Sherri Messersmith’s successful hardcover franchise is expanded with the new softcover P.O.W.E.R. series. The conversational writing style, practical applications, innovative student resources and student friendly walk through of examples that users of the hard cover books noted and appreciated are also found in the pages of Intermediate Algebra with P.O.W.E.R. Learning and the rest of the series. The P.O.W.E.R. Framework
What makes P.O.W.E.R. a unique tool for the classroom? A major challenge in developmental courses is that students at this level struggle with basic study skills and habits. Maybe this is one of their first college courses or perhaps they are adults returning to school after a long absence. Either way, many of the individuals taking this course don’t know how to be good students. Instructors often don’t have the time, the resources or the expertise to teach success skills AND the math concepts. The new team of Messersmith, Perez and Feldman offer a scientifically based approach to meet this challenge. The P.O.W.E.R. Learning Framework was developed by successful author, psychologist, student success instructor and researcher, Bob Feldman. It is a method of accomplishing any task using five simple and consistent steps. Prepare. Organize. Work. Evaluate. Rethink. This framework is integrated at every level of the text to help students successfully learn math concepts while at the same time developing habits that will serve them well throughout their college careers and in their daily lives.
The Math
Making Connections – Sherri Messersmith is recognized for preparing her students for success by refreshing their knowledge of arithmetic. By helping students see the connection between arithmetic and algebra, Sherri found that her students were more confident in their abilities as they progressed through the course. This classroom tested practice was integrated into the texts so that both instructors and students could benefit. Messersmith accomplishes this by including arithmetic examples for most sections before the use of algebraic examples. Also, the author has developed through classroom use a series of Basic Skills Worksheets that can easily be integrated into the classroom.
Presenting Concepts in “Bite Size” Pieces – By breaking down the sections into manageable pieces, the author has identified the core places where students traditionally struggle and then assists them in understanding that material to be successful moving forward. For details on how the author has done this, check out the TOCs for Intro Algebra, PreAlgebra, Intermediate Algebra and the combo book PreAlgebra and Introductory Algebra.
Mastering Concepts--With the textbook and Connect Math hosted by ALEKS, students can practice and master their understanding of algebraic concepts.Messersmith is rigorous enough to prepare students for the next level yet easy to read and understand. The exposition is written as if a professor is teaching in a lecture to be more accessible to students. The language is mathematically sound yet easy enough for students to understand.
Table of Contents:
Prealgebra and Introductory Algebra with POWER LearningMessersmith/Perez/FeldmanTable of Contents
Chapter 1Operations with Integers1.1Place Value and Rounding
1.2Introduction to Integers
1.3Adding Integers
1.4Subtracting Integers
1.5Estimating a Sum or a Difference
1.6Multiplying Integers and Estimation
1.7Dividing Integers and Estimation PIAT
1.8Exponents and Order of Operations
Chapter 2Variables and Solving Equations2.1Introduction to Variables
2.2Simplifying Expressions
2.3Solving Equations Using the Addition Property of Equality
2.4Solving Equations Using the Division Property of Equality
2.5More on Solving Equations
2.6Applications Involving One Unknown
2.7Applications Involving Two Unknowns
Chapter 3Operations with Signed Fractions3.1Introduction to Signed Fractions
3.2Writing Fractions in Lowest Terms
3.3Multiplying and Dividing Signed Fractions
3.4Adding and Subtracting Like Fractions and Finding a Least Common Denominator
3.5Adding and Subtracting Unlike Fractions
3.6Operations with Mixed Numbers PIAT
3.7Order Relations and Order of Operations
3.8Solving Equations Containing Fractions
Chapter 4Basic Geometry Concepts4.1Introduction to Geometry
4.2Rectangles, Squares, Parallelograms, and Trapezoids
4.3Triangles
4.4Volume and Surface AreaPIAT
4.5Solving Geometry Applications Using Algebra
Chapter 5Signed Decimals 5.1Reading and Writing Decimals
5.2Rounding Decimals
5.3Adding and Subtracting Signed Decimals
5.4Multiplying Signed Decimals
5.5Dividing Signed Decimals and Order of Operations PIAT
5.6Writing Fractions as Decimals
5.7Mean, Median, and Mode
5.8Solving Equations Containing Decimals
5.9Square Roots and the Pythagorean Theorem
5.1Circles, Spheres, Cylinders, and Cones
Chapter 6Ratios and Proportions6.1Ratios
6.2Rates
6.3Proportions
6.4Solve Applied Problems Involving Proportions
6.5Angles
6.6Solve Applied Problems Involving Congruent and Similar Triangles
Chapter 7Measurement and Conversion7.1Conversions Within the U.S. Measurement System
7.2The Metric System: Length
7.3The Metric System: Capacity and Weight (Mass)
7.4Solving Applied Problems Involving Metric Units
7.5Metric - U.S. Customary Conversions and Temperature
Chapter 8Percents8.1Percents, Fractions, and Decimals
8.2Compute Basic Percents Mentally
8.3Use an Equation to Solve Percent Problems
8.4Solve Applications Involving PercentsPIAT
8.5More Applications with Percents
8.6Simple and Compound Interest
Chapter 9Graphs9.1Reading Tables, Pictographs, Bar Graphs, and Line Graphs
9.2Frequency Distributions and Histograms
9.3Using and Making Circle Graphs
Cumulative Review for Chapters 1-9
