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Precalculus: Functions and Graphs
Year after year, PRECALCULUS: FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS leads the way in helping students like you succeed in their Precalculus courses. Its clear explanations and examples and exercises featuring a variety of real-life applications make the content understandable and relatable. This 13th edition of Swokowski and Cole's bestselling text is consistently praised for being at just the right level for Precalculus students. Perhaps most important, this book effectively prepares readers for further courses in mathematics.
976 pages, Hardcover
First published December 3, 2004
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January 24, 2021
I had some trouble with this book, compounded by my tendency to space off in class. Even when I succeeded in keeping my admittedly sub-par attention on the professor, the material was not particularly clear. On further examination, and with more experience dealing with math texts, the biggest problem seems to stem from it trying to be both a proof-based and example-based text at the same time, while doing neither well. Therefore, as a teaching aid it is difficult to use.
This said, the solutions manual is one of the best I've used. The shock when I started Calc I, which used a text with an average sm, was fairly comical. Only in hindsight, though.
If you buy the solutions manual, the text works adequately. I'll confess the sm taught me the material better than the text, which I used mainly as a rather large packet of homework problems. Without the manual, I doubt I'd have done well in the class. Keep in mind this is from a person who is naturally good at math and managed every text before and since this one easily. When I needed to review a theorem for Diff EQ later on the book was just as difficult, despite my greater familiarity with the subject, so even as a reference it fails.
This said, the solutions manual is one of the best I've used. The shock when I started Calc I, which used a text with an average sm, was fairly comical. Only in hindsight, though.
If you buy the solutions manual, the text works adequately. I'll confess the sm taught me the material better than the text, which I used mainly as a rather large packet of homework problems. Without the manual, I doubt I'd have done well in the class. Keep in mind this is from a person who is naturally good at math and managed every text before and since this one easily. When I needed to review a theorem for Diff EQ later on the book was just as difficult, despite my greater familiarity with the subject, so even as a reference it fails.
Displaying 1 of 1 review