Preface To the Student
¶You may think of this text as a “workbook”. Each chapter begins with activity sets, meant to serve as an introduction to a topic, and your instructor may assign activities to be done out of class as homework. In this way, you will come to class, having already studied the basics of a new topic, and ready to build on that new knowledge.
The activity sets are followed by a Gist section. The Gist assumes that you have completed the activities, and it provides a retelling of the basic concepts and techniques. This will be a good place for you to refer when studying the material for an exam or quiz.
Instead of just reading example problems, you will get to explore new ideas by working along with the examples. Most problems in the book allow you to manipulate dynamic graphs and receive immediate feedback by submitting your answers through WeBWorK online.
We wrote this text with students in mind. We know how busy the life of a student can be — some working full-time jobs, some with children to care for, often while taking a full load of classes. We want this text to serve as a mobile, interactive reference that you can take anywhere you have an internet connection. Also, we are releasing this for free, to help lessen the cost of higher education.
We hope you find learning with this book to be an enjoyable and engaging experience!