Basic College Mathematics through Applications, 5th edition

The Akst/Bragg series’ success is built around clear and concise writing, a side-by-side “teach by example” approach, and integrated applications throughout that help students achieve a conceptual understanding. The user-friendly design offers a distinctive side-by-side format that pairs examples and their solutions with corresponding practice exercises. Students understand from the very beginning that doing math is an essential part of learning it. Motivational, real-world applications demonstrate how integral mathematical understanding is to a variety of disciplines, careers, and everyday situations.

A clear and concise, student-focused text that teaches by example and through applications

• Pretests and Posttests promote individualized learning by helping students gauge their level of understanding of chapter topics both at the beginning and at the end of each chapter. These are particularly useful in a self-paced lab or digital environment.
• Section Objectives clearly state the learning objective at the beginning of each section to identify topics to be covered. In this revision, the end-of-section exercises more fully align with the learning objectives in order to encourage and facilitate review.
• A distinctive Side-by-Side Example/Practice Format pairs examples and their solutions with practice exercises, and promotes active learning from the start. Students complete practice exercises while they follow alongside the step-by-step solution for the example exercises. Students use this format for solving skill exercises and application problems throughout the text. This feature was redesigned to follow a notebook style, which encourages students to write in the text as they follow along.
• An early introduction to algebra allows instructors to show students the connection between arithmetic and algebra and helps students grasp key algebraic concepts early in the course.
• Examples and Exercises are based on real data with additional and more varied applied problems that are useful, realistic, and authentic.
• Applications show how math can be used in a wide range of disciplines, careers, and everyday situations. Throughout the text, students are exposed to relevant applications to help answer the often-asked question “When will I ever use this?”
• Cultural Notes show how mathematics has evolved in many cultures throughout the world over the centuries. Each chapter features a compelling Cultural Note that investigates and illustrates the origins of mathematical concepts.

Exercise and End-of-Chapter Highlights

• A variety of exercises gives students the practice they need to master the material.
• Paired Exercises closely reflect the same learning objective. Almost one of every problem type covered in the textbook is now assignable in MyMathLab!
• Mixed Practice exercises, located in nearly every section's exercise sets, reinforce students’ knowledge of topics and problem-solving skills covered in the section.
• Mathematically Speaking exercises help students understand and master mathematical vocabulary.
• Journal Entry exercises help students understand concepts better by asking them to explain concepts in their own words. Open-ended questions throughout the text give students the opportunity to check their understanding. Students can build on these questions by keeping individual journals. Suggestions for optional journal entries are included in the Annotated Instructor's Edition.
• Mindstretchers are engaging activities that incorporate investigation, critical thinking, reasoning, pattern recognition, and writing exercises in one comprehensive problem set, along with corresponding group work and historical connections.
• Application Exercises at the end of the section show how to apply the topic at hand in a wide range of contexts.
• End-of-chapter material offers students a wealth of review- and retention-oriented material to reinforce the concepts presented in current and previous chapters.
• NEW! Say Why Exercises are fill-in-the blank problems that provide practice in reasoning and communicating mathematical ideas. These are located at the beginning of each chapter review.
• Key Concepts and Skills give students quick reminders of the chapter’s most important elements and provide a one-stop quick review of the chapter material. Each concept/skill is keyed to the section in which it was introduced and is accompanied by a brief description and example.
• Chapter Review exercises are keyed to the corresponding sections for easy student reference. Numerous mixed application problems complete each of these exercise sets to help students test their overall comprehension of chapter topics.
• Each chapter's Posttest allows students to practice for their classroom test.
• Cumulative Review Exercises build on the mathematical content covered in previous chapters.

Optional Technology Features

• Calculator Inserts show ways to use calculators and computer software to solve section problems.
• Video Resources on DVD with Chapter Test Prep Video’s are available on DVD and in MyMathLab. Included is a video lecture for each section of the textbook and a Chapter Test Prep Video for all Posttest exercises for each chapter.

Study Skills Features

• Math Study Skills Foldout provides tips on organization, test preparation, time management, and more for a variety of course formats.
• Student Tips offer helpful reminders and suggestions for understanding certain concepts, skills, or rules, and advice on avoiding common mistakes.
• For Extra Help boxes, found at the top of the first page of every section’s exercise set, direct students to helpful resources that will aid in their study of the material.

For Instructors

• Teaching Tips, found in the Annotated Instructor’s Edition, help instructors with explanations, reminders of previously covered material, and tips on encouraging students to write in a journal.
• Journal Entry Suggestions are included in the Annotated Instructor's Edition to go along with the Journal Entry exercises in the book.

• Updated Study Skills Foldout offers study tips to students in a variety of course settings, from traditional to hybrid to online.
• Updated content reflects changing real-world needs. For instance, the place value concept has been extended from billions to trillions and the discussion of units now includes prefixes "mega-", “giga-“, and "micro-", which are increasingly common in technology and medicine.
• New! Say Why exercises are fill-in-the-blank problems, located at the beginning of each chapter review, that provide practice in reasoning and in communicating mathematical ideas.
• Updated and expanded Section Exercise Sets provide additional practice in mastering skills.   
  • Greater emphasis on Learning Objectives: All end-of-section exercises are aligned with the learning objectives in order to encourage and facilitate review.
  • Lengthening of Cumulative Review Exercise Sets: the text now offers twice as many review exercises in response to user demand.
  • More real data in examples and exercises: this real data helps student see how math relates to the world around them.
  • Paired exercises: odd/even pairs of problems more closely reflect the same learning objective.
  • Highlighting of quantitative literacy skills: additional exercises provide practice in number sense, proportional reasoning, and the interpretation of tables and graphs.
• A color border has been added to answer and index pages to make them easier to find in the book.
• Photos have been carefully selected to make problems seem more realistic, while graphics have been revised to better meet the needs of visual learners.

New and Updated Instructor and Student Resources

• MyWorkBook with Chapter Summaries provide extra practice exercises for every chapter of the text. This workbook can be packaged with the textbook or with the MyMathLab access kit and includes the following resources:

• Mathematically Speaking key vocabulary terms and vocabulary practice problems
• Guided Examples with stepped-out solutions and similar Practice Exercises, keyed to the text by Learning Objective
• Additional Exercises with ample space for students to show their work, keyed to the text by Learning Objective
• End-of-Chapter Summaries from the textbook
• New and Updated in MyMathLab
  • NEW! Two MyMathLab course options are now available: a standard course and a Ready to Go course.
    • Standard MyMathLab courses allow instructors to build their course their way, offering maximum flexibility and complete control over all aspects of assignment creation. 
    • The new Ready to Go courses provide students with all the same great MyMathLab features, but make it easier for instructors to get started. Each course includes pre-assigned homework and quizzes to make creating a course even easier.
  • Both course options feature the following items:
    • Expanded and increased exercise coverage provides an assignable MyMathLab exercise for almost every problem type from the text.
    • Pre-made (and pre-assigned in the Ready to Go course) section-level homework assignments.
    • Pre-made chapter review quizzes that are pre-assigned in the Ready to Go course and generate personalized homework assignments based on students’ quiz results.
    • A Pre-made(and pre-assigned in the Ready to Go Course) pre- and post- test for every chapter.
    • Pre-made (and pre-assigned in the Ready to Go course) Mathematically Speaking Vocab Check assignments for each section.
    • All videos from the Video Resources on DVD with Chapter Test Prep Videos.