This book is intended for a variety of calculus students. Perhaps you want a supplement to your current calculus class or you’re looking to brush up on a course you took long ago. Or maybe you’re teaching yourself and need a comprehensive book of extra practice problems.
The 1,001 questions in this book cover calculus concepts that a high school student would encounter in a calculus course in preparation for the AP exam. It also covers most of the concepts that a calculus student could expect to see in the first two semesters of a three-semester calculus course. The types of questions are questions that I regularly assigned when teaching both as homework questions or are questions that a student could’ve expected to see on a quiz or test.
Jump around the book as you like. You can find a robust algebra and trigonometry review at the beginning of the book to make sure that you’re prepared for calculus. The number-one reason students have difficulty in calculus is not calculus itself but having a weak background in algebra and trigonometry. If you’re rusty on the fundamentals, spend time on those first two chapters before jumping into the rest of the text!
As with many things worth doing in life, there’s no shortcut to becoming proficient in mathematics. However, by practicing the problems in this book, you’ll be on your way to becoming a much stronger calculus student.
What You’ll Find
The 1,001 calculus practice problems in the book are divided into 15 chapters, with each chapter providing practice of the mechanical side of calculus or of applications of calculus. Some of the questions have a diagram or graph that you need in order to answer the question.
The end of the book provides thorough and detailed solutions to all the problems. If you get an answer wrong, try again before reading the solution! Knowing what not to do is often a great starting point in discovering the correct approach, so don’t worry if you don’t immediately solve each question; some problems can be quite challenging.
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 Calculus 1001 Dummies Cheat Sheet 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:
Register your book or ebook at Dummies.com to get your PIN. Go towww.dummies.com/go/getaccess.
Select your product from the dropdown list on that page.
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
Calculus is hard, so don’t become overwhelmed if a particular topic isn’t immediately easy to you. This book has many practice problems of varying difficulty, so you can focus on those problems that are most appropriate for you.
In addition to getting help from your friends, teachers, or coworkers, you can find a variety of great materials online. If you have internet access, a simple search often turns up a treasure trove of information. You can also head to www.dummies.com to see the many articles and books that can help you in your studies.
Calculus: 1001 Practice Problems For Dummies gives you just that — 1,001 practice questions and answers in order for you to practice your calculus skills. If you need more in-depth study and direction for your calculus courses, you may want to try out the following For Dummies products (or their companion workbooks):
Calculus For Dummies: This book provides instruction parallel to the 1,001 calculus practice problems found here.
Calculus II For Dummies: This book provides content similar to what you may encounter in a second-semester college calculus course.
Pre-Calculus For Dummies: Use this book to brush up on the foundational skills and concepts you need for calculus — solving polynomials, graphing functions, using trig identities, and the like.
Trigonometry For Dummies: Try this book if you need a refresher on trigonometry
