We’re pleased to present the fourth edition of College Algebra. Our experience in teaching this material at the University of South Florida has been exceptionally rewarding. Because students are accustomed to information being delivered by electronic media, the introduction of MyLab™ Math into our courses was, and remains, seamless. We hope you will have a similar experience.

Today’s college algebra students and instructors face many challenges. Students arrive with various levels of comprehension from their previous courses. Instead of really learning the concepts presented, students often resort to memorization to pass the course. As a result, a course needs to establish a common starting point for students and engage them in becoming active learners, without sacrificing the solid mathematics essential for conceptual understanding. Instructors in this course must take on the task of providing students with an understanding of college algebra, preparing them for the next step, and ensuring that they find mathematics useful and interesting. Our efforts in this direction have been aided considerably by the many suggestions we have received from users of the first, second, and third editions of this text.

This text places a strong emphasis on both concept development and real-life applications. Just-in-time review throughout the text ensures that all students are brought to the same level before being introduced to new concepts. Numerous applications motivate students to apply the concepts and skills they learn in college algebra to other courses, including the physical and biological sciences, engineering, and economics, and to on-the-job and everyday problem solving. Students are given ample opportunities in this course to think about important mathematical ideas and to practice and apply algebraic skills.

Throughout the text, we emphasize why the material being covered is important and how it can be applied. By thoroughly developing mathematical concepts with clearly defined terminology, students see the “why” behind those concepts, paving the way for a deeper understanding, better retention, less reliance on rote memorization, and ultimately more success. The level of exposition was selected so that the material is accessible to students and provides them with an opportunity to grow.

It is our hope that once you have read through our text, you will see that we were able to fulfill our initial goals of writing for today’s students and for you, the instructor.

Marcus McWaters

J. S. Ratti

Lesław Skrzypek