Math Lit

For Pathways courses (a one-semester alternative to the traditional two-semester developmental algebra sequence for non-STEM students). 

An accelerated pathway through developmental math 

Math Lit by Almy and Foes emphasizes contextual problem solving; the authors approach each topic with the questions "how does it work?" and "how can I use it?" Students work through activities and explorations to gain a greater conceptual understanding of the four thematic strands: numeracy, proportional reasoning, algebraic reasoning, and functions. Topics from geometry and statistics are also included.

Changes to the 3rd Edition include all-important updates to contexts and problems to reflect current events. Added support includes a new Cycle 0 to review prealgebra content and refinements within sections to improve the flow while maintaining the active learning approach.

Kathleen Almy ?has been a professor of mathematics at Rock Valley College for over 10 years and has taught high school and college level math for 15 years. She has a bachelor's degree in mathematics education from Southern Illinois University and master's degree in pure mathematics from Northern Illinois University. Her passion is improving developmental math for all students including the development of courses and content that is appropriate, relevant, and meaningful. As her department's developmental math coordinator, she organized and led a successful comprehensive redesign of the program. As a result of giving talks about the redesign, she has been consulting with colleges throughout Illinois and across the country to improve their developmental math programs. Since 2009, she has been a member of AMATYC's Quantway project which is affiliated with the Carnegie Foundation. ?She was AMATYC's Developmental Math Committee chair and serves on several state committees on developmental education. 

? 

Heather Foes ?is currently a professor of mathematics at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois and has also taught at Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University, and the University of Illinois. Heather has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics and a master's degree in mathematics from Illinois State University. She has written solution manuals and other supplemental materials over the last ten years, as well as algorithmic questions for test-generator software and conceptual questions for MyLab Statistics for Pearson. 

CYCLE ZERO Which type of number? 

SELF-ASSESSMENT: PREVIEW 

0.1 If the World Were a Village: Focus Problem  

0.2 Keeping It Real: Types of Numbers and Rounding 

• Identify types of real numbers 
• Round whole numbers 

0.3 It's All Relative: Integers and Their Operations  

• Interpret integers 
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide integers 
• Solve application problems involving integers 

0.4 Part and Whole: Rational Numbers and Their Operations  

• Interpret fractions 
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions 

IN THE NEWS: WHICH SPF IS BEST?  

0.5 What's the Point? Decimals and Their Operations  

• Interpret decimals 
• Round decimals 
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals 

0.6 On the Grid: Percent Representations and Calculations  

• Convert between fractions, decimal values, and percents 
• Calculate the base, amount, or percent in a percent problem 
• Calculate percent change 

 Cycle 0 Study Sheet 

Self-Assessment: Review  

Cycle 0 Wrap-Up 

CYCLE ONE Where do we start? 

SELF-ASSESSMENT: PREVIEW  

1.1 Understanding the Opioid Epidemic: Focus Problem  

1.2 Getting Started: Reviewing Prealgebra  

• Use Venn diagrams 
• Solve applied problems involving fractions 

1.3 Hello, My Name Is: Graphing Points  

• Plot ordered pairs 
• Determine the coordinates of a point 
• Create and interpret line graphs 

1.4 A Tale of Two Numbers: Ratios and Proportions  

• Interpret ratios 
• Scale ratios to produce equivalent ratios 
• Determine if quantities are proportional 

1.5 Chances Are: Probability Basics  

• Find relative frequencies 
• Find and interpret experimental probabilities 

1.6 An Ounce of Prevention: Means  

• Find and interpret the mean of a set of numbers 
• Use means in applied problems 

1.7 Picture This: Making and Interpreting Graphs  

• Create and interpret pie graphs 
• Create and interpret bar graphs 

Mid-Cycle Recap  

In the News: Understanding Infection and Mortality Rates 

 1.8 Two by Two: Scatterplots 

• Create and interpret scatterplots 
• Sketch a curve to best fit a scatterplot 

1.9 Multiply vs. Divide: Converting Units 

• Convert units by multiplying or dividing 

1.10 Up and Down: Percent Change 

• Apply a percent change 
• Interpret percent change 

1.11 The X Factor: Algebraic Terminology 

• Differentiate between variables and constants 
• Differentiate between expressions and equations 
• Differentiate between factors and terms 

1.12 General Number: Recognizing Patterns 

• Make conjectures and generalize patterns 
• Identify and use arithmetic and geometric sequences 

1.13 Social Network: Linear and Exponential Change 

• Model change with linear and exponential functions 

1.14 Infinity and Beyond: Perimeter and Area 

• Calculate perimeter and area 

Cycle 1 Study Sheet 

Self-Assessment: Review 

Cycle 1 Wrap-Up 

CYCLE TWO How does that work? 

SELF-ASSESSMENT: PREVIEW 

2.1 Genetic Probabilities: Focus Problem 

2.2 Rule of Thumb: Weighted Means 

• Find and interpret weighted means 
• Find the median and mode of a data set 

2.3 Measure Up: Basic Exponent Rules 

• Apply basic exponent rules 
• Use geometric formulas 

2.4 Count Up: Adding Polynomials 

• Identify and add like terms 

2.5 A Winning Formula: Applying Order of Operations 

• Use the order of operations to simplify expressions 
• Evaluate formulas and expressions 

2.6 Does Order Matter?: Rewriting Expressions 

• Apply the commutative and associative properties 

2.7 Fair Share: Distributive Property 

• Apply the distributive property to expressions 
• Use the distributive property in applied contexts 

2.8 Seat Yourself: Equivalent Expressions 

• Write an expression to represent a scenario 
• Determine if two expressions are equivalent by using the commutative, associative, and distributive properties 

