Kent Osband

Calculus for the Curious Kent Osband

Calculus offers some of the greatest problem-solving methods ever discovered. Anyone who understands basic algebra and geometry can learn it. The main challenge is the triple-D way calculus is usually taught: dry, dull and daunting.

Calculus for the Curious offers an alternative. It is short: only two hundred pages. It is colorful and chock full of pictures. It motivates all its concepts through interesting problems and offers the simplest derivation of every result. It also links to dozens of activities on www.geogebra.org that offer vivid demonstrations of how calculus works.

Despite its brevity, Calculus for the Curious covers all standard first-year calculus topics and tackles a few challenges that go beyond. Remarkably, it does this without presuming any prior knowledge of standard precalculus. Instead, it introduces basic calculus concepts as useful tools for solving practical problems. It then uses these tools to explain infinite series, logarithms, exponentials, and trigonometric functions. This simplifies a host of clutter.

Tired of memorizing a host of unrelated math facts? Tired of formulas with no visible connection to the wonders of our world? Calculus for the Curiouswill help you restore your love of learning, whether you are teaching yourself or preparing to teach others.