and create reasonable sketches of the graphs of the curves.
Part 2: The Answers
This part provides not only the answers to all the questions but also explanations of the answers. So, you get the solution, and you see how to arrive at that solution.
Beyond the Book
In addition to what you’re reading right now, this book comes with a free, access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that includes tips and other goodies you may want to have at your fingertips. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type Pre-Calculus: 1001 Practice Problems For Dummies into the Search box.
The online practice that comes free with this book offers you the same 1,001 questions and answers that are available here, presented in a multiple-choice format. The beauty of the online problems is that you can customize your online practice to focus on the topic areas that give you trouble. If you’re short on time and want to maximize your study, you can specify the quantity of problems you want to practice, pick your topics, and go. You can practice a few hundred problems in one sitting or just a couple dozen, and whether you can focus on a few types of problems or a mix of several types. Regardless of the combination you create, the online program keeps track of the questions you get right and wrong so you can monitor your progress and spend time studying exactly what you need.
To gain access to the online practice, you simply have to register. Just follow these steps:
1 Register your book or ebook at Dummies.com to get your PIN. Go towww.dummies.com/go/getaccess.
2 Select your product from the dropdown list on that page.
3 Follow the prompts to validate your product, and then check your email for a confirmation message that includes your PIN and instructions for logging in.
If you don’t receive this email within two hours, please check your spam folder before contacting us through our Technical Support website at http://support.wiley.com or by phone at 877-762-2974.
Now you’re ready to go! You can come back to the practice material as often as you want — simply log in with the username and password you created during your initial login. No need to enter the access code a second time.
Your registration is good for one year from the day you activate your PIN.
Where to Go for Additional Help
The written directions given with the individual problems are designed to tell you what you need to do to get the correct answer. Sometimes the directions may seem vague if you aren’t familiar with the words or the context of the words. Go ahead and look at the solution to see whether it helps you with the meaning. But if the vocabulary is still unrecognizable, you may want to refer to Pre-Calculus For Dummies, Algebra II For Dummies, or Trigonometry For Dummies, all published by the fine folks at Wiley.
You may not be able to follow a particular solution from one step to the next. Is something missing? This book is designed to provide you with enough practice to become very efficient in pre-calculus topics, but it isn’t intended to give the step-by-step explanation of how and why each step is necessary. You may need to refer to the books listed in the preceding paragraph or their corresponding workbooks to get more background on a problem or to understand why a particular step is taken in the solution of the problem.
Some pre-calculus topics are sometimes seen as being a bunch of rules without a particular purpose. Why do you have to solve for the exponent of that equation? Where will you use the fact that tan2x + 1 = sec2x? All these questions are more apparent when you see them tied together and when more background information is available. Don’t be shy about seeking out that kind of information. And all this practice will pay off when you begin your first calculus experience. It may even be with Mark Ryan’s Calculus For Dummies!
Part 1
The Questions
IN THIS PART …
You find 1,001 pre-calculus problems — many different types in three different difficulty levels. The types of problems you’ll find are
Basic algebraic rules and graphs as well as solving algebraic equations and inequalities (Chapters 1 through 5)
Properties of exponential and logarithmic functions and their equations (Chapter 6)
Trigonometry basics and solving trig identities (Chapters 7 through 11)
Complex numbers, polar coordinates, and conic sections (Chapters 12 through 13)
Systems of equations, sequences, and series (Chapters 14 and 15)
Limits and continuity (Chapter 16)
Chapter 1
Getting Started with Algebra Basics
The basics of pre-calculus consist of reviewing number systems, properties of the number systems, order of operations, notation, and some essential formulas used in coordinate graphs. Vocabulary is important in mathematics because you have to relate a number or process to its exact description. The problems in this chapter reacquaint you with many old friends from previous mathematics courses.
The Problems You’ll Work On
In this chapter, you’ll work with simplifying expressions and writing answers in the following ways:
Identifying which are whole numbers, integers, and rational and irrational numbers
Applying the commutative, associative, distributive, inverse, and identity properties
Computing correctly using the order of operations (parentheses, exponents/powers and roots, multiplication and division, and then addition and subtraction)
Graphing inequalities for the full solution
Using formulas for slope, distance, and midpoint
Applying
