Functions Modeling Change: A Preparation for Calculus, 4th Edition

A required text but not worth the price

My daughter is taking precalculus this year and this book is used in the digital version for her class. I believe a hard copy is essential to keep as a reference and is also much easier to utilize for math homework. Unfortunately, despite this being the same edition as her digital copy, we have seen at least one problem with different numbers used in the homework portion. It may be the only problem, but now it creates uncertainty about the two versions being the same. It is not a typo, just different numbers. I have no idea why they would make such a change. Now she has to check every problem with the digital version to ensure it is the same which is time consuming and frustrating. As far as the actual content, I am not in a position to say as I have no background in this subject and my daughter is just learning it.

This book is exactly the one that I needed for my college math class. It was so much cheaper then the one that was in my college book store, it's also excellent quality. Buying the book for the class was also a bonus because it's easier to make notes instead of transferring the work to a notebook. I recommend that any college student who's looking to buy this book, buy it!

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being great and 1 being horrible I'm going to give this math book a 5. It isn't the worst book I've ever had to use however its far from the best. It only gives answers to the odd numbered problems, and most of the explanations are confusing. I hope the math department at my school switches from this for future students.

I would like to say thank- you, since this was a tough class i had to take and this book was greatly appreciated, since so far i have an "A"in the course thank - you again

I have not used this book yet. I need it for a class this coming fall. I read the reviews. But, considering the price that I paid on amazon and what the school charges, I am very happy. Also, since I am kind of weak in the the math department, this book will suit my needs.

As others have written, there are mistakes in answers to the exercises, which is frustrating. More problematic, I think, is that the writing is often convoluted. I learned many of the included topics in an algebra class just last semester and thought I understood them well. However, I'm often confused after reading about them in this text. The key concepts seem to be buried inside of complicated examples. I'm also disappointed with the online component (Wiley Plus) compared to the one I used last semester (My Math Lab). The graphing tool is clumsy to use, making it difficult to create accurate graphs. If a submitted answer is incorrect, there are few resources to understand the relevant topic more thoroughly and those that do exist are difficult to find. Hopefully, the school will choose a different text for future semesters.

This book is so well written that you could teach yourself the material without taking the class, (assuming you had all of the background math beforehand,) and it has more than enough review examples in the event you may have forgotten some math from your last class.