Basic Technical Mathematics, 11th edition

For courses in technical and pre-engineering technical programs or other programs for which coverage of basic mathematics is required.

The best-seller in technical mathematics gets an “Oh, wow!” update

The 11th Edition of Basic Technical Mathematicsis a bold revision of this classic best-seller. The text now sports an engaging full-color design, and new co-author Rich Evans has introduced a wealth of relevant applications and improvements, many based on user feedback. The text is supported by an all-new online graphing calculator manual, accessible at point-of-use via short URLs. The MyLab™ Math course features hundreds of new algorithmic exercises, tutorial videos, and PowerPoint slides.  The text continues to feature a vast number of applications from technical and pre-engineering fields–including computer design, electronics, solar energy, lasers fiber optics, and the environment–and aims to develop students’ understanding of mathematical methods without simply providing a collection of formulas. The authors start the text by establishing a solid background in algebra and trigonometry, recognizing the importance of these topics for success in solving applied problems.

Also available with MyLab Math

MyLab™ Math 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. The MyLab Math course features hundreds of new algorithmic exercises, tutorial videos, and PowerPoint slides.

Students, if interested in purchasing this title with MyLab Math, ask your instructor for the correct package ISBN and Course ID. Instructors, contact your Pearson representative for more information. 

• Flexible coverage that easily adapts to fit several courses allows for the chapter order to be changed. Additionally, sections may be included or omitted based on the course length and student major.
• Relevant technical applications--including 300 applied examples and 2,000 applied exercises--relate to traditional fields such as aeronautics, architecture, automotive, business, chemical, civil, construction, energy, fire science, machine, refrigeration, as well as more up-and-coming fields such as computer design, solar energy, lasers, fiber optics, and the environment.
• UPDATED! A student-friendly layout now features a full-colour design to bring the content to life for students. The layout makes the material easier to understand, as the authors specifically avoid breaking examples or important discussions across pages. Also, all figures are shown immediately adjacent to the material in which they are discussed. Finally, the authors avoid referring to equations or formulas by number when the referent is not on the same page spread.
• The over 1000 fully-solved examples feature blue “help text” that explains each step of the solution.
• Exceptional problem sets contain over 9,000 exercises that span from practice exercises, to writing exercises, to applications, to practice tests. Additionally, the first few exercises in most sections make reference to a specific example in the section, helping students to use the examples as a learning resource.
• “Caution” and “Note” features point out common errors, topics where students frequently have difficulty, or material of particular importance.
• Practice Exercises in the margin encourage students to become actively involved in the learning process. Answers to these exercises are given at the end of the exercise set for the section.
• End of Chapter material helps students review and prepare for tests:
  • Key Formulas and Equations provide a handy reference for the chapter.
  • Chapter Review Exercises consist of (a) Concept Check Exercises (a set of true/false questions) and (b) Practice and Applications.
  • Practice Test mirrors what students might see on an actual test. Complete step-by-step solutions are given at the end of the text.

About the Book

• REVISED! Refreshed design, in full color, helps students better use the text and motivates them to learn the mathematics.
• UPDATED! TI-84 Plus-C Graphing Calculator Screens now replace the older TI-84 screens with updated, color versions. Additionally, graphing calculator help for students is accessible online via short URLs in the margins.
• Over 200 new applications feature in the examples and exercises, including:
• Power of a wind turbine (Section 3.4)
• Height of One World Trade Center (Section 4.4)
• GPS satellite velocity (Section 8.4)
• Google’s self-driving car laser distance (Section 9.6)
• Phase angle for current/voltage lead and lag (Section 10.3)
• Growth of computer processor transistor counts (Section 13.7)
• Bezier curve roof design (Section 15.3)
• Cardioid microphone polar pattern (Section 21.7)
• Social networks usage (Section 22.1)
• Video game system market share (Section 22.1)
• Over 600 new and updated exercises give students ample opportunity for practice and application. The authors analyzed aggregated student usage and performance data from MyLab™ Math to create better quality exercises that are more relevant to instructors and students.
• REVISED! Chapter end-matter exercises formerly called “Quick Chapter Review” are now labeled “Concept Check Exercises” to better communicate their function within the chapter end-matter.
• REVISED! Rewritten examples and explanatory material make the content more valuable to students.

Content updates for the eleventh edition were informed by the extensive reviews of the text completed for this revision. These include:

• Unit analysis, including operations with units and unit conversions, has been moved from Appendix B to Section 1.4. Appendix B has been streamlined, but still contains the essential reference materials on units.
• In Section 1.3, more specific instructions have been provided for rounding combined operations with approximate numbers.
• Engineering notation has been added to Section 1.5.
• Finding the domain and range of a function graphically has been added to Section 3.4.
• The terms input, output, piecewise defined functions, and practical domain and range have been added to Chapter 3.
• In response to reviewer feedback, the beginning of Chapter 5 has been reorganized so that systems of equations has a strong introduction in Section 5.2.  The prerequisite material needed for systems of equations (linear equations and graphs of linear functions) has been consolidated into Section 5.1.  An example involving linear regression has also been added to Section 5.1.
• Solving systems using reduced row echelon form (rref) on a calculator has been added to Chapter 5.
• Several reviewers made the excellent suggestion to strengthen the focus on factoring in Chapter 6 by taking the contents of 6.1 (Special Products) and spreading it throughout the chapter. This change has been implemented. The terminology greatest common factor (GCF) has also been added to this chapter.
• In Chapter 7, the square root property is explicitly stated and illustrated.
• In Chapter 8, the unit circle definition of the trigonometric functions has been added.
• In Chapter 9, more emphasis had been given to solving equilibrium problems, including those that have more than one unknown.
• In Chapter 10, an example was added to show how the phase angle can be interpreted, and how it is different from the phase shift.
• In Chapter 16, the terminology row echelon form is used.  Also, solving a system using rref is again illustrated.  The material on using properties to evaluate determinants was deleted.
• The terminology binomial coefficients was added to Chapter 19.
• Chapter 22 (Introduction to Statistics) has undergone significant changes.

• Section 22.1 now discusses common graphs used for both qualitative data (bar graphs and pie charts) and quantitative data (histograms, stem-and-leaf plots, and time series plots).
• In Section 22.2, what was previously called the arithmetic mean is now referred to as simply the mean.
• The empirical rule had been added to Section 22.4.
• The sampling distribution of x has been formalized including the statement of the central limit theorem.
• A discussion of interpolation and extrapolation has been added in the context of regression, as well an information on how to interpret the values of r and r2.
• The emphasis of Section 22.7 on nonlinear regression has been changed.  Information on how to choose an appropriate type of model depending on the shape of the data has been added. However, a calculator is now used to obtain the actual regression equation.

Also available with MyLab Math

MyLab™ Math 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. The MyLab Math course features hundreds of new algorithmic exercises, tutorial videos, and PowerPoint slides.  

• MyLab Math content features new additions, including:
• Hundreds of new assignable algorithmic exercises help address students’ homework needs. All these new exercises are accessible via mobile devices.
• 141 new instructional videos augment the existing 132 videos, and help students do their homework with a modern presentation format.
• A new Graphing Calculator Manual, created specifically for this text, features instructions for the TI-84 and TI-89 family of calculators.
• New PowerPoint® slidesfeature animations designed to help better teach key concepts.
• Study skills modules help students with the life skills (e.g., time management) that can make the difference between passing and failing.