Blossom'sGirl Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 So I have been searching the boards to find out what the next step is after Lial's Intermediate Algebra 9/E which my DS will be finishing in January. I am looking at the used Precalculus books and am wondering if one edition would be recommended over another. Some of the newer ones actually had worse ratings at Amazon than the 3rd edition I've seen recommended here. Also, is the softcover book still ideal or is there no real difference between soft and hard cover at this point? Any PreCalc recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 I'm not familiar with Lial's preCalc. We are using Blitzer's preCalc book (4th edition) and I like this book very much. Explanations are very clear for the student. Print is a bit small sometimes, but that may just be because I'm getting old :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 No difference in soft cover or hard at this point. I have the 3e edition and it is a great text. The College Algebra and Trigonometry text is page for page the same as the Pre-Calculus text. Solutions manual will have both names! Amazon ratings also include shipping issues-- so they are not that accurate when rating a text book. Lial has several programs to choose from for Pre-Calc (you can taylor to future goals or go with a general course). You can take a peek at the problem types and chapters if the general course (current would be 4e or 5e) by going to interactmath.com Click on ENTER then select the text from LONG dropdown! For her other text search under "Hornsby" the co-author who has worked on most of the Lial programs. Interactmath.com is also a great way to find additional review problems OR to give student a bit of variety on working out homework (I suggest using it for half or less of the homework problems). HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Lial's Pre-Calc worked great for both of my boys. We used them inconjunction with the Chalkdust DVDs featuring Dana Mosley as the instructor. The dvds are created for the textbook and go over each lesson in detail by methodically working out each lesson and its sample problems. If you are interested, I currently have the third edition of the hard cover text, paperback solution manual, and dvds for sale here on the classified section. Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 I'd get whatever edition you can find the cdroms for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I'm not familiar with Lial's preCalc. We are using Blitzer's preCalc book (4th edition) and I like this book very much. Explanations are very clear for the student. Print is a bit small sometimes, but that may just be because I'm getting old :( Blitzer 4th edition Seems like a lot of overlap with Algebra 2 - is this typical for Precalc Table of Contents P. Prerequisites: Fundamental Concepts of Algebra P.1 Algebraic Expressions, Mathematical Models, and Real Numbers P.2 Exponents and Scientific Notation P.3 Radicals and Rational Exponents P.4 Polynomials P.5 Factoring PolynomialsMid-Chapter Check Point P.6 Rational Expressions P.7 Equations P.8 Modeling with Equations P.9 Linear Inequalities and Absolute Value InequalitiesSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER P TEST 1. Functions and Graphs 1.1 Graphs and Graphing Utilities 1.2 Basics of Functions and Their Graphs 1.3 More on Functions and Their Graphs 1.4 Linear Functions and Slope 1.5 More on SlopeMid-Chapter Check Point 1.6 Transformations of Functions 1.7 Combinations of Functions; Composite Functions 1.8 Inverse Functions 1.9 Distance and Midpoint Formulas; Circles 1.10 Modeling with FunctionsSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 1 TEST 2. Polynomial and Rational Functions 2.1 Complex Numbers 2.2 Quadratic Functions 2.3 Polynomial Functions and Their Graphs 2.4 Dividing Polynomials; Remainder and Factor Theorems 2.5 Zeros of Polynomial FunctionsMid-Chapter Check Point 2.6 Rational Functions and Their Graphs 2.7 Polynomial and Rational Inequalities 2.8 Modeling Using VariationSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 2 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-2) 3. Exponential and Logarithmic Functions 3.1 Exponential Functions 3.2 Logarithmic Functions 3.3 Properties of LogarithmsMid-Chapter Check Point 3.4 Exponential and Logarithmic Equations 3.5 Exponential Growth and Decay; Modeling DataSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 3 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-3) 4. Trigonometric Functions 4.1 Angles and Radian Measure 4.2 Trigonometric Functions: The Unit Circle 4.3 Right Triangle Trigonometry 4.4 Trigonometric Functions of Any AngleMid-Chapter Check Point 4.5 Graphs of Sine and Cosine Functions 4.6 Graphs of Other Trigonometric Functions 4.7 Inverse Trigonometric Functions 4.8 Applications of Trigonometric FunctionsSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 4 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-4) 5. Analytic Trigonometry 5.1 Verifying Trigonometric Identities 5.2 Sum and Difference Formulas 5.3 Double-Angle, Power-Reducing, and Half-Angle FormulasMid-Chapter Check Point 5.4 Product-to-Sum and Sum-to-Product Formulas 5.5 Trigonometric EquationsSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 5 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-5) 6. Additional Topics in Trigonometry 6.1 The Law of Sines 6.2 The Law of Cosines 6.3 Polar Coordinates 6.4 Graphs of Polar EquationsMid-Chapter Check Point 6.5 Complex Numbers in Polar Form; DeMoivre's Theorem 6.6 Vectors 6.7 The Dot ProductSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 6 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-6) 7. Systems of Equations and Inequalities 7.1 Systems of Linear Equations in Two Variables 7.2 Systems of Linear Equations in Three Variables 7.3 Partial Fractions 7.4 Systems of Nonlinear Equations in Two VariablesMid-Chapter Check Point 7.5 Systems of Inequalities 7.6 Linear ProgrammingSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 7 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-7) 8. Matrices and Determinants 8.1 Matrix Solutions to Linear Systems 8.2 Inconsistent and Dependent Systems and Their Applications 8.3 Matrix Operations and Their ApplicationsMid-Chapter Check Point 8.4 Multiplicative Inverses of Matrices and Matrix Equations 8.5 Determinants and Cramer's RuleSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 8 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-8) 9. Conic Sections and Analytic Geometry 9.1 The Ellipse 9.2 The Hyperbola 9.3 The ParabolaMid-Chapter Check Point 9.4 Rotation of Axes 9.5 Parametric Equations 9.6 Conic Sections in Polar CoordinatesSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 9 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-9) 10. Sequences, Induction, and Probability 10.1 Sequences and Summation Notation 10.2 Arithmetic Sequences 10.3 Geometric Sequences and SeriesMid-Chapter Check Point 10.4 Mathematical Induction 10.5 The Binomial Theorem 10.6 Counting Principles, Permutations, and Combinations 10.7 Probability SUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 10 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-10) 11. Introduction to Calculus 11.1 Finding Limits Using Tables and Graphs 11.2 Finding Limits Using Properties of Limits 11.3 Limits and ContinuityMid-Chapter Check Point 11.4 Introduction to DerivativesSUMMARY, REVIEW, AND TESTREVIEW EXERCISES CHAPTER 11 TEST CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES (CHAPTERS P-11) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 For those who use the Lial's Precalc test, how do you schedule the work? One section every two days with every other problem? One section every day with every other problem? It isn't as easy to schedule as the Algebra books were! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom'sGirl Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 Thanks for the responses. Is the graphical approach texts much different from the others? I'm not sure what that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Graphical text is different. I am very unhappy with the graphing text's coverage of trigonometry. I liked the coverage in the college algebra/trig book much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.