Precalculus

posted on: 10 Dec, 2011 | updated on: 29 Sep, 2012

Precalculus is a vast concept as it covers large number of topics and other concepts. Precalculus does not include topics from Calculus but it covers the topics and concepts which will be useful in calculus. Precalculus is studied from primary schools to research schools to help students in understanding important topics that will be used to solve problems in calculus. So we can say it teaches the basics of calculus.

Some important concepts of precalculus are:

• Curve – Plotting equations on a graph and the shape formed so is called the curve.

• Polar coordinates – This is the system of coordinates in which coordinates ate defined with the help of angles.

• Plane – Plane can be defined as a two dimensional surface which defines Linear Equations.

• Tangents – Tangent is a line which touches the outer surface of the Circle or circular object at exactly one Point.

• Complex Numbers – Complex numbers are the numbers which consist of two parts one is real part and other is imaginary part.

• Conic sections – Conic sections are the curves which are generated when a plane intersects or cuts the parts of a cone. There are different types of conic sections like ellipse, hyperbola, and Parabola.

• Logarithms – Logarithm can be defined as the power to which another number is raised to get another number. It contains base as 10.

• Natural Logs – These are the logarithms which have base ‘e’.

• Functions – A function consists of variables with operations defined on them and these Functions depend on particular variables.

• Vectors – Vectors can be defined as quantity which has both magnitude and direction.

There are many other sub concepts of precalculus like Sets, real numbers, composite Functions etc.