Mathematics: Its Power and Utility

The first half of the book, "The Power of Math," develops some ideas in arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. The second half of the book, "The Utility of Math," develops the ideas around mathematics that students will use outside of the classroom.

Each chapter opener helps students anticipate upcoming topics. Topics included in "The Power of Math" or "The Utility of Math" section openers are identified. A list of essential ideas tells students what they need to know after they have worked through the chapter.

Each section of the book begins with an introductory box called either "The Power of Math" or "The Utility of Math." These introductory boxes are designed to get students to THINK about how the material in the section relates to their life. The first few problems at the end of every section are also designed to engage students in this way.

Throughout this book, notes explain steps or offer hints about what students should look for as they read.

At the beginning of the book, hints for success set students off on the right foot. If they follow this advice, their chance for success in this course will be greatly increased.

Street signs (e.g., a red "Stop" sign or a yellow "Caution" sign) throughout the text serve as guideposts to help students when they are most likely to need help.

Historical Notes show some of the "humanness" of mathematicians.

Procedure boxes give step-by-step procedures for important processes; definitions and properties are also highlighted in boxes.

Problems are organized by difficulty into Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. The problems are also separated into essential ideas, drill and practice, applications, and "right or wrong?" problems. There are Sudoku problems, puzzle problems, and even Tergiversation problems.

The end-of-chapter material has been carefully crafted to help students study effectively and time-efficiently, and to clearly point to areas where more review may be required in their preparations.

Individual Projects give students a chance to expand their horizons and research problems on their own.

Team Projects provide students with a chance to interact together in a job situation, and thereby learn to work together as a team.

The "Power/Utility of Math" section openers (formerly called "In This World: The Power/Utility of Math") have been rewritten. These introductory boxes are designed to engage students by encouraging them to think about how the material in the section relates to their life.

The "Problem of the Day" feature in the end-of-section exercise sets is now called "The Power/Utility of Math" to better reflect its direct connection to the section opener with the same name. These exercises, now boxed and prominently titled, can be found at the beginning of each end-of-section exercise set.

An outline of "Essential Ideas," together with problems that correspond with these ideas, has been moved from the end-of-chapter review material to each chapter opener.

Over 300 new problems have been included.

The Chapter Summary and Review sections have been reorganized and redesigned, making them easier for students to use in identifying their strengths and weaknesses.