Precalculus: An Investigation of Functions is a free, open textbook covering a two-quarterpre-calculus sequence including trigonometry. The first portion of the book is an investigation of functions, exploring the graphical behavior of, interpretation of,and solutions to problems involving linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions. An emphasis is placed on modeling and interpretation, aswell as the important characteristics needed in calculus.
The second portion of the book introduces trigonometry. Trig is introduced through an integrated circle/triangle approach. Identities are introduced in the first chapter, and revisited throughout. Likewise, solving is introduced in the second chapter and revisted more extensively in the third chapter. As with thefirst part of the book, an emphasis is placed on motivating the concepts and on modeling and interpretation.
In addition to the paper homework sets, algorithmically generated online homework is available as part of a complete course shell package, whichalso includes a sample syllabus, teacher notes with lecture examples, sample quizzes and exams, printable classwork sheets and handouts, and chapter review problems. If you teach in Washington State, you can find the course shell in the WAMAP.org template course list. For those located elsewhere,you can access the course shell at MyOpenMath.com. A self-study version of the online course exercises is also available on MyOpenMath.com for students wanting to learn the material on their own, or who need a refresher.
The whole book or individual chapters are available for download below, or you can order a bound printed copy from Lulu.com or Amazon. If you are providing a link to students or a bookstore to purchase printed copies of the book, please direct them to this page. If you are an instructorand are using this book with your class, please drop us an email so we can track use and keep youupdated with changes.
Accessibility Note: The Word files contain equations in Equation Editor format, and graphs and images have alt-text in the primary text, but not the exercises. A screen reader friendly HTML version of the book can be read on LibreTexts
Note on versions: The links above will redirect you to the latest edition of the chapters. Older versions remain on the website, and can be accessed using direct links to the specific edition's file name, like 1.pdf
Note: On June 5, 2017, Edition 2.0 was released. The links below point to this, the most current version. This revision is not page number or section equivalent to the previous 1.x editions. If you are looking for the originalfirst edition (black cover), please go here
The textbook covers the majority of precalculus and trigonometry topics. It is missing following topics: function arithmetic, point-slope of an equation of a line, systems of linear and non-linear equations, matrices, which you can supplement with...read more
The textbook covers the majority of precalculus and trigonometry topics. It is missing following topics: function arithmetic, point-slope of an equation of a line, systems of linear and non-linear equations, matrices, which you can supplement with a different OER textbook. Otherwise, it provides sufficient explanations and examples for the topics covered. There is an index, and you can use the search option when viewing the PDF files.
The textbook provides the basis for calculus classes. The content is up-to-date and includes real life applications and examples. You can download separate chapters as Word documents and easily change or remix them.
The text consists of 9 chapters and each chapter consists of 4-8 sections. Each section covers a specific topic and follows the same layout. Everything is clear and visual; the textbook is easy to read and follow.
Most of the topics of the text are presented in the learner-friendly order. I would consider teaching a few sections or topics out of order. For instance, graph transformations go before linear functions, inverse functions are covered in two separate sections, trigonometric functions are introduced as ratios in a circle before the text defines them as ratios in a right triangle.
The book covers all the topics typically covered in a Pre-Calculus class. Additionally, the book contains sufficient material for a trigonometry course. There is no review of algebra. Index is very accurate and answers to selected exercises are...read more
The book covers all the topics typically covered in a Pre-Calculus class. Additionally, the book contains sufficient material for a trigonometry course. There is no review of algebra. Index is very accurate and answers to selected exercises are helpful to students. Front Matter is well written.
This book is consistent throughout. The authors ensured that a motivation problem is introduced prior to stating definitions. Then the author introduced the necessary definition, some in an informal way, with good examples.
The logical flow of topics in this book is the standard flow of topics in any Pre-Calculus book. I did like the learning objectives at the beginning (or within) of each section, such objectives will help students with the mathematical language.
This book is informal, intuitive, and straightforward. It was written with students in mind. I would like to see a review of basic algebra. If the instructor is careful to address the places where the book is too informal, I think this book will be a fine Precalculus textbook.
Since the books teaches basic concepts with great detail, updates if and when required can be made to questions dealing with applications, in a relatively simple manner. However, conceptually there will be no issues.
I had to especially used Chapters 5-8 from this textbook. I found that there was no problem with the format, and each Chapter could be assigned/worked on individually as long as basic concepts were clear.
This book is excellent when it comes to providing students with real-world examples for the topics, but teachers need to be careful when using this book that they define the vocabulary exactly the same as the book does, so as not to confuse the...read more
This book is excellent when it comes to providing students with real-world examples for the topics, but teachers need to be careful when using this book that they define the vocabulary exactly the same as the book does, so as not to confuse the students. . . For example:
Book's definition of a FUNCTION: "A rule for a relationship between an input, or independent, quantity and an output, or dependent, quantity in which each input value determines one output value."
How some teachers define a FUNCTION: "A relationship that shows for every x-value there is one and only one y-value."
These definitions are both saying the same thing, but for a student who is learning it for the first time, such a drastic difference in wording could cause confusion. Here is another example:
Book's definition of RATE OF CHANGE: "Describes how the output quantity changes in relation to the input quantity."
How some teachers define RATE OF CHANGE: "How fast or how slow a function is increasing or decreasing." . . . Be Careful!
This textbook is very well written and the content is arranged in a way that is most conducive to learning. Within each Section of this book, new vocabulary is defined among several example problems, there is a "List of Important Topics" at the end, and the number of exercises for the students is (for the most part) less than 50 problems so as to make assigning homework easier and less overwhelming / time-consuming.
Also, what makes this textbook somewhat unique and extremely helpful is that it writes out the solutions step-by-step for each of the example problems, and it warns students along the way to "resist the urge" to make common mistakes when solving.
With further regards to relevance, as a teacher, I found it beneficial for my students to teach the entire content of this textbook with the exception of 2 Sections: (5.2) "Linear and Angular Velocity" (skipped because I felt it got too deep into Physics) and (8.5) "Parametric equations; Lissajous figures" (skipped because I felt it to be a bit heavy for Pre-Calculus - better saved for Calculus 1 & 2)
Some of the definitions for the vocabulary are a bit "wordy" in my opinion, but if students read through them carefully they all make sense and even help answer the ever-popular question, "How am I ever going to use this in the real world?!"
There is just the right amount of Geometry review before the chapters on Trigonometric functions (sine, cosine, etc.), and when students learn how to graph these functions, the book gives the practical example of using these graphs to monitor the changing population of Elk. . . There is never any mention of the acronym, "S-O-H-C-A-H-T-O-A," however, which I highly recommend as I have found to be very useful in helping students understand this section.
The terminology and topics throughout this textbook are designed in a very consistent framework - each section introduces the material using real-world application examples, shows further examples of how to solve problems step-by-step, introduces new vocabulary where appropriate, gives students a list of topics to review, and then allows for a moderate amount of independent practice.
Each chapter is divided into several sections, which help break apart the overall topic and allows the teacher to present the material in a way that is neither too fast nor too slow for students to understand. There is even a separate section for allowing students to practice writing Inequalities using Set-Builder and Interval notation - something I've seen other textbooks leave out.
Many charts, tables, and graphs are used to teach the different mathematical concepts throughout this textbook. I have found them to be essential to the explanations and overall understanding of the topics. Students, in my own experience, have not encountered any issues with how to interpret these images.
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