Product Description

For Basic College Mathematics, Beginning Algebra, and Intermediate Algebra courses including lecture-based, self-paced, discussion oriented, and modular classes.

This clear, accessible treatment of mathematics features a building-block approach toward problem solving and realistic, diverse applications. Students practice problem solving and decision making with interesting applications throughout the text. The Putting Your Skills to Work and new chapter-end feature, Math in the Media, present students with opportunities to utilize critical thinking skills, analyze and interpret data, and problem solve using applied situations encountered in daily life.

The problem solving strategy, highlighted by *A Mathematics Blueprint for Problem Solving, helps students determine where to begin the problem-solving process, as well as how to plan subsequent problem-solving steps. Chapter organizers help students focus their study on the concepts and examples. Developing Your Study Skills boxes throughout the text give students tips to help them improve their study skills. These features, together with the applications and emphasis on problem solving, help students to become effective and confident problem solvers.

*Please note: Intermediate Algebra includes a similar feature called Problem Solving Procedure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #916557 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 742 pages

Customer Reviews

Just the basics...
The text 'Basic College Mathematics' is used at the college where I tutor in mathematics as the foundational course for mathematics in all programmes. While many students test out of this level into algebraic topics, for those students whose mathematics is decades old, or was never perfect in the beginning, this book offers a fairly clear and systematic approach to mathematics topics.

The chapters cover the broad topics in this order: Whole Numbers, including the basic arithmetical functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), was well as basics of exponents and rounding; Fractions, including the basic arithmetical functions as well as beginning to deal with mixed numbers and order of operations; Decimals, including the basic arithmetical functions as well as continuing with order of operations and decimal/fraction conversions; Ratio and proportion ideas; Percentages theoretical and applied; Basic Measurements and conversions of units between British/American units and metric standards; Geometry at the most basic level of shapes and arithmetical formulas dealing with those shapes for area, perimeter, etc.; Statistics at a very elementary level, such as reading charts and graphs, histograms, and the three concepts of mean, median and mode; Signed and special numbers, including the negative numbers, as well as scientific notation; and finally a brief introduction to Algebra, which introduces the basic concepts of variables, like terms, and equations.

Each of the chapters deals with things in a mathematical as well as an 'English' way - explaining in words the concepts and operations being carried out in the numbers. Each section of each chapter covers only a few key concepts, with enough problems for solving that reinforce the principles thoroughly. Each section also as word problems (story problems) to test the real-world applicability of the numerical/mathematical concepts being presented, so when students ask (as they always do and shall), 'When am I ever going to use this?' there are examples drawn from typical situations.

Tobey and Slater have also worked to make various connections with geometry, graphs and charts, tables, as well as internet resources to provide the most up-to-date and useful text. There are specific problems along the way that assume the use of calculators (as most of real-life mathematics now involves calculators).

The book's design is interesting from a graphic-design standpoint, but from the standpoint of clarity to the students, the pages are a bit 'busy'. While I appreciate the need to reduce the number of pages in an effort to keep the costs down (text-book prices are typically higher than popular-book prices, and this text is no exception), more white space on the pages would probably help the accessibility and make it a little less intimidating.

This book serves as a good foundation for students to proceed at our college forward into Beginning Algebra (another book by Tobey and Slater on this topic is used for the next-level course), and then further into Intermediate Algebra and beyond.