Single Variable Calculus: Concepts and Contexts (with Tools for Enriching Calculus, Interactive Video Skillbuilder CD-ROM, and iLrn Homework/Personal Tutor with SMARTHINKING) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I have appreciated two main things from this textbook. The first is the concise language that Stewart uses. It makes my job much easier. I can embellish, add, emphasize or not easily. The second item is the paring down of the calculus material to an amount that…allows me enough room to add the various exploratory activities that I have my classes use."

"The single feature of this book that I like the most is the breadth in the exercises."

"Stewart does a good job in extracting the best parts from calculus reform efforts and traditional approaches. The book is well organized, the material is clearly presented, and there is an abundance of problems of varying levels. The problems are the right type to engage students in thinking about the concepts and to develop skills and ability to apply the calculus. . . . The organization and presentation is designed to develop perspective, conceptual understanding and ability to use the concepts and methods to actually solve problems."



"I like the author’s approach very much…it combines the best features of both [the traditional and the reform approaches], making it possible to present a better course. Stewart’s approach contains the most important aspects of that [reform] approach—rule of four, use of projects, use of technology, focus on topics of value to clients, development of conceptual understanding over formalism, writing."



"The text is well-informed about the use of calculus and makes good use of realistic settings, not just artificially manufactured information."

"I want a text that stresses the numerical and graphical as well as the algebraic approach to calculus. But I also want a calculus text that still has a solid rigorous foundation, and the Stewart book provides both."

"Among the strengths of this text are the clear writing styles of the author, the use of color and diagrams throughout the book, the excellent organization of the book, the superb set of ancillaries both for the student and the instructor, and the excellent homework exercises."

Product Description

Stewart's SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS, THIRD EDITION offers a streamlined approach to teaching calculus, focusing on major concepts and supporting those with precise definitions, patient explanations, and carefully graded problems. SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS is highly regarded because it has successfully brought peace to departments that were split between reform and traditional approaches to teaching calculus. Not only does the text help reconcile the two schools of thought by skillfully merging the best of traditional calculus with the best of the reform movement, it does so with innovation and meticulous accuracy.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 784 pages
• Publisher: Brooks Cole; 3 edition (November 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534410227
• ISBN-13: 978-0534410223
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #392,967 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Intro Calc Book, December 30, 2001

By	"tcm26" (Ithaca, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Single Variable Calculus: Concepts and Contexts (Hardcover)

I used this book for a first semester calculus course at Cornell University last summer, and I thought that the book was very good. The examples were helpful, and the book was able to cover a reasonable amount of material in the applications of calculus while remaining focused on teaching the calculus. The only problem with the book is that for high school students taking AP Calculus BC this book lacks topics in polar and vector calculus, but that is a very minor part of the test which shouldn't be too hard to learn from your teacher. For Calculus AB, however, the book covers everything you need. This is a great textbook.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This book is really difficult for new Calculus students!, April 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Calculus: Concepts and Contexts, Single Variable (Hardcover)

James Stewart has gone far and beyond from the ordinary math course. He uses good examples and excellent looking graphics. However, once you start doing the problems they soon become quite difficult after doing four or five of them. I have spoken to a different Calculus instructor, not mine, and he says the same thing. He said that the author did not publish enough simple, easy to do problems before immediately getting into real difficult problems. I give it 2 stars because it might be easy for a math major to understand this text, however this book is supposed to gear more towards first time Calculus students.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a _stellar_ text!, December 1, 2005

By	H. Liu "A HS Junior." (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been swamped with homework in general, and have been behind in many classes. So, often times I won't have the foundations to understand the current concept my calc teacher is explaining in class. However, with this calc book, the explanations are so clear, and the in-text examples and practice problems so plentiful, that I can truly say I'm confident in my calculus skills, even without any teacher instruction.

Which isn't to say you should [AP] advanced procrastinate like I'm doing right now. But..

It's really a superb book, and possibly my favorite HS/technically college-prep textbook ever.

The only downside, though, is the online supplementary material doesn't seem to work for me no matter what I do. Maybe it needs teacher intervention for things to show up? It seems like it'd be a great source of extra problems, but all I can seem to find are flash videos for a couple sections a chapter. Oh well.

But again, this text really makes me happy. Get it, it's def worth your time, and a spot on your bookshelf.