Precalculus: Functions and Graphs - Softcover

Barnett, Raymond A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0070039380 ISBN 13: 9780070039384

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 1989

Synopsis

This text takes a unit circle approach to trigonometry and is designed for a one or two term course in College Algebra and Trigonometry or Precalculus. Functions and Graphs 4/E has been written to maximize student comprehension, and great care has been taken to produce a text that is mathematically correct and accessible to students. Emphasis is on computational skills, ideas, and problem solving rather than mathematical theory. Most derivations and proofs are omitted except where their inclusion adds significant insight into a particular concept. General concepts and results are usually presented only after particular cases have been discussed. The single most crucial topic is function. The function concept is introduced and developed from several points of view and is substantially motivated through many illustrations and examples. One of the primary objectives of this book is to give the student substantial experience in modeling and solving real world problems. Enough applications are included to convince even the most skeptical student that mathematics really is useful.

About this title

About the Author

I was born and raised in Cleveland, and started college at Bowling Green State University in 1984 majoring in creative writing. Eleven years later, I walked across the graduation stage to receive a PhD in math, a strange journey indeed. After two years at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, I came home to Ohio, accepting a tenure-track job at the Hamilton campus of Miami University. I've won a number of teaching awards in my career, and while maintaining an active teaching schedule, I now spend an inordinate amount of time writing textbooks and course materials. I've written or co-authored either seven or twelve textbooks, depending on how you count them, as well as several solutions manuals and interactive CD-ROMS. After many years as developmental math coordinator at Miami Hamilton, I share the frustration that goes along with low pass rates in the developmental math curriculum. Far too many students end up on the classic Jetson's-style treadmill, with the abstract nature of the traditional algebra curriculum keeping them from reaching their goals. Like so many instructors across the country, I believe the time is right to move beyond the one-size-fits-all curriculum that treats students the same whether they hope to be an engineer or a pastry chef. "Because we've always done it that way" is NOT a good reason to maintain the status quo in our curriculum. Let's work together to devise alternate pathways that help students to learn more and learn better while hastening their trip into credit-bearing math courses. Since my book (Math in Our World) is written for the Liberal Arts Math and Quantitative Literacy market, I think I'm in the right place at the right time to make a difference in the new and exciting pathways course. I'm in a very happy place right now: my love of teaching meshes perfectly with my childhood dream of writing. (Don't tell my publisher this - they think I spend 20 hours a day working on textbooks - but I'm working on my first novel in the limited spare time that I have.) I'm also a former coordinator of Ohio Project NExT, as I believe very strongly in helping young college instructors focus on high-quality teaching as a primary career goal. I live in Fairfield, Ohio with my lovely wife Cat and fuzzy dogs Macleod and Tessa. When not teaching or writing, my passions include Ohio State football, Cleveland Indians baseball, heavy metal music, travel, golf, and home improvement.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0070039380
• ISBN 13: 9780070039384
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 78