Best Precalculus textbook/What Precalc do you use?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>I'm going to be doing AP BC Calc this year at Andover but I'm looking to solidify my Precalculus (seems unusual I understand) but the dilemma for me is that i come from Australia where maths is integrated. ie. We don't just do Algebra for one year and then Geometry the next and so on. We do a little bit of everything every year. So it means I can cope and do well in Calculus but it also means I've missed out on the hardest topics of Precalculus as I was meant to take them in later years at Australia. So I was wondering if anyone knows a really good precalculus textbook I can use to brush up on the hardest stuff in Precalc before I go to Andover and BC Calc. </p>

<p>I know some of you will say just to do the Precalc at Andover but the thing is I already know all/most the stuff in AB Calc thats not in PreCalc and I think I can cope/do well in BC Calc if I just brush up on my Precalc and with it being summer and all, I have the time to do so. </p>

<p>So thanks heaps for a quick reply!</p>

2

<p>Pre-cal= Integrated Math IV</p>

<p>If you've had that you'll be fine.</p>

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<p>Okay, so Integrated Math IV will help will all my trig and other tough Pre-calc units. </p>

<p>What are some tough Pre-calc topics?</p>

4

<p>Conics and matrices can be tough, but they don't appear much in Calc BC. Review vectors and trig. Logarithms are easy, but are still worth review.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
We don't just do Algebra for one year and then Geometry the next and so on. We do a little bit of everything every year.

[/quote]

Isn't that how it is over here in America? That's how it was for me.</p>

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<p>^That's how it was for me, too, but the traditional math schedule is Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalc.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
Okay, so Integrated Math IV will help will all my trig and other tough Pre-calc units.</p>

<p>What are some tough Pre-calc topics?

[/quote]
At least in North Carolina, if you use the Core-plus books Integrated Math IV=Pre-cal. </p>

<p>Some people say that Pre-cal covers parametric and polar equations... but we never did that, so I think it varies. Make sure you've at least covered the unit circle with all identities... some people cover summation... but I'm not sure how common that is.</p>

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<p>Why do you need pre-calc at all? Can't you just go from algebra to calculus? That's what I did.</p>