Synopses & Reviews
Known for a clear and concise exposition, numerous examples, and plentiful problem sets, Jerome E. Kaufmann and Karen L. Schwitters?s COLLEGE ALGEBRA, Seventh Edition, is an easy-to-use book that focuses on building technique and helping students hone their problem-solving skills. The seventh edition focuses on solving equations, inequalities, and problems; and on developing graphing techniques and using the concept of a function. Updated with new application problems and examples throughout, the seventh edition is accompanied by a robust collection of teaching and learning resources, including Enhanced WebAssign, an easy-to-use online homework management system for both instructors and students.
Review
"I like the writing style of the text. It is well within the reading abilities of my students. The concept spacing is very good and each section can be covered in a 1-hour class lecture."
Review
"[This] is one of the few college algebra textbooks that really shows students how to deal with radicals the way they will have to in a calculus class (by changing them into rational exponents)."
Review
"The exercise sets are great--they range from easy to difficult and provide practice on skills taught by the examples in each section." "The rigor of this text is appropriate for a course that could lead a student into a calculus course. Some of the proofs and challenge problems included would make great group discussion topics. For those students that are not going to take calculus, there are enough other exercises to help them practice their skills in preparation for other fields."
Synopsis
Focusing on and reinforcing problem-solving throughout, Kaufmann and Schwitters help students learn to analyze a word problem by approaching it logically and extracting all its essential mathematical components so that the process of solving a problem can be approached with ease. The authors' proven approach of "learn a skill" then "use a skill to solve equations and inequalities" and finally, "use equations and inequalities to solve word problems" helps students apply their newly learned skills immediately for better comprehension and retention. This is the same approach used by the authors in their highly successful developmental mathematics texts.
About the Author
Jerome E. Kaufmann received his Ed.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Virginia. Now a retired Professor of Mathematics from Western Illinois University, he has more than 30 years of teaching experience at the high school, two-year, and four-year college levels. He is the author of 45 college mathematics textbooks.Karen L. Schwitters graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a B.S. in Mathematics. She earned an M.S. Ed. in Professional Secondary Education from Northern Illinois University. Schwitters is currently teaching at Seminole Community College in Sanford, Florida, where she is very active in multimedia instruction and is involved in planning distance learning courses with multimedia materials. She is an advocate for Enhanced WebAssign and uses it in her classroom. In 1998, she received the Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Technology Award.
Table of Contents
0. SOME BASIC CONCEPTS OF ALGEBRA: A REVIEW. Some Basic Ideas. Exponents. Polynomials. Factoring Polynomials. Rational Expressions. Radicals. Relationships Between Exponents and Roots. Complex Numbers. Chapter 0 Summary. Chapter 0 Review Problem Set. Chapter 0 Test. 1. EQUATIONS, INEQUALITIES, AND PROBLEM SOLVING. Linear Equations and Problem Solving. More Equations and Applications. Quadratic Equations. Applications of Linear and Quadratic Equations. Miscellaneous Equations. Inequalities. Inequalities Involving Quotients and Absolute Value. Chapter 1 Summary. Chapter 1 Review Problem Set. Chapter 1 Test. 2. COORDINATE GEOMETRY AND GRAPHING TECHNIQUES. Coordinate Geometry. Graphing Techniques: Linear Equations and Inequalities. Determining the Equation of a Line. More on Graphing. Circles, Ellipses, and Hyperbolas. Chapter 2 Summary. Chapter 2 Review Problem Set. Chapter 2 Test. Cumulative Review Problem Set (Chapters 0-2). 3. FUNCTIONS. Concept of a Function. Linear Functions and Applications. Quadratic Functions. More Quadratic Functions and Applications. Transformations of Some Basic Curves. Combining Functions. Inverse Functions. Chapter 3 Summary. Chapter 3 Review Problem Set. Chapter 3 Test. Cumulative Review Problem Set (Chapters 0-3). 4. POLYNOMIAL AND RATIONAL FUNCTIONS. Dividing Polynomials. Remainder and Factor Theorems. Polynomial Equations. Graphing Polynomial Functions. Graphing Rational Functions. More on Graphing Rational Functions. Direct and Inverse Variation. Chapter 4 Summary. Chapter 4 Review Problem Set. Chapter 4 Test. Cumulative Review Problem Set (Chapters 0-4). 5. EXPONENTIAL AND LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS. Exponents and Exponential Functions. Applications of Exponential Functions. Logarithms. Logarithmic Functions. Exponential and Logarithmic Equations: Problem Solving. Chapter 5 Summary. Chapter 5 Review Problem Set. Chapter 5 Test. Cumulative Review Problem Set (Chapters 0-5). 6. SYSTEMS OF EQUATIONS. Systems of Two Linear Equations in Two Variables. Systems of Three Linear Equations in Three Variables. Matrix Approach to Solving Systems. Determinants. Cramer's Rule. Partial Fractions. Chapter 6 Summary. Chapter 6 Review Problem Set. Chapter 6 Test. Cumulative Review Problem Set (Chapters 0-6). 7. ALGEBRA OF MATRICES. Algebra of 2 × 2 Matrices. Multiplicative Inverses. m × n Matrices. Systems Involving Linear Inequalities: Linear Programming. Chapter 7 Summary. Chapter 7 Review Problem Set. Chapter 7 Test. 8. CONIC SECTIONS. Parabolas. Ellipses. Hyperbolas. Systems Involving Nonlinear Equations. Chapter 8 Summary. Chapter 8 Review Problem Set. Chapter 8 Test. Cumulative Review Problem Set (Chapters 0-8). 9. SEQUENCES AND MATHEMATICAL INDUCTION. Arithmetic Sequences. Geometric Sequences. Another Look at Problem Solving. Mathematical Induction. Chapter 9 Summary. Chapter 9 Review Problem Set. Chapter 9 Test. 10. COUNTING TECHNIQUES, PROBABILITY, AND THE BINOMIAL THEOREM. Fundamental Principle of Counting. Permutations and Combinations. Probability. Some Properties of Probability and Expected Value. Conditional Probability: Dependent and Independent Events. Binomial Theorem. Chapter 10 Summary. Chapter 10 Review Problem Set. Chapter 10 Test.