2.9 Parts of Speech: Using Operations Correctly 

• Distinguish between an operator and an object 
• Determine the object on which an operator is acting 

• Recognize when the distributive property can be applied 

Mid-Cycle Recap 

In the News: Misorder of Operations 

2.10 A Fine Balance: Verifying Solutions 

• Verify a solution to an equation 

2.11 Back and Forth: Writing and 

Solving One-Step Equations 

• Write and solve one-step equations 

2.12 Maintaining Balance: More Equation Solving 

• Solve multi-step linear equations 

2.13 Quarter Wing Night: Writing and Solving Equations 

• Write an equation to model a situation 
• Solve a problem numerically and algebraically 

2.14 Outwit and Outlast: Using Proportions 

• Write and solve proportions 

2.15 Three of a Kind: Pythagorean Theorem 

• Use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of a side in a right triangle 
• Solve problems using the Pythagorean theorem 

2.16 What Are the Odds?: Theoretical Probability 

• Calculate theoretical probabilities 
• Compare theoretical and experimental probabilities 

2.17 Size Up: Volume and Surface Area 

• Calculate volume and surface area  

Cycle 2 Study Sheet 

Self-Assessment: Review 

Cycle 2 Wrap-Up 

CYCLE THREE When is it worth it? 

SELF-ASSESSMENT: PREVIEW 

3.1 Growing Money: Focus Problem 

3.2 What's Trending: Correlation 

• Determine if data has a positive or negative linear correlation 
• Graph the equation of the trendline 
• Use the equation of the trendline to make predictions 

3.3 Constant Change: Slope 

• Find the slope of a line from points, tables, and graphs 
• Find and interpret slope in applications 

3.4 Shortest Path: Distance Formula 

• Use the distance formula to find the distance between two points 

3.5 Get in Line: Slope-Intercept Form 

• Find and interpret the slope and y-intercept from a linear equation 
• Graph a line using a table and using the slope and y-intercept 

3.6 More or Less: Linear Relationships 

• Solve problems using linear equations, tables, and graphs 

3.7 Chain, Chain, Chain: Writing Linear Equations 

• Write the equation of a line using a point and the slope 
• Write the equation of a line using two points 
• Create a linear model in an applied problem 

3.8 Going Viral: Exponential Functions 

• Write the equation of an exponential function using a starting value and rate of change 

• Graph exponential functions 
• Model with exponential functions  

Mid-Cycle Recap 348 

In the News: Misleading Headlines 

3.9 Untangling the Knot: Solving Nonlinear Equations 

• Solve nonlinear equations 

3.10 Hot and Cold: Rewriting Formulas 

• Solve an equation for a specified variable 

3.11 A Common Goal: Greatest Common Factors 

• Identify the greatest common factor for the terms in an expression 
• Factor an expression using the greatest common factor 

3.12 Thinking Outside the Box: Factoring Quadratic Expressions 

• Factor quadratic expressions 

3.13 A Formula for Success: The Quadratic Formula 

• Use the quadratic formula to solve equations 

3.14 The Turning Point: Quadratic Functions 

• Identify a quadratic pattern in data 
• Find the vertex of a parabola 

3.15 Systematic Thinking: Graphing and Substitution 

• Solve a 2 x 2 linear system of equations by graphing 
• Solve a 2 x 2 linear system of equations by substitution 

3.16 Opposites Attract: Elimination 

• Solve a 2 x 2 linear system of equations by elimination 

 Cycle 3 Study Sheet 

Self-Assessment: Review 

Cycle 3 Wrap-Up 

CYCLE FOUR What else can we do? 

SELF-ASSESSMENT: PREVIEW 

4.1 Scale Matters: Focus Problem 

4.2 A Matter of Change: Dimensional Analysis 

• Convert units using dimensional analysis 

4.3 Little Giants: Scientific and Engineering Notation 

• Convert numbers between scientific and standard notation 
• Convert numbers into and out of engineering notation 

4.4 A Model Approach: Negative Exponents 

• Use exponent rules to simplify expressions that have negative exponents 

4.5 Variation on a Theme: Standard Deviation 

• Find the standard deviation of a data set 
• Interpret the standard deviation of a data set 

4.6 An Order of Magnitude: Understanding Logarithmic Scales 

• Interpret and use order of magnitude 
• Interpret and use logarithmic scales 

Mid-Cycle Recap 

In the News: Measuring Variation 

4.7 Straight to the Point: Direct Variation 

• Identify direct variation from a graph, table, or equation 
• Write models for direct variation problems 
• Solve direct variation problems 

4.8 Gas Up and Go: Inverse Variation 

• Identify inverse variation from a table or equation 
• Write models for inverse variation problems 
• Solve inverse variation problems 

4.9 Ghost in the Machine: Function Notation 

• Use function notation 
• Find a function input or output given the other 

• Apply the vertical line test 
• Find the domain and range from a graph or an equation 

4.11 An Important Point: Vertex Form of a Quadratic Function 

• Identify the vertex of a quadratic function in vertex form 
• Graph a quadratic function in vertex form 
• Write the vertex form of a quadratic function given the vertex and a point 

4.12 A Survey of Trig: Trigonometric Functions 

• Write the six trigonometric ratios for an acute angle 
• Use trigonometric functions to find the measures of sides and angles of a right triangle 

Cycle 4 Study Sheet 

Self-Assessment: Review 

Cycle 4 Wrap-Up 

Excel Appendix (online in MyLab Math only) 

Answers (online in MyLab Math only) 

Index 

Applications Index 

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.