Investigating College Algebra and Trigonometry with Technology

Also available: Investigating College Algebra with Technology 

Kathy Burgis, Aquinas College
Jeff Morford, Henry Ford Community College

Overview

Technology and an investigative pedagogy are powerful tools for fostering in-depth understanding of mathematics concepts. With that in mind, Key College Publishing created Investigating College Algebra and Trigonometry with Technology, a textbook that presents the core concepts of College Algebra and Trigonometry within a technology-oriented, data-driven, applied framework that embraces investigative, collaborative learning.

The algebra in this text is different from the algebra you’ve seen in standard books.  With Investigating College Algebra and Trigonometry with Technology, students use graphing calculators, and optionally Microsoft® Excel and other technologies, to explore patterns and to make, test, and generalize conjectures. Most importantly, investigations—which engage students in analysis of real-world data—promote collaboration and bring relevance to the mathematics students are learning.

The American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) and the Mathematical Association of America’s Committee on Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics (CUPM) set standards for meaningful and relevant mathematics and the refocusing of the College Algebra course. This text follows their recommendations for using technology, experiencing varied applications of mathematics, and having opportunities to solve problems, reason critically, exhibit persistence, and test conjectures through investigations and data analysis.

Distinguishing Features of the Text

• Discovery-based Investigations provide in-depth contextual content, real-life data, and the integration of technology to let students explore a problem before solving it.
• Students analyze data, which they are given or gather themselves, to make sense of the mathematical relationships they observe.
• Examples are fully worked out and include reasons that justify the process.
• The texts support the use of graphing calculators, which let students easily manipulate large amounts of data and see the “big picture” of the math being used.
• Optional interactive Explorations, included on the Student CD, use Microsoft® Excel to build spreadsheets for Activities in which students investigate algebra concepts.

Ancillaries for Instructors

• Instructor Resources in print and on the web provide complete solutions to all homework exercises and investigations
• Test Generator contains a bank of test questions and ready-to-use quizzes and tests
• Instructor CD includes entire contents of Student CD and printed Instructor Resources, as well as Fathom and Sketchpad demonstrations.
• WebCT resources containing course and ancillary material are conveniently available online and in electronic form.

Ancillaries for Students

• Student CD contains the Prerequisite Review, Graphing Calculator and Excel Notes, and the two Trigonometry chapters, included with each new book purchased.
• Student Study and Solutions Companion provides study hints, additional examples, and solutions to selected problems.
• Web resources include links to further explorations, prerequisite materials, and dynamic algebra demonstrations (free with purchase of a new book).
• Trigonometry chapters are available in a print supplement that can be bundled with the text.
• Access Code Pagage: available for purchase by students who purchased used books.