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Prealgebra and Introductory Algebra with P.O.W.E.R. Learning
Prealgebra and Introductory Algebra with P.O.W.E.R. Learning

Prealgebra and Introductory Algebra with P.O.W.E.R. Learning, 1st Edition

ISBN10: 0073513008 | ISBN13: 9780073513003
By Sherri Messersmith, Lawrence Perez and Robert Feldman
© 2014

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* The estimated amount of time this product will be on the market is based on a number of factors, including faculty input to instructional design and the prior revision cycle and updates to academic research-which typically results in a revision cycle ranging from every two to four years for this product. Pricing subject to change at any time.

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Sherri Messersmith’s successful hardcover franchise is expanded with the new softcover P.O.W.E.R. series. The conversational writing style, practical applications, innovative student resources and student friendly walk through of examples that users of the hard cover books noted and appreciated are also found in the pages of Intermediate Algebra with P.O.W.E.R. Learning and the rest of the series.

The P.O.W.E.R. Framework

What makes P.O.W.E.R. a unique tool for the classroom? A major challenge in developmental courses is that students at this level struggle with basic study skills and habits. Maybe this is one of their first college courses or perhaps they are adults returning to school after a long absence. Either way, many of the individuals taking this course don’t know how to be good students. Instructors often don’t have the time, the resources or the expertise to teach success skills AND the math concepts. The new team of Messersmith, Perez and Feldman offer a scientifically based approach to meet this challenge. The P.O.W.E.R. Learning Framework was developed by successful author, psychologist, student success instructor and researcher, Bob Feldman. It is a method of accomplishing any task using five simple and consistent steps. Prepare. Organize. Work. Evaluate. Rethink. This framework is integrated at every level of the text to help students successfully learn math concepts while at the same time developing habits that will serve them well throughout their college careers and in their daily lives.

The Math

Making Connections – Sherri Messersmith is recognized for preparing her students for success by refreshing their knowledge of arithmetic. By helping students see the connection between arithmetic and algebra, Sherri found that her students were more confident in their abilities as they progressed through the course. This classroom tested practice was integrated into the texts so that both instructors and students could benefit. Messersmith accomplishes this by including arithmetic examples for most sections before the use of algebraic examples. Also, the author has developed through classroom use a series of Basic Skills Worksheets that can easily be integrated into the classroom.

Presenting Concepts in “Bite Size” Pieces – By breaking down the sections into manageable pieces, the author has identified the core places where students traditionally struggle and then assists them in understanding that material to be successful moving forward. For details on how the author has done this, check out the TOCs for Intro Algebra, PreAlgebra, Intermediate Algebra and the combo book PreAlgebra and Introductory Algebra.

Mastering Concepts--With the textbook and Connect Math hosted by ALEKS, students can practice and master their understanding of algebraic concepts. Messersmith is rigorous enough to prepare students for the next level yet easy to read and understand. The exposition is written as if a professor is teaching in a lecture to be more accessible to students. The language is mathematically sound yet easy enough for students to understand.

