Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

Intermediate Algebra Refund needed; no reply from seller on procedure

Customer Rating:

Can't rate the book overall because the instructor decided we would use another product. There was no return or refund instructions in the box and I need to return the book to the seller. I sent an e-mail over a week or two ago and have not had a response as to how to return and/or obtain a refund for this book. Overall, I was pleased with the timeliness of receiving the book but I really need to know the procedure for returns and refunds. I think I would avoid any purchases not directly from Amazon or go ahead and pay the 10-20 more at the school bookstore to avoid errors and confusion of this type. Demetra Roberts.

Worst textbook ever

Customer Rating:

This has to be one of the worst textbooks ever, as I found out when I took Intermediate Algebra at a Community College the summer after my freshman year. Its format is to state a theorem, NOT prove or explain it, and then show several examples of numbers being plugged into it. Then there are a whole bunch of problems that are exactly the same; plug a number in and solve. They require absolutely no thinking or synthesis of skills. The whole thing is completely based on rote memory, and it's utterly boring and takes all the fun out of math. Even when it tries to explain stuff in layman's terms (which every math textbook should do as much as possible), it never helps you understand anything better; it just says "remember to apply theorem _." Theoretically there's a whole bunch of supplemental material online or on the CD-ROM, but let's be honest, nobody's ever going to use that. A good textbook should have everything right there on paper. I don't think I even could get onto the website when I tried, since it was all restricted by passwords that I didn't know. There are much, much better textbooks out there. Sure, the colors and illustrations are cool, but the book itself is crud.

Contents	Customer Rating:
does this book have the answers in it, like is this book an instructional book? My daughter just called to tell me this. Wondering if what she is looking at is problem solving not answers?

No variable quality here

Customer Rating:

One of the first things that jumps out at the reader of this text book is the colour - I remember algebra texts from nearly three decades ago when I first learned the subject, and they were usually fairly boring black-and-white texts. This has colour on every page. There are marginal pull-quote boxes that explain in simpler, verbal language some of the algebraic and mathematical concepts being demonstrated in the problems. There are also marginal notes that give hints (Success Tips, Caution, and Notation pieces) to remind students of key concepts or introduce important and special elements. Each chapter begins with a new chapter opener, introducing in broad strokes the content of each chapter. This is also keyed to TLE (The Learning Equation) labs that are part of the internet components to this text. The text also includes a CD-ROM supplement for students. Each chapter includes worked examples in great detail, self-check problems and strategy/property boxes that give short explanations of the key concepts in the worked examples. The progression of topics in the text is familiar to those who know algebra: Chapter 1 is a review, including review of numbers, basic equations and variables. Chapter 2 begins the introduction of simple lines and graphs, including graphs of functions. The third chapter looks as systems of equations and how to solve them in different methods, including algebra, matrices and determinants. The fourth chapter introduces inequalities, including compound inequalities and absolute value issues. From chapter five forward are issues of exponents, polynomials, rational equations, radical equations, quadratic equations and attendant issues. These include issues of factoring, dividing, geometric applications, and introduces imaginary and complex numbers. The final three chapters explore exponential and logarithmic functions (very useful in science), conic sections (two-dimensional analytic geometry), and some theoretical considerations for algebra, especially of interest to those going on to higher math. These include some elemtns of interest to those who will need statistics, too. The preface includes some study tips for students to follow, which are very important. This is a checklist worthwhile for students in any math class (and can be adapted for students in any other class, too). Algebra is the kind of subject that few can master on their own without classroom or tutorial instruction; I have yet to meet the textbook that will teach algebra to everyone without teaching assistance, and this book is no different. But as a classroom book, and as a book we use in our Tutoring Center, this is a very useful, helpful and clearly written text.

No variable quality here

Customer Rating:

One of the first things that jumps out at the reader of this text book is the colour - I remember algebra texts from nearly three decades ago when I first learned the subject, and they were usually fairly boring black-and-white texts. This has colour on every page. There are marginal pull-quote boxes that explain in simpler, verbal language some of the algebraic and mathematical concepts being demonstrated in the problems. There are also marginal notes that give hints (Success Tips, Caution, and Notation pieces) to remind students of key concepts or introduce important and special elements. Each chapter begins with a new chapter opener, introducing in broad strokes the content of each chapter. This is also keyed to TLE (The Learning Equation) labs that are part of the internet components to this text. The text also includes a CD-ROM supplement for students. Each chapter includes worked examples in great detail, self-check problems and strategy/property boxes that give short explanations of the key concepts in the worked examples. The progression of topics in the text is familiar to those who know algebra: Chapter 1 is a review, including review of numbers, basic equations and variables. Chapter 2 begins the introduction of simple lines and graphs, including graphs of functions. The third chapter looks as systems of equations and how to solve them in different methods, including algebra, matrices and determinants. The fourth chapter introduces inequalities, including compound inequalities and absolute value issues. From chapter five forward are issues of exponents, polynomials, rational equations, radical equations, quadratic equations and attendant issues. These include issues of factoring, dividing, geometric applications, and introduces imaginary and complex numbers. The final three chapters explore exponential and logarithmic functions (very useful in science), conic sections (two-dimensional analytic geometry), and some theoretical considerations for algebra, especially of interest to those going on to higher math. These include some elemtns of interest to those who will need statistics, too. The preface includes some study tips for students to follow, which are very important. This is a checklist worthwhile for students in any math class (and can be adapted for students in any other class, too). Algebra is the kind of subject that few can master on their own without classroom or tutorial instruction; I have yet to meet the textbook that will teach algebra to everyone without teaching assistance, and this book is no different. But as a classroom book, and as a book we use in our Tutoring Center, this is a very useful, helpful and clearly written text.