Analytic Geometry (Hardcover)

by Douglas R. Riddle (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This respected text makes extensive use of applications and features items such as historical vignettes to make the material useful and interesting. The text is written for the one-term analytic geometry course, often taught in sequence with college algebra, and is designed for students with a reasonably sound background in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.

About the Author
DA, Carnegie-Mellon University

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Brooks Cole; 6 edition (October 25, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534948545
• ISBN-13: 978-0534948542
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #222,524 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Manditory reading for college bound students, February 14, 2005

By	K. D Rogers "book addict" (Detroit) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The writer seems to understand the areas where students would have conceptual difficulties. For example, he states after a proof, you may not be comfortable with that proof because we used vectors. Lets show this again using elementary algebra. This allows the student to assure themselves that the proof is correct, and begin to be exposed to proofs using more unfamiliar methods such as with vectors. Soon they will find that their comfort zone widens, and they have more methods available to prove statements.

I find that students are actually ready for the exercises at the end of each section after covering that section of material. In other math books it all too often occurs that the material is elementary and yet the questions are pitched at a much more advanced level. If students can NOT answer the questions at the end of a subsection, it is not well taught. This writer seems to want to actually prepare students, so that they are successful by the time they reach the questions. These questions also serve as a review of algebra and geometry.

To read this book with understanding, students must have taken geometry. If this has not been done I suggest the geometry course available at www.teach12.com as well as a reputable geometry book such as that by Harold R. Jacobs. For an algebra background I suggest the math courses through www.thinkwell.com. For this text, you will need a knowledge of vectors such as can be found in the thinkwell or other standard precal text.

There is usually an attempt to cover the material in this book in Precalculus texts. Typically about 100 pages is allowed in a high school Precalculus text. This book allows over 400 pages. This gives room for more depth of coverage, more examples, and a bit slower progression. I would recommend this text strongly to bright Precalculus students wanting more challenge, as well as to students that just don't seem to be getting the concepts from the abridged version found in the one year high school or college Precalculus texts.

There seems to be an unfortunate gap between the knowledge necessary to do well in college and what students have as the come in the door. If you look at the grade curve, most of our children are making C or WORSE in college mathematics and physics. Is it time we admitted that some of the concepts that we throw at children are given out without adequate practice? Analytic Geometry is an area where skill improves with practice, just as does throwing a baseball or playing a piece of music. If you are a student in a school system that firmly believes that students need no more math practice, consider independent study of this text over a summer term prior to calculus.