A Bridge to Calculus Written specifically for high school students, Precalculus incorporates the graphing calculator as a tool to help students focus on the concepts that lie at the heart of calculus. Pattern development and mathematical analysis of patterns begin in Chapter 1, which develops basic recursive functions leading to mathematical sequences and series. Five full chapters offer extensive coverage of trigonometry. The trigonometric ratios are introduced using right triangles, and then trigonometric functions are discussed from a unit-circle perspective that stresses that they are functions of the real numbers. Modeling and multiple representations of all major mathematical function groups are emphasized.
Notes remind students of review topics or direct their attention to specific content.
Cautions alert students to common errors and misconceptions. Technology Tips provide assistance in carrying out various procedures on a graphing calculator. Each Chapter Review lists important concepts, fact and formula summaries, and review questions. Excursions extend or supplement material related to the previous section. Each chapter has a Can Do Calculus feature that incorporates material from the chapter into a calculus topic.