» Introductory Algebra for College Students (5th Edition) (The Blitzer Developmental Algebra Series)

Introductory Algebra for College Students (5th Edition) (The Blitzer Developmental Algebra Series) Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: If you don't have anything sensible to say...
Comment: I admit that this is not really a review, but I just had to say this somewhere. Don't attach much meaning to my rating.

My wife, who is using the book without complaint, showed me an example (page 534) showing cyclists on a velodrome. The text claims that 4*sqrt(x) is the maximum speed at which a cyclist can turn a corner without tipping over. What is the point of such a claim, without anything to give it meaning? Is this due to the limits of tire adhesion on a flat surface, or is it a stability issue? In a left turn, is the rider going to tip left, or tip right? Is tip even the right word, when what will happen is that the tires will slide to the outside while the rider moves downward? Tipping usually implies a stationary point of contact while the upper part of an object moves. I think we are talking about sliding.

If indeed we are talking about sliding, the function must include the appropriate friction coefficient, based on the material of the surface and the tire. Naturally you don't want to get into how that is determined, but it's important to understand that it is a variable. Even with that detail covered, the accompanying picture of cyclists on a velodrome would be misleading - with sufficient banking much higher speeds are possible at any given radius (that's why we have banking, after all).

It's also dangerous that while units are given for x (radius in feet) and for the result (speed in mph), the "4" coefficient doesn't have the correct units to make the equation work out dimensionally. Students should learn from day 1 that if the units you put into an equation don't result in the units you expect in the answer, something is wrong. Square root of length cannot be speed, which is length over time!

To emphasize - correct units are too critical to ignore. This applies to college students learning high school algebra (the subject here), sophomore engineers learning thermodynamics (a good half of the errors I found when I graded for such a class could have been caught by carrying along the units), or rocket scientists (the famous loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft, for example).

The frictional issues are probably too much to explain in a text at this level. No problem. Why not just say that the speed is proportional to sqrt(x)? Then you avoid the whole issue of friction, and the need to specify units. Of course some mention of WHY this proportionality exists would be even better.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Introductory Algebra for College Students
Comment: We ordered the Third Edition and received the Second Edition. I would like to return this book for the Third Edition of Introductory Algebra for College Students.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Would give it a ten if I could
Comment: I have to confess to a certain degree of academic snobbery when it comes to books on science and math. That is, I tend to look for books produced by PhDs in a specific field who teach at prestigious universities or for collaborations of them. I do, however, pride myself on giving credit where credit is due, and this volume is certainly an example. According to the text's introduction Robert Blitzer, the author of Introductory Algebra for College Students, has a BA in math and psychology with a minor in English literature, an MA in math, and a doctorate in behavioral sciences and teaches in a local community college in Florida. That's quite an eclectic vita. In this case it is an ideal vita, that of a teacher dedicated to student comprehension of his subject.

The author approaches student learning from a variety of directions, some uniquely oriented to specific types of mental framework. He presents, for instance, visual guides for those who need to "see it to understand it"-my particular favorites are the sets that compose all real numbers on p. 19 [3rd ed.] and the graphs of systems of linear inequalities like those on pp 312-313, because they make these topics so crystal clear. Elsewhere he introduces the concept of matrices, putting information into columns under appropriate headings so that one can see what information one has, what one needs and what has to be manipulated with what to achieve an answer (i.e. "Solving a Solution Mixture Problem," p. 173.) Remember those threatening word problems involving things like that Greyhound bus and the car approaching one another, or the two planes traveling in opposite directions? Piece of cake. The author also gives instructions for scientific and graphic calculators for those who are especially in tune with technology-I have yet to try this, because for my money it's a whole different learning parameter in itself. He also puts some of the algebraic expressions into a useable context. The student finds equations in economics, health sciences, physics, population demographics, athletics, nutrition, sociology, politics, in short most of the areas of student interest and student majors. More than anything, Blitzer makes math useable, accessible, and relevant. It's not just a subject we have to pass to take the classes we really want, it's a skill that helps us with decision making in everyday life.

Some of the data the author uses to create his equations come from industry, education, census data, the cinema industry, simple everyday problems like fencing a yard or deciding on the respective values of a large size or two medium sized pizzas! These situations provide some unique educational experience, not simply because they allow the student to understand the underlying mathematical concepts of solving a specific problem. They are themselves very instructive in reality. What does it matter if two cans of peaches that cost the same are shaped differently ( i.e. if one is six inches in diameter and five inches in height while the other is 5 inches in diameter and 6 inches in height are they really the same value?) How fast does the cost of an education climb over time (i.e. will you be able to afford it for yourself? your kids? Should one get involved in the politics of education?) What is the difference between the rate of increase in salaries for those without high school educations vis a vis those with high school diplomas and those with four years of college (i.e. you may be making the same as a drop out at the beginning, but where will your income be relative to theirs in five years? In ten? In 15? Are you really to busy to get more education? Is that math class really too difficult to get through a degree?) One gains some very important insights into real life just by doing the math that underlines the decisions life presents the average person.

