Using & Understanding Mathematics: A Quantitative Reasoning Approach, 7th Edition

In the 7th Edition of Using & Understanding Mathematics, the Bennett/Briggs author team provides content and resources that help students see the relevance of math in everyday life, preparing them with math skills for college, career and life. The authors' unique pedagogy and modular approach offer an engaging and flexible combination of technology and text. In addition, this revision provides a wide range of exercises and support for students to test their knowledge of text concepts.

Reach every student by with MyLab Math

MyLab™ Math is the teaching and learning platform that empowers you to reach every student. By combining trusted author content with digital tools and a flexible platform, MyLab Math personalizes the learning experience and improves results for each student. Learn more about MyLab Math.

Features of the MyLab

• Robust video program including
  
• NEW! A new series of example-based videos is fresh and modern, accompanied by assessment questions that give the instructor the ability to not just assign the videos but gauge student understanding.
  
• NEW! Dynamic Concept videos focus on some of the most interesting and challenging concepts to help students gain a deeper understanding. An engaging visuallightboard functionality is used to explain these concepts — such as comparisons of quantities, student loans, and percentages — in a visual way.
  
• NEW! When Will I Ever Use This? videos demonstrate how various math concepts are utilized in various jobs and careers. 
  
• NEW! Interactive Concept Videos discuss a concept in depth and then the video pauses asking students to try a problem on their own.  Incorrect answers are followed by further explanation, taking into consideration what may have led to the student selecting that particular wrong answer.  Incorrect answer ‘A’ goes down one path while incorrect answer ‘B’ provides a different explanation based on why the student may have selected that option.
  
• In Your World videos based on the In Your World feature in the book are a fun, visual way  intended to introduce topics, engage students and show the relevancy of the math in their daily lives.
  
• NEW!  Animations let students interact with the math in a visual, tangible way.  These animations allow students to explore and manipulate the mathematical concepts, leading to more durable understanding.  Corresponding exercises in MyLab Math make these truly assignable.
  
• NEW! StatCrunch^® Integration — a powerful web-based statistical software that allows users to collect data, perform analyses, and generate compelling results. For this edition, StatCrunch questions have been added to relevant Technology Exercises and access to the software has been integrated into the MyLab Math course.
  
• Skillbuilder support integrated into the courseoffers adaptive practice designed to increase a student’s ability to complete assignments. By monitoring student performance on homework, Skill Builder adapts to each student’s needs and provides just-in-time, in-assignment practice to help them improve their proficiency of key learning objectives.
  
• In addition to the exercises in MyLab Math, there are also questions to assess student understanding of the following resources:
  
• Chapter openers
  
• Unit openers
  
• Quick Quiz
  
• Brief Review
  
• Example videos
  
• Dynamic concept videos
  
• Interactive concept videos
  
• Animations
  
• Also available, an Integrated Review version of the MyLab Math course offers a complete course for your textbook plus embedded and personalized review of prerequisite topics.  
  

About the Book

• Chapter Overviews have an infographic feel including a multiple-choice question designed to illustrate an important way in which the chapter content connects with the book themes of college, career, and life.
  
• REVISED! Chapter 4, Managing Money has been extensively revised to include the most current financial information regarding loans, taxes and budgets.
  
• Now Try exercise references appear at the end of every example and direct students to a specific exercise, immediately testing their comprehension of the material.
  
• NEW! Caution! These short notes are found throughout the text, highlighting common errors.
  
• Think About It features build on the main narrative and are designed to encourage a deeper level of mathematical understanding. Examples include the proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and Zeno's paradox.
  

• Brief Reviews summarize key mathematical skills that students have learned previously but may require a refresher to support success in the section. These appear wherever a particular skill is first needed, and exercises based on the review boxes can be found at the end of the unit as well as in MyLab Math. These can be skipped if students already have a firm grasp of the requisite skill.
  
• Using Technology boxes appear throughout to highlight technologies such as Excel, graphing calculators, Apps and websites that can be used for the corresponding concept further emphasizing how the math is useful for careers and life outside the classroom.
  
• NEW and UPDATED! In Your World boxes focus on topics that students are likely to encounter in the world around them, whether in the news, in consumer decisions, or in political discussions. This is further enhanced with a section of In Your World exercises in the exercise sets and videos in MyLab Math.
  
• Quick Quizzes appear before the exercise sets, offering ten questions for students to briefly check their understanding of the unit’s concepts before attempting the homework.
  
• Exercises within each chapter include the following types:
  
• Review Questions are non-computationalrequiring students to explain and provide examples reinforcing understanding of concepts.
  
• Does It Make Sense? are qualitative exercises that test conceptual understanding by asking whether given statements are sensible, and then asking students to explain why or why not.
  
• Basic Skills & Concepts cover skills review
  
• Further Applications put the skills in context continuing to emphasize the relevancy of the math for college, career and life.  
  
• In Your World exercises are similar to the In Your World feature in the text in that they have student look to the world around them to answer questions. These questions do not directly assess content in the book feature.
  
• Technology Exercises provide students an opportunity to practice skills with technology such as a graphing calculator, Excel^®, or StatCrunch, apps or websites.

Check out the preface for a complete list of features and what's new in this edition.

New Printed Student Supplement

A printed Activity Manual is available, for those who wish to do more activities in the course. The Activity Manual is correlated to the textbook and activities can be completed by students individually or in a group. Instructor notes with background information and discussion points are provided in the Instructor’s Resources section of the MyLab Math course. The Activity Manual is available to package with the text and also appears in the MyLab Math course.

Reach every student with MyLab Math

• Deliver trusted content: You deserve teaching materials that meet your own high standards for your course. That’s why we partner with highly respected authors to develop interactive content and course-specific resources that you can trust—and that keep your students engaged.
  
• Empower each learner: Each student learns at a different pace. Personalized learning pinpoints the precise areas where each student needs practice, giving all students the support they need—when and where they need it—to be successful.
  
• Teach your course your way: Your course is unique. So whether you’d like to build your own assignments, teach multiple sections, or set prerequisites, MyLab gives you the flexibility to easily create your course to fit your needs.
  
• Improve student results: When you teach with MyLab, student performance improves. That’s why instructors have chosen MyLab for over 15 years, touching the lives of over 50 million students.