Customer Reviews

Precalculus, Second Edition

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Overall a solid Precalculus text. Hits the important highlights but occasionally gets bogged down in "real world" examples that are grossly oversimplified. Good choice of problems, good end of chapter outlines.

The downside, however, is that the only thing that ever changes in the new editions is the price. I've got the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th edition sitting on my desk in front of me and they are virtually identical. Many of the sections are nearly verbatim in each edition. The only thing that seems to change is the pictures, and even some of those have been reused for the 4th edition. There's just no new added content to be found.

Bob Blitzer has done a wonderful job of compiling a precalculus textbook that can teach a course better than many professors.

The first thing that struck me about this book was the casual tone. Blitzer writes as if he were a friend explaining a concept. He is not afraid to show helpful acronyms or pneumonic devices (ASTC - all students take calculus - to help remember which trig functinos were positive in which quadrants), and he often gives hints in the margin that clear things up or elucidate certain mathematical concepts. I know that these helpful tips have saved my skin on multiple occasions.

The opposite of Blitzer's tone is one of a stern and serious math professor. It was a blessing in disguise that my precalculus teacher was just like this. She lectured from the textbook (and did a much poorer job of teaching than the book itself), so I was able to read ahead, take notes based on the book (instead of her lectures), and finish the homework assignments in class.

Blitzer has identified many ways to apply the math to real life, whether it involves angular velocity in physics or population growth. Obviously, certain topics are begging to be applied (right triangle trigonometry, for instance), but Blitzer does a great job of making the math seem useful.

Another positive aspect about this book is the way Blitzer designed his list of problems. The answer to every odd problem is found in the back of the book, but every even problem is closely modeled after its odd predecessor. Thus, even without a definitive answer, you can be sure that you did the problem correctly because you saw an extremely similar one just a few seconds ago.

Blizter is also able to integrate the widespread technology of graphing calculators. He makes the assumption that a precalculus student should have access to some sort of graphing calculator and requests their use on quite a few problems. When graphs are shown, Blitzer has the foresight to indicate the dimensions and scale of the graph so the student can recreate the graph on their calculator.

After going through every section of this book, the only negative comment in my mind is that simple harmonic motion is explained rather poorly, but this is a math textbook, not a physics treatise, and thus this point can be safely disregarded. Bob Blitzer has composed a magnificent math tome, and I strongly recommend it to everyone.

Chapter P (prerequisites): Fundamental Concepts of Algebra
Chapter 1: Functions and Graphs
Chapter 2: Polynomial and Rational Functions
Chapter 3: Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
Chapter 4: Trigonometric Functions
Chapter 5: Analytic Trigonometry
Chapter 6: Additional Topics in Trigonometry
Chapter 7: Systems of Equations and Inequalities
Chapter 8: Matrices and Determinants
Chapter 9: Conic Sections and Analytic Geometry
Chapter 10: Sequences, Induction, and Probability
Chapter 11: Introduction to Calculus

This is the best textbook on precalculus on the market. Overall, the explanations are very clear, there are plenty of examples to work from, and as with most textbooks the answer to every other question is in the back of the book. The CD that comes with the text is also a huge help, as you get to see an instructor work through problems step by step, and not just a few problems, 20-30 per chapter. Blitzer also has a website where if you feel there weren't enough problems in the book, you can work more online. The only problem I had with this textbook is that it fell apart after one semester and it appeared other students had the same problem. Its simply too big without the proper binding. However if that doesn't bother you, this is simply the best precalculus textbook on the market.

the best thing I like about this textbook is that it actually shows you how the formulas are derived instead of just telling you what they are like most other math textbooks do. Does anyone knows if the author, Robert F. Blitzer, had written any textbook on Calculus & where can I get a copy? thx

Blitzer's text gives a clear comprehensive explanation of various topics in precalculus without the vagueness that normally comes with a mathematics textbook. If you are not familiar with your math vocabulary, this is an excellent book to read to give you a foundation for your future math classes. The example problems give a step-by-step detail of how to apply concepts to solving the problem, and it gives a similar check point problem using the same steps immediately following to test your comprehension of the example problem. For the math sophisticated reader, it provides theorems and proofs occasionally, but does not intimidate the reader with them. The only downside to blitzer's text is that it generally lacks difficult problems in many sections. Perfect for self-study.

This was actually a decent book it was very detailed and the DVD for the end chapter questions to show them step by step was very helpful when I took this class online.

Great overview of Trig concepts and a good review of algebra! Definately a book I will keep in my personal library!

I used this book instead of listening to the teacher's lectures and I did really great in the class! This is a great book to use in class and study form it alone!

I appreciate all the work that went into this book, and I am learning from it. What I cannot understand is why on earth would only 50% of the questions be answered. I don't care if they are similar to the previous questions... sometimes they aren't.... I would like to know if I got the answer right or not, so I can practice and learn. In math particularly, practice is very important; so is being able to check your work!
I am an older student going back to school for a second career. My niece, who is in college, tells me this is often the case. I am floored. This is a grave disservice to all students and should be corrected. If you are going to give practice questions, then the answers to ALL of them should be given, too. It is very frustrating to a student who wants to utilize everything possible to learn and get the most out of the textbook.

This is a great Precalculus book. It covers very details in each special case as well as include a enough practice problems.