Many students face tremendous difficulty in high school and/or college level calculus courses. The author hopes that by introducing students to the following nontraditional three topics prior to calculus, students' understanding of calculus will be enhanced. This thesis focuses on the following topics:
Because these topics are not generally covered in precalculus courses, there are several possible uses for them. An instructor could use the material as:
This thesis assumes that the student is well prepared for the precalculus course by having a good understanding of foundational algebra skills.
","abstract_html":"<p>Many students face tremendous difficulty in high school and/or college level calculus courses. The author hopes that by introducing students to the following nontraditional three topics prior to calculus, students' understanding of calculus will be enhanced. This thesis focuses on the following topics:</p> <ul> <li>Tangent Lines to Conics</li> <li>Maxima and Minima</li> <li>Biquadratic Equations</li> </ul> <p>Because these topics are not generally covered in precalculus courses, there are several possible uses for them. An instructor could use the material as:</p> <ul> <li>An added classroom resource</li> <li>Project assignments for outside classroom study</li> <li>A student resource for precalculus advanced studies, or</li> <li>An independent study</li> </ul> <p>This thesis assumes that the student is well prepared for the precalculus course by having a good understanding of foundational algebra skills.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["DeFord, Dinah Lynn"],"institution":"East Tennessee State University","degree_name":"MS (Master of Science)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Mathematical Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2007-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:21:19Z","subjects":["biquadratic","minima","maxima","tangents","precalculus","conics","Curriculum and Instruction","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2084","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["DeFord, Dinah Lynn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2007-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["East Tennessee State University"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mathematical Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MS (Master of Science)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["biquadratic","minima","maxima","tangents","precalculus","conics","Curriculum and Instruction","Education"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/3445/viewcontent/DeFordD042707f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2084"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Many students face tremendous difficulty in high school and/or college level calculus courses. The author hopes that by introducing students to the following nontraditional three topics prior to calculus, students' understanding of calculus will be enhanced. This thesis focuses on the following topics:
Because these topics are not generally covered in precalculus courses, there are several possible uses for them. An instructor could use the material as:
This thesis assumes that the student is well prepared for the precalculus course by having a good understanding of foundational algebra skills.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Strengthening the Precalculus Bridge: Enhancing the Precalculus Student's Understanding of Tangents to Conics, Biquadratic Equations, and Maxima and Minima"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["DeFord, Dinah Lynn"],"dc:date.available":["2020-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2007-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Many students face tremendous difficulty in high school and/or college level calculus courses. The author hopes that by introducing students to the following nontraditional three topics prior to calculus, students' understanding of calculus will be enhanced. This thesis focuses on the following topics:
Because these topics are not generally covered in precalculus courses, there are several possible uses for them. An instructor could use the material as:
This thesis assumes that the student is well prepared for the precalculus course by having a good understanding of foundational algebra skills.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/3445/viewcontent/DeFordD042707f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2084"],"dc:publisher":["East Tennessee State University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["biquadratic","minima","maxima","tangents","precalculus","conics","Curriculum and Instruction","Education"],"dc:title":["Strengthening the Precalculus Bridge: Enhancing the Precalculus Student's Understanding of Tangents to Conics, Biquadratic Equations, and Maxima and Minima"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mathematical Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS (Master of Science)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:21:19Z"}