The Calculus Lifesaver: All the Tools You Need to Excel at Calculus

(Paperback)

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Description

For many students, calculus can be the most mystifying and frustrating course they will ever take. The Calculus Lifesaver provides students with the essential tools they need not only to learn calculus, but to excel at it. All of the material in this user-friendly study guide has been proven to get results. The book arose from Adrian Banner's popular calculus review course at Princeton University, which he developed especially for students who are motivated to earn A's but get only average grades on exams. The complete course will be available for free on the Web in a series of videotaped lectures. This study guide works as a supplement to any single-variable calculus course or textbook. Coupled with a selection of exercises, the book can also be used as a textbook in its own right. The style is informal, non-intimidating, and even entertaining, without sacrificing comprehensiveness. The author elaborates standard course material with scores of detailed examples that treat the reader to an "inner monologue"--the train of thought students should be following in order to solve the problem--providing the necessary reasoning as well as the solution.The book's emphasis is on building problem-solving skills. Examples range from easy to difficult and illustrate the in-depth presentation of theory. The Calculus Lifesaver combines ease of use and readability with the depth of content and mathematical rigor of the best calculus textbooks. It is an indispensable volume for any student seeking to master calculus. Serves as a companion to any single-variable calculus textbook Informal, entertaining, and not intimidating Informative videos that follow the book--a full forty-eight hours of Banner's Princeton calculus-review course--will be available through the book's Web site at www.calclifesaver.com More than 475 examples (ranging from easy to hard) provide step-by-step reasoning Theorems and methods justified and connections made to actual practice Difficult topics such as improper integrals and infinite series covered in detail Tried and tested by students taking freshman calculus

Reviews

"Banner's style is informal, engaging and distinctly non-intimidating, and he takes pains to not skip any steps in discussing a problem. Because of its unique approach, The Calculus Lifesaver is a welcome addition to the arsenal of calculus teaching aids."--MAA Online "This rather lengthy book serves as an excellent resource as well as a text for a refresher course in single-variable calculus, and as a study guide for anyone who needs or is required to know basic calculus concepts...Readers will find this book written for them, as calculus is presented in a very casual conversational tone; certainly, students who are not mathematics majors will benefit greatly."--J.T. Zerger, Choice "Students who are having difficulty in calculus could use it as a resource in addition to their professor and teaching assistant."--Mathematics Teacher

Author Bio

Adrian Banner is Lecturer in Mathematics at Princeton University and Director of Research at INTECH.