Thomas’ Calculus Early Transcendentals (14th Edition) by Joel R

Thomas’ Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Fourteenth Edition, provides a modern introduction to calculus that focuses on developing conceptual understanding of the underlying mathematical ideas. This text supports a calculus sequence typically taken by students in STEM fields over several semesters. Intuitive and precise explanations, thoughtfully chosen examples, superior figures, and time-tested exercise sets are the foundation of this text. We continue to improve this text in keeping with shifts in both the preparation and the goals of today’s students, and in the applications of calculus to a changing world. Many of today’s students have been exposed to calculus in high school. For some, this translates into a successful experience with calculus in college. For others, however, the result is an overconfidence in their computational abilities coupled with underlying gaps in algebra and trigonometry mastery, as well as poor conceptual understanding. In this text, we seek to meet the needs of the increasingly varied population in the calculus sequence. We have taken care to provide enough review material (in the text and appendices), detailed solutions, and a variety of examples and exercises, to support a complete understanding of calculus for students at varying levels. Additionally, the MyMathLab course that accompanies the text provides adaptive support to meet the needs of all students. Within the text, we present the material in a way that supports the development of mathematical maturity, going beyond memorizing formulas and routine procedures, and we show students how to generalize key concepts once they are introduced. References are made throughout, tying new concepts to related ones that were studied earlier. After studying calculus from Thomas, students will have developed problem-solving and reasoning abilities that will serve them well in many important aspects of their lives. Mastering this beautiful and creative subject, with its many practical applications across so many fields, is its own reward. But the real gifts of studying calculus are acquiring the ability to think logically and precisely; understanding what is defined, what is assumed, and what is deduced; and learning how to generalize conceptually. We intend this book to encourage and support those goals.