Introductory Algebra

Reviewed by Samuel Chukwuemeka, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Blue Ridge Community College on 10/7/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

(1.) The book covers the required areas of Introductory Algebra.
However:
(2.) There is no index in the book.
(3.) There is no glossary in the book.
(4.) There is no in-text citation.
(5.) There are no references in the book.
(6.) Solutions to the Practice Set including the Problem Set and Review Questions (even for odd-numbered questions) were not provided.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content is accurate for the most part, however, there are contents that may affect the understanding of concepts.
For example: Typically, if variables are not defined before they are used in a program, the program will not run.
The same principle apply in Mathematics.

Examples:
It is important to define variables:
(1.) Page 102 (pdf page, not text page):
"3. Isolate the ax term."
(a.) What is a? What is x? What is the ax term?

(2.) Page 251 (pdf page, not text page):
What is n_1, n_2, V_1, V_2?

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content is relevant and up-to-date.
However, necessary updates may not be relatively easy to implement.
One reason is because the solutions to the Problem Set, Practice Set, and Review Questions (even for odd-numbered questions) was not provided.
Another reason is because some necessary terms are missing. For example: in Page 7 (pdf page, not text page): A Whole number can also be defined as a nonnegative integer. The term, "nonnegative" is an important term.

Clarity rating: 4

The book is written in clear terms and is generally not difficult to comprehend.
However, the book does not meet accessibility standards.
(1.) Manually reviewing it for accessibility: Example: some link names do not describe the purpose/context of the information.
(2.) PDF accessibility checker: I used the DocAxess website: https://www.docaxess.com/en/homepage/ and the result is:
Status: This PDF file is not PDF/UA compliant.

Consistency rating: 5

In terms of terminology and framework, the writing style for each chapter of the book is the same.

Modularity rating: 3

It is noteworthy to mention that the Example and Solution are emphasized in bold.

However, these are my recommendations based on Modularity:
(1.) Leave enough spacing between each example and the corresponding solution.
(2.) Leave enough spacing between the solution of one example and the question of another example.
(3.) Leave enough spacing before each concept/subheading.
(4.) Leave enough spacing (at least 1.5) between each question in the Practice Set.
(5.) Leave enough spacing (at least 1.5) between each question in the Chapter Reviews.
(6.) Latex/MathJax/Math Equation Editor should be used for all Math terms including fractions among others.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in the book are presented in a clear, logical manner.

Interface rating: 3

It is remarkable to note that QR codes that lead to YouTube videos are embedded in the textbook.
This allows for students to view these videos on their mobile devices:
Please note that these are pdf pages (not textbook pages)
Pages 9, 11, 17, 18, 24, 26, 45, 52, 65, 80, 83, 93, 97, 100, 104, 109 114, 116, 126, 130, 136, 143, 172, 173, 181, 182, 204, 219, 224, 233, 295

Be it as it may, these features may confuse the reader.
Please note that these are pdf pages (not textbook pages)
Embedded Linked Image: Click image to the left for more content.
This leads to a blank page
In other words, these links do not work:

Pages:
9: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9966
11: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9967
17: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9968
18: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9969
24: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9970
26: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9971
45: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9976
52: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9977
65: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9978
80: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9979
83: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9980
93: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9981
97: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9982
100: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9983
104: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9984
109: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9985
114: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9986
116: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9987
126: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9988
130: https://khanexercises.appspot.com/video?v=PNXozoJWsWc
136: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9990
143: http://tinyurl.com/72myodv
(https://www.math-play.com/Coordinate%20Plane%20Game/Coordinate%20Plane%20Game.html).
143: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9991
172: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9992
173: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9993
181: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9994
182: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9995
204: http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/chap7/7.5/index.htm.
204: http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/chap7/7.5/index.htm.http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/chap7/7.5/index.htm.
219: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9972
224: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9973
233: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9974
295: https://www.ck12.org/flx/render/embeddedobject/9975

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

There are few grammatical errors in the book such as:
(1st.) Spelling error: (at least 15 instances of spelling errors of Heres and Theres)
Pages: 153, 153, 154, 155, 156, 159, 190, 190, 200, 240, 241, 247, 255, 257, 271

(2nd.) Page 119: (pdf page, not textbook page)
Table 7.1: Simple Interest Formula
Incorrect spelling: "Princial"

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book is not culturally insensitive. It does not contain offensive writings.

Comments

As applicable, the hyphens used in the book could be misconstrued as subtraction operations rather than bullets.
For example: Page 131 (pdf page, not textbook page):
Numbers (24.) and (25.):
When applicable, it is better to use a colon rather than a hyphen.