Jane in NC Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Hello. For those of you with students who have worked through Larson's Calculus of a Single Variable, may I ask a question concerning content of the book? (I own a copy of Larson's Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions so I am trying to compare.) According to the course outline on Chalk Dust which corresponds with the Single Variable text, it appears that the book does not introduce derivatives of log, exponential or inverse trig functions until Chapter 5, right? But basic trig functions are introduced earlier, are they not? Initially I thought the only difference between the two texts was the extra material on multivariable Calculus in mine, essentially making the text usable over three college semesters of Calculus. But I think a second difference might be the positioning of the log/exponential material. People often ask me for my opinion on math texts and while I own a great number of them (especially older ones), I don't have every variation of every text on the market. Given that we are using the Larson Early Transcendental text for Calculus next year, I'd like to know how it compares with the book in the popular Chalk Dust series. Another question: do the Thinkwell Calculus lectures use a text? As always, thanks. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Central TX Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 I have Larson's Calculus of a Single Variable, 5th edition. Here is the table of contents: Prerequisites: The Cartesian Plane & Functions Chap. 1 - Limits & Their Properties Chap. 2 - Differentiation Chap. 3 - Applications in Differentiation Chap. 4 - Integration Chap. 5 - Logarithmic, Exponential, & Other Transcendental Functions Chap. 6 - Applications of Integration Chap. 7 - Integration Techniques, L'Hopital's Rule, & Improper Integrals Chap. 8 - Infinite Series Chap. 9 - Conic Sections Chap. 10 - Plane Curves, Parametric Equations, & Polar Coordinates Yes, the derivatives of log & exponential or inverse trig functions do not begin until Chap. 5. The Chapter 5 lessons include: Tha Natural Logarithmic Function & Differentiation The Natural Logarithmic Function & Integration Inverse Functions Exponential Functions: Differentiation and Integration Bases Other Than e & Applications Differential Equations: Growth & Decay HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 Thanks Beth. Could you look at chapters 1 & 2 to see if the basic trig functions are included in the material on limits and derivatives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 But basic trig functions are introduced earlier, are they not? Jane Jane, I have the 8th edition of Calculus of a Single Variable. The chapters in my text are similar to those in Beth's, but with slight variation. Here are the chapter topics in my text: Prerequisites: Preparation for Calculus Chap. 1 - Limits & Their Properties Chap. 2 - Differentiation Chap. 3 - Applications of Differentiation Chap. 4 - Integration Chap. 5 - Logarithmic, Exponential, & Other Transcendental Functions Chap. 6 - Differential Equations Chap. 7 - Applications of Integration Chap. 8 - Integration Techniques, L'Hopital's Rule, & Improper Integrals Chap. 9 - Infinite Series Chap. 10 - Conics, Parametric Equations, & Polar Coordinates They begin to introduce the derivatives of trig functions in section 2.2, and they introduce the integrals of trig functions in section 4.1. I suspect that the material is similar in all the books in the Larson series because we have the DVDs from the publisher (ISBN 0-618-52804-0), and it says on the package that they cover these texts: Calculus with Analytic Geometry, Calculus of a Single Variable, Calculus I, Calculus II, and Multivariable Calculus. HTH, Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Thanks Beth. Could you look at chapters 1 & 2 to see if the basic trig functions are included in the material on limits and derivatives? Jane, Chapter 1 does include information on continuity & limits of basic trig functions. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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