College Algebra

R. David Gustafson is professor emeritus of mathematics at Rock Valley College in Illinois and has also taught extensively at Rockford College and Beloit College. In addition to this best-selling college algebra resource with Jeffrey Hughes, he has co-authored Gustafson/Karr/Massey's BEGINNING ALGEBRA; INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA; BEGINNING AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA; BEGINNING AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA: A COMBINED APPROACH; and the Tussy/Gustafson and Tussy/Gustafson/Koenig Developmental Mathematics series. His numerous professional honors include Rock Valley Teacher of the Year and Rockford's Outstanding Educator of the Year. He has been very active in the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) as a Midwest vice president. He has also served as president of IMACC, AMATYC's Illinois affiliate. Professor Gustafson earned a master of arts from Rockford College in Illinois as well as a master of science from Northern Illinois University. Jeffrey Hughes is Curriculum Coordinator of Mathematics at Hinds Community College (Hinds CC) and holds degrees from Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi. He has been teaching for more than 30 years at Hinds CC. Professor Hughes' favorite courses to teach include college algebra, calculus II and differential equations. He has a passion for mathematics and a heart for student instruction, and he sees teaching as a privilege. Professor Hughes consistently finds new ways to present topics while engaging students and elevating student thinking. In addition to this edition, Professor Hughes has co-authored PRECALCULUS, published by Cengage. He has received Hinds CC’s Outstanding Academic Instructor of the Year Award and Hinds CC’s Phi Theta Kappa’s Teacher of the Year Award twice. He has been honored by the Mississippi Legislature for his commitment to education and has received the HEADWAE award. Professor Hughes is also active in the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) and has served as a president of its Louisiana-Mississippi affiliate, LaMsMATYC. In addition, he is active in the Mississippi Collegiate Mathematics Association (MCMA) and has served as president of this organization twice. At Hinds CC, he teaches leadership in the Honors Institute. Professor Hughes has worked part-time for more than twenty-five years as a student minister at his church and has spent seven summers teaching English in China.

0. A REVIEW OF BASIC ALGEBRA.
Sets of Real Numbers. Integer Exponents and Scientific Notation. Rational Exponents and Radicals. Polynomials. Factoring Polynomials. Rational Expressions.
1. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES.
Linear Equations and Rational Equations. Applications of Linear Equations. Complex Numbers. Quadratic Equations. Applications of Quadratic Equations. Other Types of Equations. Inequalities. Absolute Value. 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS.
Functions and Functional Notation. Rectangular Coordinate System and Graphing Lines. Linear Functions and Slope. Writing and Graphing Equations of Lines. Graphs of Equations and Circles. Proportion and Variation. 3. FUNCTIONS.
Graphs of Functions. Transformations of the Graphs of Functions. Piecewise-Defined Functions and Greatest-Integer Functions. Operations on Functions. Inverse functions.
4. POLYNOMIAL AND RATIONAL FUNCTIONS.
Quadratic Functions. Polynomial Functions. Synthetic Division; Remainder and Factor Theorems. Decartes’ Rule of Signs and the Intermediate Value Theorem. Zeros of Polynomial Functions. Rational Functions. 5. EXPONENTIAL AND LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS.
Exponential Functions and Their Graphs. Applications of Exponential Functions. Logarithmic Functions and Their Graphs. Applications of Logarithmic Functions. Properties of Logarithms. Exponential and Logarithmic Equations.
6. LINEAR SYSTEMS.
Systems of Linear Equations. Gaussian Elimination and Matrix Methods. Matrix Algebra. Matrix Inversion. Determinants. Partial Fractions. Graphs of Inequalities. Linear Programming. 7. CONIC SECTIONS AND QUADRATIC SYSTEMS.
The Circle and the Parabola. The Ellipse. The Hyperbola. Solving Nonlinear Systems of Equations. 8. SEQUENCES, SERIES, AND PROBABILITY.
The Binomial Theorem. Sequences, Series, and Summation Notation. Arithmetic Sequences. Geometric Sequences. Mathematical Induction. Permutations and Combinations. Probability.
APPENDIX I A PROOF OF THE BINOMIAL THEOREM.