Course / Edition 3

by Ron Larson

Overview

With the same design and feature sets as the market leading Precalculus, 9/e, this concise text provides both students and instructors with sound, consistently structured explanations of the mathematical concepts. PRECALCULUS: A CONCISE COURSE is designed to offer a cost-effective, one-semester alternative to the traditional two-semester precalculus text. It contains the features that have made the Larson series a complete solution for both students and instructors: interesting applications, pedagogically effective design, and innovative technology combined with an abundance of carefully developed examples with worked-out solutions and exercises.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781133960744
Publisher:	Cengage Learning
Publication date:	12/04/2012
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	592
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dr. Ron Larson is a professor of mathematics at the Pennsylvania State University, where he has taught since 1970. He is considered the pioneer of using multimedia to enhance the learning of mathematics, having authored more than 30 software titles since 1990. Dr. Larson has also authored numerous acclaimed textbooks, including the best-selling calculus series coauthored with Dr. Bruce Edwards and published by Cengage. Dr. Larson received the 2017 William Holmes McGuffey Longevity Award for PRECALCULUS and for CALCULUS. He also received the 2018 Text and Academic Authors Association TEXTY Award for CALCULUS: EARLY TRANSCENDENTAL FUNCTIONS. In addition, Dr. Larson received the 1996 Text and Academic Authors Association TEXTY Award for INTERACTIVE CALCULUS — a complete text on CD-ROM that was the first mainstream college textbook to be offered on the internet.

Table of Contents

1. FUNCTIONS AND THEIR GRAPHS. Rectangular Coordinates. Graphs of Equations. Linear Equations in Two Variables. Functions. Analyzing Graphs of Functions. A Library of Parent Functions. Transformations of Functions. Combinations of Functions: Composite Functions. Inverse Functions. Mathematical Modeling and Variation. Chapter Summary. Review Exercises. Chapter Test. Proofs in Mathematics. P.S. Problem Solving. 2. POLYNOMIAL AND RATIONAL FUNCTIONS. Quadratic Functions and Models. Polynomial Functions of Higher Degree. Polynomial and Synthetic Division. Complex Numbers. Zeros of Polynomial Functions. Rational Functions. Nonlinear Inequalities. Chapter Summary. Review Exercises. Chapter Test. Proofs in Mathematics. P.S. Problem Solving. 3. EXPONENTIAL AND LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS. Exponential Functions and Their Graphs. Logarithmic Functions and Their Graphs. Properties of Logarithms. Exponential and Logarithmic Equations. Exponential and Logarithmic Models. Chapter Summary. Review Exercises. Chapter Test. Cumulative Test for Chapters 1-3. Proofs in Mathematics. P.S. Problem Solving. 4. TRIGONOMETRY. Radian and Degree Measure. Trigonometric Functions: The Unit Circle. Right Triangle Trigonometry. Trigonometric Functions of Any Angle. Graphs of Sine and Cosine Functions. Graphs of Other Trigonometric Functions. Inverse Trigonometric Functions. Applications and Models. Chapter Summary. Review Exercises. Chapter Test. Proofs in Mathematics. P.S. Problem Solving. 5. ANALYTIC TRIGONOMETRY. Using Fundamental Identities. Verifying Trigonometric Identities. Solving Trigonometric Equations. Sum and Difference Formulas. Multiple-Angle and Product-to-Sum Formulas. Law of Sines. Law of Cosines. Chapter Summary. Review Exercises. Chapter Test. Proofs in Mathematics. P.S. Problem Solving. 6. TOPICS IN ANALYTIC GEOMETRY. Lines. Introduction to Conics: Parabolas. Ellipses. Hyperbolas. Parametric Equations. Polar Coordinates. Graphs of Polar Equations. Polar Equations of Conics. Chapter Summary. Review Exercises. Chapter Test. Cumulative Test for Chapters 4-6. Proofs in Mathematics. P.S. Problem Solving. APPENDIX A: A REVIEW OF FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF ALGEBRA (WEB). Real Numbers and Their Properties. Exponents and Radicals. Polynomials and Factoring. Rational Expressions. Solving Equations. Linear Inequalities in One Variable. Errors and the Algebra of Calculus. APPENDIX B: CONCEPTS IN STATISTICS (WEB). Representing Data. Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion. Least Squares Regression.

Editorial Reviews

"Some students in my precalculus class are very weak in algebra. The 'Algebra Help' is definitely beneficial to students, as are the 'Warning/Cautions', which help those students avoid common mistakes that others make. [And] the 'Student Tips' really guide students in what they should recognize after an example is presented. Larson's text is among the best precalculus books I've found."

"I am very satisfied with the exercises as well as the review exercises, they are helpful and there is a range of easy, medium, and hard problems. There is a wealth of example problems and I can easily find examples that show where common algebraic mistakes occur. I especially like the true/false questions. The examples and exercises are by far the greatest strength of the textbook."

From the Publisher