xvi Preface
TRUSTED FEATURES
- Study Setsfound in each section offer a multifaceted approach to practicing
and reinforcing the concepts taught in each section. They are designed for
students to methodically build their knowledge of the section concepts, from
basic recall to increasingly complex problem solving, through reading,
writing, and thinking mathematically.
Vocabulary—Each Study Setbegins with the important Vocabulary
discussed in that section. The fill-in-the-blank vocabulary problems
emphasize the main concepts taught in the chapter and provide the
foundation for learning and communicating the language of algebra.
Concepts—In Concepts,students are asked about the specific subskills
and procedures necessary to successfully complete the Guided Practice
and Try It Yourselfproblems that follow.
Notation—In Notation,the students review the new symbols introduced
in a section. Often, they are asked to fill in steps of a sample solution.
This strengthens their ability to read and write mathematics and
prepares them for the Guided Practiceproblems by modeling solution
formats.
Guided Practice—The problems in Guided Practiceare linked to an
associated worked example or objective from that section. This feature
promotes student success by referring them to the proper examples if
they encounter difficulties solving homework problems.
Try It Yourself—To promote problem recognition, the Try It Yourself
problems are thoroughly mixed and are notlinked to worked examples,
giving students an opportunity to practice decision-making and strategy
selection as they would when taking a test or quiz.
Applications—The Applicationsprovide students the opportunity to
apply their newly acquired algebraic skills to relevant and interesting
real-life situations.
Writing—The Writingproblems help students build mathematical
communication skills.
Review—The Reviewproblems consist of randomly selected problems
from previous chapters. These problems are designed to keep students’
successfully mastered skills up-to-date before they move on to the next
section. - Detailed Author Notesthat guide students along in a step-by-step process
appear in the solutions to every worked example. - Think It Throughfeatures make the connection between mathematics and
student life. These relevant topics often require algebra skills from the
chapter to be applied to a real-life situation. Topics include tuition costs,
student enrollment, job opportunities, credit cards, and many more. - Chapter Tests,at the end of every chapter, can be used as preparation for the
class exam. - Cumulative Reviewsfollow the end-of-chapter material and keep students’
skills current before moving on to the next chapter. Each problem is linked
to the associated section from which the problem came for ease of reference.
The final Cumulative Reviewis often used by instructors as a Final Exam
Review.