What are the best books for mastering PreCalculus?

[FancyNut]

I searched all possible keywords and went through the last 16 pages because I swear there was a thread where people listed good books for algebra/trig/precal but couldn't find it. Only threads for physics books (and calculus) recommendations.

So, any ideas on the good books? I'm planning to do a massive review over the next 4-5 weeks and solidify my foundation. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

your title is too pretentious, you will never find a book which is the "best", instead you should ask for a book which is suited for:mathematicians/engineers/scientists (one of them), how much is it rigorous (if you need it to be rigorous) and so on.

the "best" is a relative term, and you need to specify your aim.

anyway, all of my precalc/high school books are in hebrew so i can't help you here.

 

[jai6638]

My school uses the book by Michael Sullivan and I guess the book is alright. I am going to start studying it for the summer.

 

[neurocomp2003]

stewarts...the first few chapters are for people in high schoo...basically a review...or maybe its only based ont eh Canadian standard...not sure what americans learn.

 

[jma2001]

"Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell" by George F. Simmons. I own a copy and it's great: everything you need to know about geometry, algebra, and trigonometry in 120 concise pages.

 

[Eratosthenes]

You can jump straight into Calculus with this since the first chapter covers everything you need to know to read the rest of the book:)

Essential Calculus with Applications by Richard Silverman

It comes hints or solutions to every single problem. It's very easy to read. The first chapter is basic pre-calculus material, but I guess it really depends on what you consider pre-calculus. It does not go into trigonometry though. If you work through all the examples, proofs of theorems, and exercises you will learn alot! It's a small book so it isn't very intimidating either:)

Some of the problems are really easy and some are a little more challenging, the ones with *'s on them are the harder ones. Great book!

Here is a link
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486660974/?tag=pfamazon01-20

You can get it used for like 4 dollars.

The book jma2001 listed looks really good too, and it covers trig and geometry. I would say get both!