Algebra for College Students (3rd Edition)
PrefaceThis book was written for college students who have successfully completed a first course in elementary algebra. My primary goal was to write a book that students can read, understand, and enjoy. To achieve this goal I have used short sentences, clear explanations, and many detailed worked-out examples. I have tried to make the book relevant to college students by using practical applications of algebra throughout the text.   Features of the TextFour-Color Format: Color is used pedagogically in the following ways:Important definitions and procedures are color screened. Color screening or color type is used to make other important items stand out. Artwork is enhanced and clarified with use of multiple colors. The four-color format allows for easy identification of important features by students. The four-color format makes the text more appealing and interesting to students.Reability: One of the most important features of text is its readability. The book is very readable, even for those with weak reading skills. Short, clear senses are used and more easily recognized, and easy-to-understand language is used whenever possible.Accuracy: Accuracy in a mathematics text is essential. To ensure accuracy in this book, mathematicians from around the country have read the pages carefully for typographical errors and have checked all the answers.Connections: Many of our students do not thoroughly grasp new concepts the first time they are presented. In this text we encourage students to make connections. That is, we introduce a concept, then later in the text briefly reintroduce it and build upon it. Often an important concept is used in many sections of the text. Students are reminded where the material was seen before, or where it will be used again. This also serves to emphasize the importance of the concept. Important concepts are also reinforced throughout the text in the Cumulative Review Exercises and Cumulative Review Tests.Chapter Opening Application: Each chapter begins with a real-life application related to the material covered in the chapter. By the time students complete the chapter, they should have the knowledge to work the problem.Preview and Perspective: This feature at the beginning of each chapter explains to the students why they are studying the material and where this material will be used again in other chapters of the book. This material helps students see the connections between various topics in the book, and the connection to real-world situations.Students Solution Manual, Videotape, and Software Icons: At the beginning of each section, Student's Solution Manual, videotape, and tutorial software icons are displayed. These icons tell the student where material in the section can be found in the Student's Solution Manual, on the videotapes, and in the tutorial software, saving your students time when they want to review this material. Small videotape icons are also placed next to exercises that are worked out on the videotapes.Keyed Section Objectives: Each section opens with a list of skills that the student should learn in that section. The objectives are then keyed to the appropriate portions of the sections with symbols.Problem Solving: Polya's five-step problem-solving procedure is discussed in Section 2.2. Throughout the book problem solving and Polya's problem-solving procedure are emphasized.Practical Applications: Practical applications of algebra are stressed throughout the text. Students need to learn how to translate application problems into algebraic symbols. The problem-solving approach used throughout this text gives students ample practice in setting up and solving application problems. The use of practical applications motivates students.Detailed Worked-Out Examples: A wealth of examples have been worked out in a step-by-step, detailed manner. Important steps are highlighted in color, and no steps are omitted until after the student has seen a sufficient number of similar examples.Now Try Exercise: In each section, students are asked to work exercises that parallel the examples given in the text. These Now Try Exercises make the students active, rather than passive, learners and they reinforce the concepts as students work the exercises.Study Skills Section: Many students taking this course have poor study skills in mathematics. Section 1.1, the first section of this text, discusses the study skills needed to be successful in mathematics. This section should be very beneficial for your students and should help them to achieve success in mathematics.Helpful Hints: The helpful hint boxes offer useful suggestions for problem solving and other varied topics. They are set off in a special manner so that students will be sure to read them.Avoiding Common Errors: Errors that students often make are illustrated. The reasons why certain procedures are wrong are explained, and the correct procedure for working the problem is illustrated. These Avoiding Common Errors boxes will help prevent your students from making those errors we see so often.Using Your Calculator: The Using Your Calculator boxes, placed at appropriate intervals in the text, are written to reinforce the algebraic topics presented in the section and to give the student pertinent information on using the calculator to solve algebraic problems.Using Your Graphing Calculator: Using Your Graphing Calculator boxes are placed at appropriate locations throughout the text. They reinforce the algebraic topics taught and sometimes offer alternate methods of working problems. This book is designed to give the instructor the option of using or not using a graphing calculator in their course. Many Using Your Graphing Calculator boxes contain graphing calculator exercises, whose answers appear in the answer section of the book. The illustrations shown in the Using Your Graphing Calculator boxes are from a Texas Instrument 83 calculator. The Using Your Graphing Calculator boxes are written assuming that the student has no prior graphing calculator experience.   Exercise SetsThe exercise sets are broken into three main categories: Concept/Writing Exercises, Practice the Skills, and Problem Solving. Many exercise sets also contain Challenge Problems and/or Group Activities. Each exercise set is graded in difficulty. The early problems help develop the student's confidence, and then students are eased gradually into the more difficult problems. A sufficient number and variety of examples are given in each section for the student to successfully complete even the more difficult exercises. The number of exercises in each section is more than ample for student assignments and practice. Many exercise sets contain graphing calculator exercises for instructors who wish to assign them.Concept/Writing Exercises: Most exercise sets include exercises that require students to write out the answers in words. These exercises improve students' understanding and comprehension of the material. Many of these exercises involve problem solving, and conceptualization, and help develop better reasoning and critical thinking skills. Writing exercises are indicated by a symbol.Challenge Problems: These exercises, which are part of many exercise sets, provide a variety of problems. Many were written to stimulate student thinking. Others provide additional applications of algebra or present material from future sections of the book so that students can see and learn the material on their own before it is covered in class. Others are more challenging than those in the regular exercise set.Problem Solving Exercises: These exercises have been added to help students become better thinkers and problem solvers. Many of these exercises are applied in nature.Cumulative Review Exercises: All exercise sets (after the first two) contain questions from previous sections in the chapter and from previous chapters. These cumulative review exercises will reinforce topics that were previously covered and help students retain the earlier material, while they are learning new material. For the students' benefit the Cumulative Review Exercises are keyed to the section where the material is covered.Group Activities: Many exercise sets have group activity exercises that lead to interesting group discussions. Many students learn well in a cooperative learning atmosphere, and these exercises will get students talking mathematics to one another.Chapter Summary: At the end of each chapter is a chapter summary which includes a glossary and important chapter facts.Review Exercises: At the end of each chapter are review exercises that cover all types of exercises presented the chapter. The review exercises are keyed to the sections where the material was first introduced.Practice Tests: The comprehensive end-of-chapter practice test will enable the students to see how well they are prepared for the actual class test. The Test Item File includes several forms of each chapter test that are similar to the student's practice--This text refers to an alternateHardcoveredition.