What makes precalculus hard
Calculus I introduces new topics and new ways of looking at math you already know. Precalculus asks you to push algebraic manipulation much further and study exactly what is happening in a graph.
Trigonometry adds its own challenge: lots of identities and values that students try to memorize rather than understand. I teach the unit circle as a picture that makes the values and identities follow, so there is much less to memorize.
How I help
We work from the concept to the computation. When you understand why an identity holds or why a graph shifts, you can rebuild what you forget under test pressure. A student who is lost in precalculus is nearly always missing something from Algebra II, and we find it.
Topics I work on most
- Functions, transformations, inverses and composition
- Polynomial and rational functions
- Exponential and logarithmic functions
- The unit circle, graphs of trig functions, identities and equations
- Law of sines and cosines, including the ambiguous case
- Polar coordinates and complex numbers
- Sequences, series, conics and vectors
Short videos
The unit circle
The ambiguous case
Complex to polar
Rates: In person $75/hour, remote $60/hour, first hour half off. Full rates and travel.