Functions and Graphs (Problem Books)

by James Tanton

A playful, readable, and thorough guide to precalculus, this book is directed at readers who would like a holistic look at the high school curriculum material on functions and their graphs. Tanton provides a coherent guided tour of exploration and discovery of a rich mathematical landscape. The exploration is presented through problems selected from the history of the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competition (AMC). Secondary school teachers looking for supplementary and enrichment materials will find this a rich resource, which aligns with national curriculum standards. High school and college calculus and precalculus students will discover an approachable and thought-provoking review, preview, and overview of these central mathematical ideas. Students preparing for the AMC should find it especially helpful. Active reading, with pencil in hand, will result in a deep appreciation and understanding of the properties of functions. James Tanton is the MAA's mathematician-at-large. A research mathematician with experience teaching at both the college and high school levels, he now works to encourage and aid all mathematics instructors to teach--and all mathematics students to learn-joyously and effectively.

218 pages, Paperback

Published July 26, 2018

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 29 in the AMS/MAA Problem Books series (https://bookstore.ams.org/PRB) contains more than the expected content related to problem-solving and enlightening approaches for teaching or study. Teachers of secondary mathematics or first-year college algebra will find ready classroom capsules on functions and their graphs. For a student, these lessons offer revealing insights into the subject in ways different from and more broadly illuminating than most textbooks. Sandwiched between this content and concluding each chapter is a thorough analysis of solving a problem from a past year in the MAA American Mathematics Competitions program (https://www.maa.org/math-competitions). Following that are related AMC problems. This completes the chapter format of engaging subject review, hallmark problem solution, and additional problems with the previously published solution at the back of the book. […]

[Look for my entire review at MAA Reviews]