Algebra for College Students, 8th edition

For courses in algebra for college students.

Gets them engaged. Keeps them engaged.

Bob Blitzer’s use of realistic applications instantly piques students’ curiosity about the presence of mathematical concepts in the world around them. These applications are apparent throughout the entire program—from his relatable examples, friendly writing style, and thought-provoking features in the textbook, to the enhanced digital resources in the MyMathLab course. Blitzer pulls from topics that are relevant to college students, often from pop culture and everyday life, to ensure that students will actually use their learning resources to achieve success. With an expansion of the series to now include a Developmental Math “all-in-one” text  (with content spanning prealgebra through intermediate algebra), and with an enhanced media program accompanying this revision, developmental students at all levels will see how math applies to their daily lives and culture.

Also available with MyMathLab

MyMathLab^® is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program designed to work with this text to engage students and improve results. Within its structured environment, students practice what they learn, test their understanding, and pursue a personalized study plan that helps them absorb course material and understand difficult concepts.

• Engaging applications and real-world data put learning into context. Bob Blitzer is on a constant search for data that can be used to illustrate algebra applications. He has used this research to update the chapter- and section-opening applications, examples, and exercises in the text.
• NEW AND UPDATED! More than 100 new or revised examples, applications, and exercises are based on new or updated data sets. Many of these applications involve topics relevant to college students, such as the number of hours college students sleep and tuition costs, while others tackle larger issues such as climate change and mental illness.
• Blitzer Bonuses are features that provide interesting connections to the math at hand, showing students that math is a dynamic discipline applicable to the real world.
• These features have been integrated into MyMathLab, with new engaging Blitzer Bonus videos to connect the math to the real world in a visual way, and are assignable with corresponding assessment exercises to ensure that students watched the video and understood the topic at hand.
• Additional study skills support is available to students through in-text features and the updated Learning Guide:
• Great Question! presents helpful study tips in the form of a question a student might have. Answers to the questions offer suggestions for problem solving, point out common errors to avoid, and provide informal hints and suggestions.
• Achieving Success boxes offer strategies for success in math courses, along with suggestions to help developmental students achieve their full academic potential.
• UPDATED! The Learning Guide helps students make the most of the Blitzer program. This workbook gives students the opportunity to practice the topics, with side-by-side examples and practice problems, and guidance for test preparation. New projects foster conceptual understanding in an active classroom environment, and are included in the Learning Guide. The Learning Guide is available for students in MyMathLab, or as a printed, unbound workbook.
• Explanatory Voice Balloons translate algebraic ideas into everyday English, help clarify problem-solving procedures, present alternative ways of understanding concepts, and connect problems-solving strategies to concepts students have already learned.
• Check Point exercises, after every example, make the text more interactive by offering students the opportunity to test their understanding of the example by working a similar exercise. Answers to all of the Check Points are in the answer section.
• Extensive exercise sets offer several types of exercises. This variety makes it easy to create well-rounded homework assignments from the text or in MyMathLab. Exercise types include the following:
• Concept and Vocabulary Checks provide fill-in-the-blank and true/false exercises that assess students' understanding of the definitions and concepts presented in the section. These are also assignable in MyMathLab.
• Practice Plus Problems are more challenging exercises that require students to combine several skills or concepts.
• Explaining the Concepts exercises ask students to explain terms and concepts in their own words, helping them to develop a mathematical vocabulary.
• Critical Thinking Exercises stretch student thinking by taking concepts one step further, while asking students to draw conclusions and justify answers. Make Sense and True/False exercises also fall under this category.
• Review Exercises review previously covered topics to improve and maintain students' understanding and mastery of the material.
• Preview Exercises help students prepare for the following section by previewing the concepts that they will soon encounter.
• Application Exercises allow students to apply the skills they’ve learned to a realistic or interesting scenario.
• Technology Exercises are meant to be used with a graphing utility, reinforcing graphing calculator skills developed in the section.
• Mid-Chapter Check Points allow students to stop and assess the skills and concepts they've learned separately over several sections. The Mid-Chapter Check Points will now be available as a pre-made assignment in the Blitzer MyMathLab courses.
• Chapter Summaries are organized by section and highlight important concepts and topics with side-by-side examples to make it easy for students to study and check for mastery of key concepts.

Also available with MyMathLab

MyMathLab^® is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program designed to work with this text to engage students and improve results. Within its structured environment, students practice what they learn, test their understanding, and pursue a personalized study plan that helps them absorb course material and understand difficult concepts.