Prealgebra and Introductory Algebra with POWER Learning

Messersmith/Perez/Feldman

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Operations with Integers

1.1 Place Value and Rounding

1.2 Introduction to Integers

1.3 Adding Integers

1.4 Subtracting Integers

1.5 Estimating a Sum or a Difference

1.6 Multiplying Integers and Estimation

1.7 Dividing Integers and Estimation PIAT

1.8 Exponents and Order of Operations

Chapter 2 Variables and Solving Equations

2.1 Introduction to Variables

2.2 Simplifying Expressions

2.3 Solving Equations Using the Addition Property of Equality

2.4 Solving Equations Using the Division Property of Equality

2.5 More on Solving Equations

2.6 Applications Involving One Unknown

2.7 Applications Involving Two Unknowns

Chapter 3 Operations with Signed Fractions

3.1 Introduction to Signed Fractions

3.2 Writing Fractions in Lowest Terms

3.3 Multiplying and Dividing Signed Fractions

3.4 Adding and Subtracting Like Fractions and Finding a Least Common Denominator

3.5 Adding and Subtracting Unlike Fractions

3.6 Operations with Mixed Numbers PIAT

3.7 Order Relations and Order of Operations

3.8 Solving Equations Containing Fractions

Chapter 4 Basic Geometry Concepts

4.1 Introduction to Geometry

4.2 Rectangles, Squares, Parallelograms, and Trapezoids

4.3 Triangles

4.4 Volume and Surface Area PIAT

4.5 Solving Geometry Applications Using Algebra

Chapter 5 Signed Decimals

5.1 Reading and Writing Decimals

5.2 Rounding Decimals

5.3 Adding and Subtracting Signed Decimals

5.4 Multiplying Signed Decimals

5.5 Dividing Signed Decimals and Order of Operations PIAT

5.6 Writing Fractions as Decimals

5.7 Mean, Median, and Mode

5.8 Solving Equations Containing Decimals

5.9 Square Roots and the Pythagorean Theorem

5.1 Circles, Spheres, Cylinders, and Cones

Chapter 6 Ratios and Proportions

6.1 Ratios

6.2 Rates

6.3 Proportions

6.4 Solve Applied Problems Involving Proportions

6.5 Angles

6.6 Solve Applied Problems Involving Congruent and Similar Triangles

Chapter 7 Measurement and Conversion

7.1 Conversions Within the U.S. Measurement System

7.2 The Metric System: Length

7.3 The Metric System: Capacity and Weight (Mass)

7.4 Solving Applied Problems Involving Metric Units

7.5 Metric - U.S. Customary Conversions and Temperature

Chapter 8 Percents

8.1 Percents, Fractions, and Decimals

8.2 Compute Basic Percents Mentally

8.3 Use an Equation to Solve Percent Problems

8.4 Solve Applications Involving Percents PIAT

8.5 More Applications with Percents

8.6 Simple and Compound Interest

Chapter 9 Graphs

9.1 Reading Tables, Pictographs, Bar Graphs, and Line Graphs

9.2 Frequency Distributions and Histograms

9.3 Using and Making Circle Graphs

Cumulative Review for Chapters 1-9

Chapter 10 Real Numbers, Equations, and Inequalities

10.1 Real Numbers

10.2 More on Solving Linear Equations

10.3 Formulas and Solving for a Specific Variable

10.4 Solving Linear Inequalities in One Variable

Chapter 11 Linear Equations in Two Variables

11.1 Introduction to Linear Equations in Two Variables

11.2 Graphing by Plotting Points and Finding Intercepts

11.3 The Slope of a Line

11.4 The Slope-Intercept Form of a Line

11.5 Writing an Equation of a Line

Chapter 12 Solving Systems of Linear Equations

12.1 Solving Systems by Graphing

12.2 Solving Systems by Substitution

12.3 Solving Systems by the Elimination Method PIAT

12.4 Applications of Systems of Equations

12.5 Linear Inequalities in Two Variables

Chapter 13 The Rules of Exponents and Polynomials

13.1 The Product Rule and Power Rules

13.2 Integer Exponents

13.3 The Quotient Rule PIAT

13.4 Scientific Notation

13.5 Addition and Subtraction of Polynomials

13.6 Multiplication of Polynomials

13.7 Dividing a Polynomial by a Monomial

13.8 Dividing a Polynomial by a Polynomial

Chapter 14 Factoring Polynomials

14.1 The Greatest Common Factor and Factoring by Grouping

14.2 Factoring Trinomials of the Form x^2 + bx + c

14.3 Factoring Trinomials of the Form ax^2 + bx + c (a not 1)

14.4 Factoring Special Trinomials and Binomials PIAT

14.5 Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring

14.6 Applications of Quadratic Equations

Chapter 15 Rational Expressions

15.1 Simplifying Rational Expressions

15.2 Multiplying and Dividing Rational Expressions

15.3 Finding the Least Common Denominator

15.4 Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions PIAT

15.5 Simplifying Complex Fractions

15.6 Solving Rational Equations

15.7 Applications of Rational Equations and Variation

Chapter 16 Roots and Radicals

16.1 Finding Roots

16.2 Simplifying Radicals: The Product and Quotient Rules

16.3 Adding and Subtracting Radicals

16.4 Combining Operations on Radicals

16.5 Dividing Radicals

16.6 Solving Radical Equations

Chapter 17 Quadratic Equations

17.1 Solving Quadratic Equations Using the Square Root Property

17.2 Solving Quadratic Equations by Completing the Square

17.3 Solving Quadratic Equations Using the Quadratic Formula PIAT

17.4 Graphs of Quadratic Equations

17.5 Introduction to Functions

Appendix

A.1 Adding Whole Numbers

A.2 Subtracting Whole Numbers

A.3 Multiplying Whole Numbers

A.4 Introduction to Division and Short Division

A.5 Long Division

B.1 Sets of Numbers

B.2 Graphing Inequalities

B.3 Deriving the Area of a Parallelogram and the Area of a Trapezoid

B.4 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

About the Author

Sherri Messersmith

Sherri Messersmith has been teaching at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, since 1994. She has over 25 years of experience teaching many different courses from developmental mathematics through calculus. She earned a bachelor of science degree in the teaching of mathematics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and went on to teach at the high level for two years. Sherri returned to UIUC and earned a master of science in applied mathematics and stayed on at the university to teach and coordinate large sections of undergraduate math courses. Sherri has authored several textbook, and she has also appeared in videos accompanying several McGraw-Hill texts. Sherri lives outside of Chicago with her husband, Phil, and their daughters, Alex and Cailen. In her precious free time, she likes to read, play the guitar, and travel -- the manuscripts for this and her previous books have accompanied her from Spain to Greece and many points in between.

Lawrence Perez

Robert Feldman

Bob Feldman still remembers those moments of being overwhelmed when he started college at Wesleyan University. “I wondered whether I was up to the challenges that faced me,” he recalls, “and—although I never would have admitted it at the time—I really had no idea what it took to be successful at college.”

That experience, along with his encounters with many students during his own teaching career, led to a life-long interest in helping students navigate the critical transition that they face at the start of their own college careers. Professor Feldman, who went on to receive a doctorate in psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is now Deputy Chancellor and Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is founding director of POWER Up for Student Success, the first-year experience course for incoming students.

Professor Feldman’s proudest professional accomplishment is winning the College Outstanding Teaching Award at UMass. He also has been named a Hewlett Teaching Fellow and was Senior Online Instruction Fellow. He has taught courses at Mount Holyoke College, Wesleyan University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Professor Feldman is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a winner of a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer award and has written over 200 scientific articles, book chapters, and books. His books, some of which have been translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, and Chinese, include Improving the First Year of College: Research and Practice; Understanding Psychology, 12/e; and Development Across the Life Span, 7/e. His research interests encompass the study of honesty and truthfulness in everyday life, development of nonverbal behavior in children, and the social psychology of education. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research.

With the last of his three children completing college, Professor Feldman occupies his spare time with pretty decent cooking and earnest, but admittedly unpolished, piano playing. He also loves to travel. He lives with his wife, who is an educational psychologist, in a home overlooking the Holyoke mountain range in western Massachusetts.

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