Trigonometry Textbook - Get Prepared for Calculus

[Bogrune]

Hey everyone!

I want to study trigonometry thoroughly without having to take the course, mostly since I'm taking Precalculus this semester and I'll be learning most of the principles of trigonometry in this course. I want to study it carefully so that I can get myself better prepared for Calculus, and I thought it would be a good idea if I buy myself a used textbook and study it over Thanksgiving and winter break. Is there a good textbook anyone would recommend me to read? Thank you.

 

[brocks]

I've never seen a precalculus textbook that didn't have an extensive section on trig, starting pretty much from scratch, so probably the best use of your time would be to just read those chapters in the text you'll be using for precalc. Anything unclear can probably be resolved very quickly with Google.

In the unlikely event your text does not cover trig, then get a precalc text that does. Stewart, Larson, and Swokowski are three I know of that are good.

Or go to Google Books and download anyone of several public domain texts from a hundred years ago. You'll probably learn more about trig applications, like surveying and navigation, than in a modern course. You can safely skip the sections on using tables to find function values, though.

 

[Ivan92]

You don't need an extensive knowledge of Trigonometry to survive Calculus I. You just need to know the basic trig functions and their identities.