Pre-Calculus All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 1

Preparing for Pre-Calculus

IN THIS CHAPTER

Refreshing your memory on numbers and variables

Accepting the importance of graphing

Preparing for pre-calculus by understanding the vocabulary

Pre-calculus is the bridge (drawbridge, suspension bridge, covered bridge) between Algebra II and calculus. In its scope, you review concepts you’ve seen before in math, but then you quickly build on them. You see some brand-new ideas, and even those build on the material you’ve seen before; the main difference is that the problems now get even more interesting and challenging (for example, going from linear systems to nonlinear systems). You keep on building until the end of the bridge span, which doubles as the beginning of calculus. Have no fear! What you find here will help you cross the bridge (toll free).

Because you’ve probably already taken Algebra I, Algebra II, and geometry, it’s assumed throughout this book that you already know how to do certain things. Just to make sure, though, I address some particular items in this chapter in a little more detail before moving on to the material that is pre-calculus.

If there is any topic in this chapter that you’re not familiar with, ...