Calculus Concepts: An Informal Approach to the Mathematics of Change

Designed for the one- to two-semester business/applied calculus course that commonly requires the use of graphing calculators and spreadsheets, this text uses applications and technology to develop concepts before presenting concrete examples. The text presents the mathematics using many representations--algebraic, graphical, numeric, and verbal--to help students of diverse learning styles better understand and connect concepts. Students also use real data and graphing technology to build models and interpret results. Diverse exercise sets give instructors a wide variety of exercise formats to choose from when creating homework assignments. An Activities Key found at the beginning of each exercise set in the Instructor's Annotated Edition labels the types of exercises. This approach enables students to learn when it is appropriate to use technology or when exercises involve such things as writing or critical thinking. A navigation icon appears next to places within the text where multiple representations of a mathematical concept are presented. By presenting topics algebraically, graphically, numerically, and verbally, students see the connections between the different formats. In addition, various learning styles are addressed, allowing a greater majority of students to understand the material. Spreadsheet and Graphing Calculator Activities are located throughout the text to help students visualize concepts and learn how to use these key technological tools. Projects may be assigned by instructors to allow students to strengthen their writing and presentation skills while they learn to communicate mathematically. Eduspace is Houghton Mifflin's online learning tool. Powered by Blackboard, Eduspace is a customizable, powerful and interactive platform that provides instructors with text-specific online courses and content. The LaTorre et al. Calculus Concepts course features algorithmic exercises, test bank content in question pools and video explanations.Laurel R. Carpenter is the author of 'Calculus Concepts: An Informal Approach to the Mathematics of Change', published 2004 under ISBN 9780618401284 and ISBN 0618401288.