College Algebra

COLLEGE ALGEBRA is written for a one-semester or two-quarter college algebra course at the freshman level. 'Me emphasis of the text is to help students think critically and to discover how algebra applies to the world around them. In order to make the material more relevant, an abundance of applications can be found in the examples as well as the exercises sets. A fall-colour design highlights key equations, rules and procedures for problem solving. The colour of a graph corresponds to the colour of its equation so students can clearly distinguish between the graphs of more than one equations, The authors' treatment of functions is unusually rich in applications. Inverse functions (Sec. 4.6) are introduced after conic sections so that students will have had more experience with graphing and can more easily visualise this concept. In response to the AMATYC and MAA guidelines and the NCTM standards, several features involving writing, critical thinking, discussion, exploration and technology appear in the text. Notes discussing the usefulness of technology can be found in the margins at appropriate points to invite further exploration. Graphing calculator exercises appear throughout the problem sets. 'These exercises, which are noted with an icon, encourage the student to interpret what they are seeing on the calculator. Every chapter opens with a brief discussion of the significance of the material in the chapter and how it can be applied. Each chapter closes with a feature entitled ENCORE which is an interesting example that illustrates the usefulness of the mathematics covered in that chapter. ENCORES help students appreciate the connection of mathematics, specifically algebra, to the real world.