Prealgebra introduces students to negative numbers and equations early on in the course. Negative numbers are in the second chapter, and equations are in the fourth chapter. Students get an early introduction to algebra, then we follow up by integrating those ideas into the rest of the book.

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Textbook Features

Progress Check (eBook only)

This new self-study feature allows students to get as much practice as they want on the examples in the book. Each Practice Example correlates with the examples from each section of the eBook. The system automatically generates new problems, so students can do each one of them until they feel confident that they understand it. Everything is recorded in a section-by-section Progress Report to help students keep track of their progress.

Getting Ready for Class

Because we want to encourage students to read the book, we place four questions at the end of every section, under the heading Getting Ready for Class, that students can answer from the reading. Even a minimal attempt to answer these questions enhances the students'in-class experience. A number of people using our books use these questions as a student's ticket to class. They collect the student answers as students come in the door.

Paying Attention to Instructions

We try to anticipate problems students have and build features into the text that address these problems. For example, we know students don't always pay attention to instructions when they are doing their homework, and it gets them into trouble on tests and quizzes. So, we build problems into the text, under the heading Paying Attention to Instructions, that require that they read instructions.

Getting Ready for the Next Section

These problems appear at the end of every problem set. They are the exact problems that students will see when they read through the next section of the text. Students who consistently work these problems will be much better prepared for class than students who don't work these problems.

Facts from Geometry

This feature gives students a chance to see how topics from geometry are related to the algebra they are using.

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Staying Current with Technology

QR codes are all integrated throughout the text. Click on each page below to see a larger view. If you have a QR reader installed on you smart device, you can scan the QR codes here yourself.

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