Table of Contents

Part I: Setting the Foundation: The Nuts and Bolts of Pre-Calculus 5 Chapter 1: Beginning at the Very Beginning: Pre-Pre-Calculus 7 Chapter 2: Real Numbers Come Clean 23 Chapter 3: Controlling Functions by Knowing Their Function 37 Chapter 4: Searching Roots to Get the Degree 69 Chapter 5: Exponential and Logarithmic Functions 87 Part II: Trig Is the Key: Basic Review, the Unit Circle, and Graphs 103 Chapter 6: Basic Trigonometry and the Unit Circle 105 Chapter 7: Graphing and Transforming Trig Functions 127 Part III: Digging into Advanced Trig: Identities, Theorems, and Applications 143 Chapter 8: Basic Trig Identities 145 Chapter 9: Advanced Identities 161 Chapter 10: Solving Oblique Triangles 177 Part IV: Poles, Cones, Variables, Sequences, and Finding Your Limits 195 Chapter 11: Exploring Complex Numbers and Polar Coordinates 197 Chapter 12: Conquering Conic Sections 213 Chapter 13: Finding Solutions for Systems of Equations 245 Chapter 14: Spotting Patterns in Sequences, Series, and Binomials 277 Chapter 15: Previewing Calculus 289 Part V: The Part of Tens 301 Chapter 16: Ten Uses for Parent Graphs 303 Chapter 17: Ten Missteps to Avoid in Pre-Calculus 311 Index 315

About the Author

Yang Kuang, PhD, is a professor of mathematics at Arizona State University. Michelle Rose Gilman is the co-author of Pre-Calculus For Dummies.