Book excerpt: This title in the Homework Helpers series will reinforce mathematical foundations and bolster students' confidence in pre-calculus. The concepts are explained in everyday language before the examples are worked. Good habits, such as checking your answers after every problem, are reinforced. There are practice problems throughout the book, and the answers to all of the practice problems are included. The problems are solved clearly and systematically, with step-by-step instructions provided. Particular attention is placed on topics that students traditionally struggle with the most. While this book could be used to supplement a standard pre-calculus textbook, it could also be used by college students or adult learners to refresh long-forgotten concepts and skills. Homework Helpers: Pre-Calculus is a straightforward and understandable introduction to differential calculus and its applications. It covers all of the topics in a typical Calculus class, including: Linear functions Polynomials Rational functions Exponential functions Logarithmic functions Systems of equations This book also contains a review of the pre-calculus concepts that form the foundation on which calculus is built.