College algebra and trigonometry

Synopsis

This text provides a supportive environment to help students successfully learn the content of a standard algebra and trigonometry course. By incorporating interactive learning techniques, the Aufmann team helps students to better understand concepts, focus their studying habits, and obtain greater mathematical success. Prerequisite review is include in the textbook (and supporting materials) so that instructors can spend less time covering review material and students can still fill in the gaps in their mathematical knowledge. Integrated Review Notes provided next to examples throughout the text help students see the key prerequisite skills used within the example. For added convenience, these example-specific notes direct students to the page(s) where they can practice and review the skills needed to understand the new concept, thus decreasing students' frustration and increasing their success. Prepare for the Next Section Exercises, found at the end of the exercise sets, have been carefully selected to review the prerequisite skills students will need in the next section. Next to each exercise is a reference to a section of the text where students can go to review topics they don't understand. Answers to all of these exercises are provided in the Answer Appendix to help students better understand what they need to do to prepare for the next section. Interactive reading and study support is provided through careful placement of a Question/Answer feature throughout the exposition of the text so that students can check their understanding of concepts, think more critically about the mathematics, and more actively engage in learning mathematics. To support students studying independently, the Answer to each question is conveniently provided as a footnote on the same page as the question. To create a link between the algebraic and visual representations of a solution, increase students' understanding of the concept presented, and accommodate different learning styles, the authors have provided both an algebraic solution and a graphical solution (represented by either a coordinate grid graph or a graphing calculator screen) for appropriate examples. Focus on Problem Solving at the beginning of every chapter reviews and demonstrates various strategies used by successful problem-solvers. Students become more comfortable with problem-solving and have a collection of tips and strategies to refer to for added support. Special modeling sections throughout the text, which rely heavily on the graphing calculator, provide an opportunity to motivate students with relevant, modern applications. These special sections introduce the idea of mathematical modeling of data through linear, quadratic, exponential, logarithmic, and logistic regression. Students are often required to work with tables, graphs, and charts using data drawn from a variety of disciplines. Cumulative Review Exercises added to every chapter allow students to review material from previous chapters to better prepare for tests and material to come. The answers for all of these exercises, along with cross-references to the relevant text section, are included in the student answer section of the textbook to enable students' to check their work.