Pre-Calculus Workbook For Dummies [Paperback]

Michelle Rose Gilman (Author), Christopher Burger (Author), Karina Neal (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470421312 | ISBN-13: 978-0470421314 | Publication Date: May 18, 2009 | Edition: 1

Get the confidence and the math skills

you need to get started with calculus!

Are you preparing for calculus? This easy-to-follow, hands-on workbook helps you master basic pre-calculus concepts and practice the types of problems you'll encounter in your cour sework. You get valuable exercises, problem-solving shortcuts, plenty of workspace, and step-by-step solutions to every problem. You'll also memorize the most frequently used equations, see how to avoid common mistakes, understand tricky trig proofs, and much more.

100s of Problems!

• Detailed, fully worked-out solutions to problems

• The inside scoop on quadratic equations, graphing functions, polynomials, and more

• A wealth of tips and tricks for solving basic calculus problems

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher Burger and Karina Neal are administrators and instructors at the Fusion Learning Center and Fusion Academy in CA, founded by Michelle Rose Gilman.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (May 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470421312
• ISBN-13: 978-0470421314
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #855,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great idea, but a frustrating number of errors., July 17, 2009

By 

Michaela Stone - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pre-Calculus Workbook For Dummies (Paperback)

My copy showed up yesterday, and my experience has been less than positive. I already own Pre-Calculus for Dummies, but was getting weary from scouring the web for worksheets and quizzes to reinforce everything I was re-learning. (It's amazing how much you can forget after 10 years outside of the classroom.) This workbook was going to allow me to be sure that I was grasping all of the material, so that I could finally crack open that Calculus I textbook and get a jump-start on the fall semester.

I was very impressed with the first few problems, as they didn't waste time with simple examples. These were nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty problems that put my mettle to the test. So far, so good. Then we hit Chapter 2, and things went downhill fast. In the span of 3 pages (26-29), there were 4 glaring errors in either examples or practice problems. The first time I went through, I assumed it had to be me that was in error. I went back and tried the problems again...still no dice. I read the step-by-step solutions to the problems, and was left more confused than when I started. I ultimately verified with a few of my mathematically inclined friends that, somehow, the folks at Wiley Publishing put out a remedial math book without bothering to check their own answers first. Even the tear-out cheat sheet in the front of the book has errors in the trig identities. If I had been addressing the material for the first time, I would have given up in frustration by page 30.

I'm still convinced that the Pre-Calculus Workbook for Dummies could be one of the best resources for people interested in learning (or relearning) the math skills that will get them ready for college level calculus. It is shame that poor proofreading has turned it into such a source of frustration.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Full of Errors, April 21, 2010

By 

Storgie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pre-Calculus Workbook For Dummies (Paperback)

This book is full of errors, from the Unit Circle on the cheat sheet in the beginning through some examples, to problems and solutions. I called to complain they did not seem concerned and said there was a website for errata. I say, why not edit it properly. If i wanted to learn through a website, I wouldn't have bought the book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pre-Calculus Workbook BY Dummies, August 9, 2010

By 

. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pre-Calculus Workbook For Dummies (Paperback)

I purchased this book to refresh myself on a subject I hadn't touched in over 10 years. I haven't made it through Chapter 1: Beginning at the Very Beginning: Pre-Pre-Calculus. I'm working on the practice exercises and am up to Problem #7 of 10 on Page 11. ***PAGE 11!!!*** I spent well over an hour trying to figure out what I did wrong on Problem #4 only to discover by chance that the problem was written wrong. I wrote in the correction by hand for future reference. I checked my work on #7 with the answer/explanation section. Though I got the right answer, my method appeared wrong. I spent another half hour or so going step-by-step checking for any possible errors I may have made until I discovered it was yet another error. I also wrote in that correction by hand.

Sometimes there are typos and minor flaws with which you can get away in the publishing industry. But for a math book, a typo involving numbers and orders of operations makes a HUGE difference when trying to learn the content. I have no idea how many of these flaws there are, but from what I've gotten to so far (only the first 7 problems mind you), 28% of the material I've reviewed has mistakes. That statistic will go up or down the further I get into the book but at least I know how to divide correctly, which is more than I can say about the people who put this book together.

I DO NOT recommend this book!