Preface  (Page 2/5)

Precalculus can be easily customized using our online platform (http://cnx.org/content/col11667/latest/). Simply select the content most relevant to your current semester and create a textbook that speaks directly to the needs of your class. Precalculus is organized as a collection of sections that can be rearranged, modified, and enhanced through localized examples or to incorporate a specific theme to your course. This customization feature will ensure that your textbook truly reflects the goals of your course.

Curation

To broaden access and encourage community curation, Precalculus is “open source” licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license. The mathematics community is invited to submit feedback to enhance and strengthen the material and keep it current and relevant for today’s students.

Cost

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About Precalculus

Precalculus is intended for college-level precalculus students. Since precalculus courses vary from one institution to the next, we have attempted to meet the needs of as broad an audience as possible, including all of the content that might be covered in any particular course. The result is a comprehensive book that covers more ground than an instructor could likely cover in a typical one- or two-semester course; but instructors should find, almost without fail, that the topics they wish to include in their syllabus are covered in the text.

Many chapters of OpenStax Precalculus are suitable for other freshman and sophomore math courses such as College Algebra and Trigonometry; however, instructors of those courses might need to supplement or adjust the material. Openstax will also be releasing College Algebra and Algebra and Trigonometry titles tailored to the particular scope, sequence, and pedagogy of those courses.

Coverage and scope

Precalculus contains twelve chapters, roughly divided into three groups.

Chapters 1-4 discuss various types of functions, providing a foundation for the remainder of the course.

• Chapter 1: Functions
• Chapter 2: Linear Functions
• Chapter 3: Polynomial and Rational Functions
• Chapter 4: Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

Chapters 5-8 focus on Trigonometry. In Precalculus, we approach trigonometry by first introducing angles and the unit circle, as opposed to the right triangle approach more commonly used in College Algebra and Trigonometry courses.

• Chapter 5: Trigonometric Functions
• Chapter 6: Periodic Functions
• Chapter 7: Trigonometric Identities and Equations
• Chapter 8: Further Applications of Trigonometry

Chapters 9-12 present some advanced Precalculus topics that build on topics introduced in chapters 1-8. Most Precalculus syllabi include some of the topics in these chapters, but few include all. Instructors can select material as needed from this group of chapters, since they are not cumulative.

• Chapter 9: Systems of Equations and Inequalities
• Chapter 10: Analytic Geometry
• Chapter 11: Sequences, Probability and Counting Theory
• Chapter 12: Introduction to Calculus