Is College Algebra & Trig the same thing as Pre-Calculus?

[Poker-face]

1. I am in intermediate Algebra and would like to take one more course to get prepared for Calculus 1. I am currently at a commmunity college and they offer College Algebra & Trig as their Pre- Calculus. Is this this equivalient to Pre-Calculus? Will I be prepared for Calculus?

Thanks,
EG

 

[HallsofIvy]

Not exactly. "PreCalculus" should contain "limit concepts" and other things that are specifically used in Calculus. However, there is a lot of overlap between "Pre-Calculus" and "College Algebra and Trig". If your college offers "College Algebra and Trig" as "their precalculus", they probably include the "calculus" topics.

 

[Angry Citizen]

At my college, college algebra and trig are equivalent to pre-calculus, but as I took college algebra and then pre-calculus, I can tell you that pre-calculus is more in-depth, and it really helps you prepare for calculus. An overview on limits, derivatives and I believe integrals are included, mostly to familiarize you with the concepts.

Think of pre-calculus as a review of both courses, but applied with foreknowledge of calculus. It really helps to anchor down your mathematical base. A lot of people in calculus don't screw up on the calculus parts of calculus, they screw up on the algebraic techniques.