Skip to content

Read more about College Algebra

College Algebra

(11 reviews)

Carl Stitz, Lakeland Community College

Jeff Zeager, Lorain County Community College

Copyright Year: 2013

Publisher: Stitz Zeager Open Source Mathematics

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of Use

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA

Reviews

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Prateek Kunwar, Instructor, Honolulu Community College on 3/9/22

The book covers all the topics that would count as intermediate college algebra material. It builds up upon fundamental of functions before going on the various types of function classes. It rounds up with a discussion on conics, system of... read more

Reviewed by Jack keating, Professor of Mathematics, Massasoit Community College on 6/8/21

Massasoit has both College Algebra and Pre-Calculus For the College Algebra course Chapters 1, Relations and Functions,, Chapter 2 Linear & Quadratic Functions, Chapter 3 Polynomial Functions and Ch 5 Further Topics in Functions in Functions... read more

Reviewed by Marcella Jones, Mathematics Instructor, Minneapolis Community and Technical College on 6/20/17

This text is somewhat comprehensive in that it covers a number of main topics, subjects and ideas that are covered by most colleges/universities in a college algebra course. It includes a number of the topics that would be classified as extra or... read more

Reviewed by Nicholas Lytal, Graduate Associate, University of Arizona on 1/7/16

The textbook covers a full range of subjects expected in most college algebra classes, including some topics--such as systems of equations and matrices--that delve into Linear Algebra. It is worth noting that while the text includes large numbers... read more

Reviewed by Don Drummond, Mathematics Faculty, Minnesota State Community and Technical College on 6/10/15

The textbook covers all of the traditional College Algebra content. If some institutions of higher education would embed the trigonometry within the College Algebra / Pre-Calculus, these authors have another text to cover the trigonometry. The... read more

Reviewed by Jacqueline Lindquist, Mathematics Instructor, Central Lakes College, Brainerd, MN on 6/10/15

This text does cover all of the topics that are presented in a typical College Algebra course. The chapter covering Systems of Equations and Matrices is more in-depth than is common. The chapter on Conics is often-times included and is very... read more

Reviewed by Mamfe Osafo, Mathematics Instructor, Centrral Lakes College on 6/10/15

The text book covered all the topics in college algebra. The only two sub topics which were not in detailed is Linear Functions and Quadratic Functions. Under the Linear functions sub topics, there should have been a sections which would talk more... read more

Reviewed by Milan Frankl, MBA, PhD, Professor of Business, University Canada West on 10/9/13

The textbook does not cover all the material one would need to address in college algebra, notably the trigonometric functions are absent – even though they appear in the content. Moreover, formalism in theorem proving is absent or inappropriate... read more

Reviewed by Allyson Rozell, Math Instructor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University on 10/9/13

I did not see specific coverage of scientific notation, and the text seemed weak in applications, particularly for lower level topics, like linear and quadratic functions, which are quite important for a college algebra class. I believe it would... read more

Reviewed by Nora Franzova, Assistant Chair for Math and Stats Department, Langara College on 10/9/13

The text definitely covers all topics that are covered in a usual College Algebra class, and actually it covers much more. The extensive coverage of Systems of Equations and Matrices can not be really squeezed into a one semester College Algebra... read more

Reviewed by Karen Yeats, Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University on 10/9/13

The version of the text we were provided had the trigonometry chapters cut out (This was done simply by clipping the pdf rather than recompiling the latex, so the table of contents and index still reflect the full text, which is silly and... read more

Table of Contents

  • 1 Relations and Functions
  • 2 Linear and Quadratic Functions
  • 3 Polynomial Functions
  • 4 Rational Functions
  • 5 Further Topics in Functions
  • 6 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
  • 7 Hooked on Conics
  • 8 Systems of Equations and Matrices
  • 9 Sequences and the Binomial Theorem

Ancillary Material

  • Stitz Zeager Open Source Mathematics
  • About the Book

    College Algebra is an introductory text for a college algebra survey course. The material is presented at a level intended to prepare students for Calculus while also giving them relevant mathematical skills that can be used in other classes. The authors describe their approach as "Functions First," believing introducing functions first will help students understand new concepts more completely.

    Each section includes homework exercises, and the answers to most computational questions are included in the text (discussion questions are open-ended). Graphing calculators are used sparingly and only as a tool to enhance the Mathematics, not to replace it.

    The authors also offer a Precalculus version of this text, which has two extra chapters covering Trigonometry.

    About the Contributors

    Authors

    Carl Stitz, Ph.D. is a Professor of Mathematics at Lakeland Community College outside of Kirtland, Ohio.

    Jeff Zeager, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio.

    Dr. Stitz and Dr. Zeager co-wrote this college algebra textbook with the vision of creating a high-quality, open-source textbook that is within reach and accessible to the average college student.  In recognition of their work, both authors received the prestigious Faculty Innovator Award from the University System of Ohio in 2010.

    Contribute to this Page

    Suggest an edit to this book record