## Supporting Features {#eip-22}Welcome to Algebra and Trigonometry, an OpenStax resource. This textbook has been created with several goals in mind: accessibility, customization, and student engagement—all while encouraging students toward high levels of academic scholarship. Instructors and students alike will find that this textbook offers a strong foundation in algebra and trigonometry in an accessible format.
OpenStax is a non-profit organization committed to improving student access to quality learning materials. Our free textbooks go through a rigorous editorial publishing process. Our texts are developed and peer-reviewed by educators to ensure they are readable, accurate, and meet the scope and sequence requirements of today’s college courses. Unlike traditional textbooks, OpenStax resources live online and are owned by the community of educators using them. Through our partnerships with companies and foundations committed to reducing costs for students, OpenStax is working to improve access to higher education for all. OpenStax is an initiative of Rice University and is made possible through the generous support of several philanthropic foundations. OpenStax textbooks are used at many colleges and universities around the world. Please go to https://openstaxcollege.org/pages/adoptions to see our rapidly expanding number of adoptions.
OpenStax resources provide quality academic instruction. Three key features set our materials apart from others: they can be customized by instructors for each class, they are a "living" resource that grows online through contributions from educators, and they are available free or for minimal cost.
OpenStax learning resources are designed to be customized for each course. Our textbooks provide a solid foundation on which instructors can build, and our resources are conceived and written with flexibility in mind. Instructors can select the sections most relevant to their curricula and create a textbook that speaks directly to the needs of their classes and student body. Teachers are encouraged to expand on existing examples by adding unique context via geographically localized applications and topical connections.
Algebra and Trigonometry can be easily customized using our online platform (http://cnx.org/content/col11758/latest/). Simply select the content most relevant to your current semester and create a textbook that speaks directly to the needs of your class. Algebra and Trigonometry is organized as a collection of sections that can be rearranged, modified, and enhanced through localized examples or to incorporate a specific theme to your course. This customization feature will ensure that your textbook truly reflects the goals of your course.
To broaden access and encourage community curation, Algebra and Trigonometry is “open source” licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license. The mathematics community is invited to submit feedback to enhance and strengthen the material and keep it current and relevant for today’s students.
Our textbooks are available for free online, and in low-cost print and e-book editions.
Written and reviewed by a team of highly experienced instructors, Algebra and Trigonometry provides a comprehensive and multi-layered exploration of algebraic principles. The text is suitable for a typical introductory algebra course, and was developed to be used flexibly. While the breadth of topics may go beyond what an instructor would cover, the modular approach and the richness of content ensures that the book meets the needs of a variety of programs.
Algebra and Trigonometry guides and supports students with differing levels of preparation and experience with mathematics. Ideas are presented as clearly as possible, and progress to more complex understandings with considerable reinforcement along the way. A wealth of examples – usually several dozen per chapter – offer detailed, conceptual explanations, in order to build in students a strong, cumulative foundation in the material before asking them to apply what they’ve learned.
In determining the concepts, skills, and topics to cover, we engaged dozens of highly experienced instructors with a range of student audiences. The resulting scope and sequence proceeds logically while allowing for a significant amount of flexibility in instruction.
Chapters 1 and 2 provide both a review and foundation for study of Functions that begins in Chapter 3. The authors recognize that while some institutions may find this material a prerequisite, other institutions have told us that they have a cohort that need the prerequisite skills built into the course. <div data-type="list" data-list-type="bulleted" id="eip-id1168983371474">
</div>
Chapters 3-6: The Algebraic Functions <div data-type="list" data-list-type="bulleted" id="eip-id7864342">
</div>
Chapters 7-10: A Study of Trigonometry <div data-type="list" data-list-type="bulleted" id="eip-id1166690773820">
</div>
Chapters 11-13: Further Study in Algebra and Trigonometry <div data-type="list" data-list-type="bulleted" id="eip-id1165670230619">
</div>
All chapters are broken down into multiple sections, the titles of which can be viewed in the Table of Contents.
OpenStax Algebra and Trigonometry is the product of a collaborative effort by a group of dedicated authors, editors, and instructors whose collective passion for this project has resulted in a text that is remarkably unified in purpose and voice. Special thanks is due to our Lead Author, Jay Abramson of Arizona State University, who provided the overall vision for the book and oversaw the development of each and every chapter, drawing up the initial blueprint, reading numerous drafts, and assimilating field reviews into actionable revision plans for our authors and editors.
The collective experience of our author team allowed us to pinpoint the subtopics, exceptions, and individual connections that give students the most trouble. And so the textbook is replete with well-designed features and highlights, which help students overcome these barriers. As the students read and practice, they are coached in methods of thinking through problems and internalizing mathematical processes.
For example, narrative text is often followed with the “How To” feature, which summarizes the presentation into a series of distinct steps. This approach addresses varying learning styles, and models for students an important learning skill for future studies. Furthermore, the extensive graphical representations immediately connect concepts with visuals.
We understand that precision and accuracy are imperatives in mathematics, and undertook a dedicated accuracy program led by experienced faculty.
