Precalculus

Varsity Tutors offers Precalculus tutoring in St. Louis, Chicago and Houston. We'll help you gain a strong understanding of the material through one-on-one tutoring at your home, a library, a café or anywhere that might convenient for you. Our tutors will open up this exciting branch of mathematics to you, while at the same time making sure that you're not overwhelmed by some of its more difficult ideas.

What is Precalculus?

Precalculus is the stepping stone from Geometry, Algebra, and Trigonometry to a powerful branch of mathematics called Calculus. An experienced Precalculus tutor from Varsity Tutors can be an invaluable asset to you as you make this transition, guiding you through some of the more unfamiliar ideas one by one, and making sure that you "get it" each step of the way.

Why should you take Precalculus?

Beginning Calculus students should seriously consider investing time in a Precalculus course and Precalculus tutoring if they have the opportunity to do so. While Calculus will certainly build on what you've already learned in Geometry, Algebra, and Trigonometry, Calculus is also its own distinct branch of mathematics. This means that Calculus has its own vocabulary, its own concepts, and its own applications, some of which can be challenging for the beginning Calculus student. Not only will there be new material to absorb in your first Calculus class, the new concepts will come quickly and will be of a higher difficulty level than the math you've encountered before.

Your Precalculus tutor had to make this transition at one point and all of our tutors understand how intimidating this process can be. Don't worry! Our Precalculus tutors are proof that it can be done, and they can show you how to do it.

You're probably wondering, "What will I learn in Precalculus that's so different?" Depending on the course, you could learn a variety of new concepts. No matter what is taught, though, your Precalculus tutor will help you understand each new concept before moving on to the next subject. This is one of the many advantages of one-on-one tutoring—you never get left behind.

In general, Precalculus is meant to introduce you to a few key Calculus concepts so that the transition from "regular math" to Calculus is a more gradual step. The course usually begins with an intensive review of Algebra and Trigonometry (which will both be used in Calculus) before introducing new material. Once into new territory, however, the goal of the course will be to familiarize you with a basic concept of Calculus, called the function, as well as to introduce you to the different classifications of functions (even, odd, polynomial, trigonomic, rational, exponential, etc.). The course will discuss how rates of change and accumulation are modeled by functions, and it will also cover how to find the domain and limit of a function. If appropriate, Precalculus may also prepare you for two very important concepts, the derivative and the integral, which are both related to functions. Along the way, you will learn additional new material, often including complex numbers, vectors, sets, and conic sections. Your Precalculus tutor can help you with any and all of these concepts.

As you can see, there is quite a bit of new ground to cover if you're planning to study Calculus. But the process doesn't need to be overwhelming, nor does it need to happen all at once, which is exactly the purpose of a Precalculus class. Remember, there's no reason to give up when you can "get it" instead. Therefore, you should consider both your Precalculus class and your Precalculus tutoring to be investments well worth your time.

Call us today to find out more about our Precalculus tutors.

Additional Information

Pre-Calculus

Introduction: A Parable of Precalculus

Precalculus Wikipedia Article

Topics in a Pre-Calculus Course