Applied Algebra

Applied Algebra is designed for a one semester course for students entering college at the developmental level. It enhances students' algebraic, critical reasoning, and communication skills, and to promote a growth mindset towards learning.It provides a guided inquiry approach through collaborative exploration, concept formation, and application where students learn algebraic concepts and their meaning in real-world contexts.The publication focuses on fewer concepts, mainly linear, exponential, and quadratic functions, but treat them conceptually, in more depth, and interconnected for better retention.The movie Groundhog Day is a good metaphor for our book's concept. Each day the lead character wakes up on the same day, Groundhog Day, repeating the same routine while struggling with a situation. He starts to predict what is going to happen each day, he learns a little bit more, and gets closer to solving the problem. By the end he understands what he needs to doReaders are taken through a similar experience. Each section starts with a launch exploration based on the common threads of the same routine: when given a situation, they identify the variables, make tables, draw graphs, search for patterns, and write equations.