Chapter 10Real Numbers, Equations, and Inequalities10.1Real Numbers
10.2More on Solving Linear Equations
10.3Formulas and Solving for a Specific Variable
10.4Solving Linear Inequalities in One Variable
Chapter 11Linear Equations in Two Variables11.1Introduction to Linear Equations in Two Variables
11.2Graphing by Plotting Points and Finding Intercepts
11.3The Slope of a Line
11.4The Slope-Intercept Form of a Line
11.5Writing an Equation of a Line
Chapter 12Solving Systems of Linear Equations12.1Solving Systems by Graphing
12.2Solving Systems by Substitution
12.3Solving Systems by the Elimination MethodPIAT
12.4Applications of Systems of Equations
12.5Linear Inequalities in Two Variables
Chapter 13The Rules of Exponents and Polynomials13.1The Product Rule and Power Rules
13.2Integer Exponents
13.3The Quotient RulePIAT
13.4Scientific Notation
13.5Addition and Subtraction of Polynomials
13.6Multiplication of Polynomials
13.7Dividing a Polynomial by a Monomial
13.8Dividing a Polynomial by a Polynomial
Chapter 14Factoring Polynomials14.1The Greatest Common Factor and Factoring by Grouping
14.2Factoring Trinomials of the Form x^2 + bx + c
14.3Factoring Trinomials of the Form ax^2 + bx + c (a not 1)
14.4Factoring Special Trinomials and BinomialsPIAT
14.5Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring
14.6Applications of Quadratic Equations
Chapter 15Rational Expressions15.1Simplifying Rational Expressions
15.2Multiplying and Dividing Rational Expressions
15.3Finding the Least Common Denominator
15.4Adding and Subtracting Rational ExpressionsPIAT
15.5Simplifying Complex Fractions
15.6Solving Rational Equations
15.7Applications of Rational Equations and Variation
Chapter 16Roots and Radicals16.1Finding Roots
16.2Simplifying Radicals: The Product and Quotient Rules
16.3Adding and Subtracting Radicals
16.4Combining Operations on Radicals
16.5Dividing Radicals
16.6Solving Radical Equations
Chapter 17Quadratic Equations17.1Solving Quadratic Equations Using the Square Root Property
17.2Solving Quadratic Equations by Completing the Square
17.3Solving Quadratic Equations Using the Quadratic FormulaPIAT
17.4Graphs of Quadratic Equations
17.5Introduction to Functions
AppendixA.1Adding Whole Numbers
A.2Subtracting Whole Numbers
A.3Multiplying Whole Numbers
A.4Introduction to Division and Short Division
A.5Long Division
B.1Sets of Numbers
B.2Graphing Inequalities
B.3Deriving the Area of a Parallelogram and the Area of a Trapezoid
B.4Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
About the Author :
Sherri Messersmith has been teaching at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, since 1994. She has over 25 years of experience teaching many different courses from developmental mathematics through calculus. She earned a bachelor of science degree in the teaching of mathematics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and went on to teach at the high level for two years. Sherri returned to UIUC and earned a master of science in applied mathematics and stayed on at the university to teach and coordinate large sections of undergraduate math courses. Sherri has authored several textbook, and she has also appeared in videos accompanying several McGraw-Hill texts. Sherri lives outside of Chicago with her husband, Phil, and their daughters, Alex and Cailen. In her precious free time, she likes to read, play the guitar, and travel -- the manuscripts for this and her previous books have accompanied her from Spain to Greece and many points in between.
Bob Feldman still remembers those moments of being overwhelmed when he started college at Wesleyan University. “I wondered whether I was up to the challenges that faced me,” he recalls, “and—although I never would have admitted it at the time—I really had no idea what it took to be successful at college.”
That experience, along with his encounters with many students during his own teaching career, led to a life-long interest in helping students navigate the critical transition that they face at the start of their own college careers. Professor Feldman, who went on to receive a doctorate in psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is now Deputy Chancellor and Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is founding director of POWER Up for Student Success, the first-year experience course for incoming students.
Professor Feldman’s proudest professional accomplishment is winning the College Outstanding Teaching Award at UMass. He also has been named a Hewlett Teaching Fellow and was Senior Online Instruction Fellow. He has taught courses at Mount Holyoke College, Wesleyan University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Professor Feldman is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a winner of a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer award and has written over 200 scientific articles, book chapters, and books. His books, some of which have been translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, and Chinese, include Improving the First Year of College: Research and Practice; Understanding Psychology, 12/e; and Development Across the Life Span, 7/e. His research interests encompass the study of honesty and truthfulness in everyday life, development of nonverbal behavior in children, and the social psychology of education. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research.
With the last of his three children completing college, Professor Feldman occupies his spare time with pretty decent cooking and earnest, but admittedly unpolished, piano playing. He also loves to travel. He lives with his wife, who is an educational psychologist, in a home overlooking the Holyoke mountain range in western Massachusetts.