• NEW! Blitzer Bonus Videos in MyMathLab mirror the features in the text. These animation-style videos use Bob Blitzer’s signature style and voice to provide interesting real-world connections—in a highly visual way—to the mathematical topics at hand.
• Corresponding assignable Blitzer Bonus exercises are available to test student understanding of the topic covered in the video, and make the video truly assignable.
• An updated, mobile-compatible video program provides students with extra help for each section of the textbook.
• Section Lecture Videos cover important topics from every section of the text, and are now mobile-compatible.
• Chapter Test Prep Videos offer step-by-step video solutions to every problem in each Chapter Test in the textbook. These videos are also now available on YouTube^™.
• Assignable Concept and Vocabulary Check questions available in MyMathLab assess students’ understanding of the definitions and concepts presented in each section.
• Mid-Chapter Check Point exercises allow students to stop and assess the skills and concepts they’ve learned separately over several sections.
• NEW! Learning Catalytics™ in MyMathLab is an interactive, student response tool that uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more sophisticated tasks and thinking. Now included in MyMathLab, Learning Catalytics enables you to generate classroom discussion, guide your lecture, and promote peer-to-peer learning with real-time analytics. Pearson-created content for developmental math allows instructors to take advantage of this exciting technology immediately.
• NEW! A Student Success Module includes videos, activities, and post-tests for these three student success areas:
• Math-Reading Connections, including topics such as Using Word Clues, and Looking for Patterns.
• Study Skills, including topics such as Time Management and Preparing for and Taking Exams.
• College Success, including topics such as College Transition and Online Learning.
• Instructors can assign these videos and/or activities as media assignments, along with pre-built post-tests to make sure students learn and understand how to improve their skills in these areas. Instructors can integrate these assignments with their traditional MyMathLab homework assignments to incorporate student success topics into their course as they deem appropriate.

• Engaging applications and real-world data put learning into context. Bob Blitzer is on a constant search for data that can be used to illustrate algebra applications. He has used this research to update the chapter- and section-opening applications, examples, and exercises in the text.
• NEW AND UPDATED! More than 100 new or revised examples, applications, and exercises are based on new or updated data sets. Many of these applications involve topics relevant to college students, such as the number of hours college students sleep and tuition costs, while others tackle larger issues such as climate change and mental illness.
• Blitzer Bonuses are features that provide interesting connections to the math at hand, showing students that math is a dynamic discipline applicable to the real world.
• NEW! These features have been integrated into MyMathLab, with new engaging Blitzer Bonus videos to connect the math to the real world in a visual way, and are assignable with corresponding assessment exercises to ensure that students watched the video and understood the topic at hand.
• Additional study skills support is available to students through in-text features and the updated Learning Guide:
• UPDATED! The Learning Guide helps students make the most of the Blitzer program. This workbook gives students the opportunity to practice the topics, with side-by-side examples and practice problems, and guidance for test preparation. New projects foster conceptual understanding in an active classroom environment, and are included in the Learning Guide. The Learning Guide is available for students in MyMathLab, or as a printed, unbound workbook.

Also available with MyMathLab.

MyMathLab^® is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program designed to work with this text to engage students and improve results. Within its structured environment, students practice what they learn, test their understanding, and pursue a personalized study plan that helps them absorb course material and understand difficult concepts.

• NEW! Blitzer Bonus Videos in MyMathLab mirror the features in the text. These animation-style videos use Bob Blitzer’s signature style and voice to provide interesting real-world connections—in a highly visual way—to the mathematical topics at hand.
• Corresponding assignable Blitzer Bonus exercises are available to test student understanding of the topic covered in the video, and make the video truly assignable.
• An updated, mobile-compatible video program provides students with extra help for each section of the textbook.
• Section Lecture Videos cover important topics from every section of the text, and are now mobile-compatible.
• Chapter Test Prep Videos offer step-by-step video solutions to every problem in each Chapter Test in the textbook. These videos are also now available on YouTube^™.
• NEW! Learning Catalytics™ in MyMathLab is an interactive, student response tool that uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more sophisticated tasks and thinking. Now included in MyMathLab, Learning Catalytics enables you to generate classroom discussion, guide your lecture, and promote peer-to-peer learning with real-time analytics. Pearson-created content for developmental math allows instructors to take advantage of this exciting technology immediately.
• NEW! A Student Success Module includes videos, activities, and post-tests for these three student success areas:
• Math-Reading Connections, including topics such as Using Word Clu