This is a problem I hate. It tries to explain the exponential function. The book is totally anti-formula. The book comes with many plastic toys. One of them is the geoboard , which is a square integral lattice.
Students have to find the area of figures created on the board.
In later chapters, when dealing with triangles without any horizontal or vertical sides, knowledge of a formula . This is the key formula to solve any such silly problems on the integral lattice, yet authors are saying it is useless and destructive. Teaching mathematical laws such as the distributive law without a simple formula does not make sense at all. The Lab Gear is another set of toys. In the case of the college level algebra, the rules are for example the Peano axioms.