The Solutions Manual, which was written and developed after the Student Edition, has also been rigorously checked for accuracy following a process similar to that described above. Incidentally, the act of writing out solutions step-by-step served as yet another round of validation for the Answer Key in the back of the Student Edition. In spite of the efforts described above, we acknowledge the possibility that—as with any textbook—some errata may have been missed. We encourage users to report errors via our Errata page.
Each chapter is divided into multiple sections (or modules), each of which is organized around a set of learning objectives. The learning objectives are listed explicitly at the beginning of each section, and are the focal point of every instructional element
Narrative text is used to introduce key concepts, terms, and definitions, to provide real-world context, and to provide transitions between topics and examples. Throughout this book, we rely on a few basic conventions to highlight the most important ideas: <div data-type="list" data-list-type="bulleted" id="eip-id1166658637533">
</div>
Each learning objective is supported by one or more worked examples, which demonstrate the problem-solving approaches that students must master. The multiple Examples model different approaches to the same type of problem, or introduce similar problems of increasing complexity.
All Examples follow a simple two- or three-part format. The question clearly lays out a mathematical problem to solve. The Solution walks through the steps, usually providing context for the approach—in other words, why the instructor is solving the problem in a specific manner. Finally, the Analysis (for select examples) reflects on the broader implications of the Solution just shown. Examples are followed by a “Try It,” question, as explained below.
OpenStax Algebra and Trigonometry contains figures and illustrations, the vast majority of which are graphs and diagrams. Art throughout the text adheres to a clear, understated style, drawing the eye to the most important information in each figure while minimizing visual distractions. Color contrast is employed with discretion to distinguish between the different functions or features of a graph.
## Supporting Features {#eip-22}
Four unobtrusive but important features, each marked by a distinctive icon, contribute to and check understanding.
A “How To” is a list of steps necessary to solve a certain type of problem. A How To typically precedes an Example that proceeds to demonstrate the steps in action.
A “Try It” exercise immediately follows an Example or a set of related Examples, providing the student with an immediate opportunity to solve a similar problem. In the Web View version of the text, students can click an Answer link directly below the question to check their understanding. In the PDF, answers to the Try-It exercises are located in the Answer Key.
A Q&A may appear at any point in the narrative, but most often follows an Example. This feature pre-empts misconceptions by posing a commonly asked yes/no question, followed by a detailed answer and explanation.
The “Media” icon appears at the conclusion of each section, just prior to the Section Exercises. This icon marks a list of links to online video tutorials that reinforce the concepts and skills introduced in the section.
Disclaimer: While we have selected tutorials that closely align to our learning objectives, we did not produce these tutorials, nor were they specifically produced or tailored to accompany Openstax Algebra and Trigonometry. We are deeply grateful to James Sousa for compiling his incredibly robust and excellent library of video tutorials, which he has made available to the public under a CC-BY-SA license at http://mathispower4u.yolasite.com/. Most or all of the videos to which we link in our “Media” feature (plus many more) are found in the Algebra 2 and Trigonometry video libraries at the above site.
Each section of every chapter concludes with a well-rounded set of exercises that can be assigned as homework or used selectively for guided practice. With over 6300 exercises across the 13 chapters, instructors should have plenty to choose from1.
Section Exercises are organized by question type, and generally appear in the following order: <div data-type="list" data-list-type="bulleted" id="eip-id8611023">
</div>
Each chapter concludes with a review of the most important takeaways, as well as additional practice problems that students can use to prepare for exams. <div data-type="list" data-list-type="bulleted" id="eip-id1170356513666">
</div>
OpenStax projects offer an array of ancillaries for students and instructors. Currently the following resources are available. <div data-type="list" data-list-type="bulleted" id="eip-id1166524242687">
</div>
Please visit http://openstaxcollege.org to view an up-to-date list of the Learning Resources for this title and to find information on accessing these resources.
WebAssign is an independent online homework and assessment solution first launched at North Carolina State University in 1997. Today, WebAssign is an employee-owned benefit corporation and participates in the education of over a million students each year. WebAssign empowers faculty to deliver fully customizable assignments and high quality content to their students in an interactive online environment. WebAssign supports College Algebra with hundreds of problems covering every concept in the course, each containing algorithmically-generated values and links directly to the eBook providing a completely integrated online learning experience.
XYZ Homework provides powerful online instructional tools for faculty and students. Our unified learning environment combines online assessment with MathTV.com video lessons to reinforce the concepts taught in the classroom. Randomized questions provide unlimited practice and instant feedback with all the benefits of automatic grading.
Jay Abramson has been teaching Precalculus for 33 years, the last 14 at Arizona State University, where he is a principal lecturer in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. His accomplishments at ASU include co-developing the university’s first hybrid and online math courses as well as an extensive library of video lectures and tutorials. In addition, he has served as a contributing author for two of Pearson Education’s math programs, NovaNet Precalculus and Trigonometry. Prior to coming to ASU, Jay taught at Texas State Technical College and Amarillo College. He received Teacher of the Year awards at both institutions.
The following faculty contributed to the development of OpenStax Precalculus, the text from which this product was updated and derived. <div data-type="list" id="eip-794">
</div>
You can also download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/13ac107a-f15f-49d2-97e8-60ab2e3b519c@11.1
Attribution: