Multivariable Calculus from Graphical, Numerical, and Symbolic Points of View

by Paul Zorn and Arnold Ostebee

Book Overview

Ostebee and Zorn's approach applies reform principles to a rigorous calculus text. Conceptual understanding is the main goal of the text, and looking at mathematics from many representations... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0030237866
• ISBN13: 9780030237867
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace College Publishers
• Length: 405 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.3" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

I like this book!

I took the class from Professor Paul Zorn a while ago, in 2001. The experience was just incredible. I still remembered we discussed about the Riemann sums via emails. The best feature of this book is that it gives you very good intuition, then leads you to the more rigorous process through numerical demonstrations and graphs etc. It's a great series for those who hates math! Of course, the book is plain (black and white), not as colorful and attractive as most of the pillow thick Calculus textbooks out there. However, I believe it is one of the best textbooks on calculus for non-science/liberal arts majors. Also, it is helpful to those who are aspired to become a future mathematician but without sufficient maturity in math. The book will guide you through step by step, as the title says, it make you believe the "truths" by showing you numerically, graphically, and logically. It's just sad that good books don't usually become popular. This Calculus series is extremely helpful for any future teacher or college instructors of mathematics. Unlike most of the traditional way of teaching calculus, which trains students to grasp only manipulative and operational skills rather than helps to get an intuitive understanding of the subject, the book guides you step by step through detailed explanations (and in some places avoid unnecessary rigors) and at the end, you will learn to appreciate the beauty of math--this, I believe is the most successful achievement of the authors. Suggestions for improvement: Color graphs, addition of details and hints to problems, more typical examples. --Abel

Organized and intuitive

Even though a lot of professors and instructors have weeded out these texts, I found this book to be organized and helpful.However, engineers are usually required to take some form of Advanced Engineering Math. I believe AEM is more detailed than Calculus III (multivariable) and that the books for AEM are usually more helpful than straight multivariable calculus. The reason is because multivariable calculus is too focused on the theory behind concepts like Green's Theorem, etc.. and doesn't really aim towards helping the student apply this knowledge in the field.Sometimes its easier to understand things that you can find ways of using in real life.