Functions Modeling Change: A Preparation for Calculus Review

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(More customer reviews)I have taught Precalculus out of this text (and all its previous editions) on and off over the past ten years, and find it to be a thought-provoking and challenging text, and a good one. What the student reviewers have said is true: the problems are not repetitive, and students often don't like the book... initially. I have found that it takes a bit of time for each new class to adjust to the style of the writing and the conceptual (rather than procedural) approach. There aren't many problems that are worked out line-by-line, so it's a tough book for a kid who wants to learn from the book instead of from the class meetings. If you're shopping for a book to base your course around, this book can be a wonderful option, but what makes it great is the variety and unpredictability in the problems. Students who successfully complete this course should be, at the end, more flexible and independent problem solvers with a rich understanding of the rule of four and how different function families inter-relate, but will need a lot of help along the way to get there. Also, I do supplement the book when we study trig, as our kids don't see trig in Algebra 2, and need a little more time with the basics at the front end. Used in an independent high school, mostly with 11th graders.

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The third edition of this ground-breaking text continues the authors' goal - a targeted introduction to precalculus that carefully balances concepts with procedures. Overall, this text is designed to provide a solid foundation to precalculus that focuses on a small number of key topics thereby emphasizing depth of understanding rather than breath of coverage. Developed by the Calculus Consortium, FMC 3e is flexible enough to be thought-provoking for well-prepared students while still remaining accessible to students with weaker backgrounds. As multiple representations encourage students to reflect on the material, each function is presented symbolically, numerically, graphically and verbally (the Rule of Four). Additionally, a large number of real-world applications, examples and problems enable students to create mathematical models that will help them understand and interpret the world in which they live.

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