Name: Precalculus mathematics in a nutshell
ISBN: 9781592441303

Precalculus mathematics in a nutshell

ÒGeometry is a very beautiful subject whose qualities of elegance, order, and certainty have exerted a powerful attraction on the human mind for many centuries... Algebra's importance lies in the student's future... as essential preparation for the serious study of science, engineering, economics, or for more advanced types of mathematics... The primary importance of trigonometry is not in its applications to surveying and navigation, or in making computations about triangles, but rather in the mathematical description of vibrations, rotations, and periodic phenomena of all kinds, including light, sound, alternating currents, and the orbits of the planets around the sun.Ó In this brief, clearly written book, the essentials of geometry, algebra, and trigonometry are pulled together into three complementary and convenient small packages, providing an excellent preview and review for anyone who wishes to prepare to master calculus with a minimum of misunderstanding and wasted time and effort. Students and other readers will find here all they need to pull them through.

What Hacker News says

rramadassFeb 2026

Absolutely! Any person willing to study and think can understand the above books. As i mentioned, they cover a broad swath of mathematics and are meant for the general reader. You can checkout reviews on Amazon and elsewhere on the web.

Mathematics can be approached in two ways; 1) For understanding 2) For techniques of usage.

The above books help with (1). Textbooks focus on (2). A very good succinct (< 150 pages!) introductory text for (2) is George Simmons' Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell: Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry. It is available at https://github.com/enilsen16/The-Math-Group

One word of advice; most people's phobia of mathematics arises from not knowing/understanding the notation. It is just a shorthand language which you need to get familiar with. When you come across a formula, just expand and read it out aloud in your own version of easy English. You will understand better and lose your fear of mathematics. A book like Mathematical Notation: A Guide for Engineers and Scientists by Edward Scheinerman is of great help here. There are of course lots of free resources for this on the web starting with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_mathematical_symbo... and https://mathvault.ca/hub/higher-math/math-symbols/

thread

blobcodeMay 2024

For a younger age group (13-15 maybe), George F. Simmons’ “Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell” (https://www.amazon.com/Precalculus-Mathematics-Nutshell-Geom...) is quite good though might require a bit of help to grasp. It features lots of exercises and a quite decent explanations for the age range.

thread

rramadassJul 2023

> I need to go back to the basics and work my way up; I've lost a lot of it. Where do I start?

One very good place to start is Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell: Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry by George F. Simmons (less than 150 pages!).

thread

bondantMay 2023

Precalculus mathematics in a nutshell, by George Finlay Simmons

I found the explanations for the geometry part excellent.

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL8012300M/Precalculus_mathema...

thread

djrockstar1Jan 2023

Had to do a Calculus course in uni despite not having taken any calc or pre-calc in high school. "Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell" and "Calculus Made Easy" were complete lifesavers.

thread

rramadassNov 2022

Every student should read the following preparatory to "Higher Maths";

* Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell: Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry by George Simmons - Not a word wasted in less than 150 pages.

* Functions and Graphs by I.M.Gelfand et.al. - A must read (again, less than 150 pages) to build graphical intuition.

thread