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Description of Calculus for Dummies

The mere thought of having to take a required calculus course is enough to make legions of students break out in a cold sweat. Others who have no intention of ever studying the subject have this notion that calculus is impossibly difficult unless you happen to be a direct descendant of Einstein.

Well, the good news is that you can master calculus. It's not nearly as tough as its mystique would lead you to think. Much of calculus is really just very advanced algebra, geometry, and trig. It builds upon and is a logical extension of those subjects. If you can do algebra, geometry, and trig, you can do calculus.

Calculus For Dummies is intended for three groups of readers:

- Students taking their first calculus course - If you're enrolled in a calculus course and you find your textbook less than crystal clear, this is the book for you. It covers the most important topics in the first year of calculus: differentiation, integration, and infinite series.

- Students who need to brush up on their calculus to prepare for other studies - If you've had elementary calculus, but it's been a couple of years and you want to review the concepts to prepare for, say, some graduate program, Calculus For Dummies will give you a thorough, no-nonsense refresher course.

- Adults of all ages who'd like a good introduction to the subject - Non-student readers will find the book's exposition clear and accessible. Calculus For Dummies takes calculus out of the ivory tower and brings it down to earth.

This is a user-friendly math book. Whenever possible, the author explains the calculus concepts by showing you connections between the calculus ideas and easier ideas from algebra and geometry. Then, you'll see how the calculus concepts work in concrete examples. All explanations are in plain English, not math-speak.

Calculus For Dummies covers the following topics and more:

- Real-world examples of calculus
- The two big ideas of calculus: differentiation and integration
- Why calculus works
- Pre-algebra and algebra review
- Common functions and their graphs
- Limits and continuity
- Integration and approximating area
- Sequences and series

Don't buy the misconception. Sure calculus is difficult - but it's manageable, doable. You made it through algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Well, calculus just picks up where they leave off - it's simply the next step in a logical progression.

Title Information

ISBN:

9780764524981

Pages:

408 pages

Format:

Paperback

Product Code:

18510

Publisher:

John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Published:

01/09/2003

Edition:

1st Edition

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About Mark Ryan

Mark Ryan has taught pre-math through calculus for more than a decade. He is a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Contents of Calculus for Dummies

Introduction

Part I: An Overview of Calculus
1. What Is Calculus?
2. The Two Big Ideas of Calculus: Differentiation and Integration
3. Why Calculus Works

Part II: Warming Up with Calculus Prerequisites
4. Pre-Algebra and Algebra Review
5. Funky Functions and Their Groovy Graphs
6. The Trig Tango

Part III: Limits
7. Limits and Continuity
8. Evaluating Limits

Part IV: Differentiation
9. Differentiation Orientation
10. Differentiation Rules - Yeah, Man, It Rules
11. Differentiation and the Shape of Curves
12. Your Problems Are Solved: Differentiation to the Rescue!

Part V: Integration and Infinite Series
13. Intro to Integration and Approximating Area
14. Integration: It's Backwards Differentiation
15. Integration Techniques for Experts
16. Forget Dr. Phil: Use the Integral to Solve Problems
17. Infinite Series

Part VI: The Part of Tens
18. Ten Things to Remember
19. Ten Things to Forget
20. Ten Things You Can't Get Away With

Index