As with any textbook in math, however, the student is an important part of the learning process. If you only do the assigned problems, or if you skip the cumulative reviews at the end of each chapter because you've "already learned all that," you may have perfect daily work but fail your exams. There is, after all, a difference between getting an answer correct, especially with the help of the book, and getting the underlying concept so that you can apply it in new situations.

I think this text would be a wonderful way for adults who are math shy by virtue of unpleasant early experiences to get more out of the subject. It would certainly give parents, whose math skills are poor or just covered with dust, to help their children with this discipline. It would also help college algebra students to prime themselves for more advanced math or for taking a college level algebra course that uses a more confusing text.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Would give it a 10 if I could
Comment: I have to confess to a certain degree of academic snobbery when it comes to books on science and math. That is, I tend to look for books produced by PhDs in a specific field who teach at prestigious universities or for collaborations of them. I do, however, pride myself on giving credit where credit is due, and this volume is certainly an example. According to the text's introduction Robert Blitzer, the author of Introductory Algebra for College Students, has a BA in math and psychology with a minor in English literature, an MA in math, and a doctorate in behavioral sciences and teaches in a local community college in Florida. That's quite an eclectic vita. In this case it is an ideal vita, that of a teacher dedicated to student comprehension of his subject.

The author approaches student learning from a variety of directions, some uniquely oriented to specific types of mental framework. He presents, for instance, visual guides for those who need to "see it to understand it"-my particular favorites are the sets that compose all real numbers on p. 19 [3rd ed.] and the graphs of systems of linear inequalities like those on pp 312-313, because they make these topics so crystal clear. Elsewhere he introduces the concept of matrices, putting information into columns under appropriate headings so that one can see what information one has, what one needs and what has to be manipulated with what to achieve an answer (i.e. "Solving a Solution Mixture Problem," p. 173.) Remember those threatening word problems involving things like that Greyhound bus and the car approaching one another, or the two planes traveling in opposite directions? Piece of cake. The author also gives instructions for scientific and graphic calculators for those who are especially in tune with technology-I have yet to try this, because for my money it's a whole different learning parameter in itself. He also puts some of the algebraic expressions into a useable context. The student finds equations in economics, health sciences, physics, population demographics, athletics, nutrition, sociology, politics, in short most of the areas of student interest and student majors. More than anything, Blitzer makes math useable, accessible, and relevant. It's not just a subject we have to pass to take the classes we really want, it's a skill that helps us with decision making in everyday life.

Some of the data the author uses to create his equations come from industry, education, census data, the cinema industry, simple everyday problems like fencing a yard or deciding on the respective values of a large size or two medium sized pizzas! These situations provide some unique educational experience, not simply because they allow the student to understand the underlying mathematical concepts of solving a specific problem. They are themselves very instructive in reality. What does it matter if two cans of peaches that cost the same are shaped differently ( i.e. if one is six inches in diameter and five inches in height while the other is 5 inches in diameter and 6 inches in height are they really the same value?) How fast does the cost of an education climb over time (i.e. will you be able to afford it for yourself? your kids? Should one get involved in the politics of education?) What is the difference between the rate of increase in salaries for those without high school educations vis a vis those with high school diplomas and those with four years of college (i.e. you may be making the same as a drop out at the beginning, but where will your income be relative to theirs in five years? In ten? In 15? Are you really to busy to get more education? Is that math class really too difficult to get through a degree?) One gains some very important insights into real life just by doing the math that underlines the decisions life presents the average person.

As with any textbook in math, however, the student is an important part of the learning process. If you only do the assigned problems, or if you skip the cumulative reviews at the end of each chapter because you've "already learned all that," you may have perfect daily work but fail your exams. There is, after all, a difference between getting an answer correct, especially with the help of the book, and getting the underlying concept so that you can apply it in new situations.

I think this text would be a wonderful way for adults who are math shy by virtue of unpleasant early experiences to get more out of the subject. It would certainly give parents, whose math skills are poor or just covered with dust, to help their children with this discipline. It would also help college algebra students to prime themselves for more advanced math or for taking a college level algebra course that uses a more confusing text.

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