College Algebra (7th Edition) [Hardcover]

Michael Sullivan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0131430920 | ISBN-13: 978-0131430921 | Publication Date: February 6, 2004 | Edition: 7

The Seventh Edition of this dependable text retains its best features-accuracy, precision, depth, strong student support, and abundant exercises, while substantially updating content and pedagogy. After completing the book, students will be prepared to handle the algebra found in subsequent courses such as finite mathematics, business mathematics, and engineering calculus.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mike Sullivan Professor of Mathematics at Chicago State University received a Ph.D. in mathematics from Illinois Institute of Technology. Mike has taught at Chicago State for over 30 years. He is a native of Chicago’s South Side and currently resides in Oaklawn.  Mike has four children.  The two oldest have degrees in mathematics and assisted in proofing, checking examples and exercises, and writing solutions manuals for this project.  Mike III co-authored the Sullivan Graphing with Data Analysis series as well as this series.  Dan, the youngest, sells for Prentice Hall as a generalist.

 

Mike has authored or co-authored over ten books.  He owns a travel agency, and splits his time between a condo in Naples, Florida and a home in Oaklawn, where Mike enjoys gardening.  Mike first signed this series with Deleen Publishing (Acquired by Macmillan) in 1985.

 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 848 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 7 edition (February 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131430920
• ISBN-13: 978-0131430921
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars prolific problem sets, January 8, 2005

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: College Algebra (7th Edition) (Hardcover)

In his latest update of this text, Sullivan takes the reader through a high school or undergraduate level course in algebra. Though the title says "College", all of this material is also eminently do-able at the high school level, for advanced students, aspiring to major in maths or science. While at the university level, it appears to be targeting those students not majoring in maths, physical science or engineering.

Why? Because the dividing line is calculus. The book gives a good treatment of what you should know in maths, up to, but not including, calculus. It also has a chapter on probability. Which I don't think is usually considered part of algebra. But, pragmatically and correctly, Sullivan chose to include it.

The text has numerous examples, with only a little emphasis on a strict derivation of theorems. Another indication that it does not target a maths major. Sullivan gives informal explanations that should suffice to satisfy most readers.

Each chapter also has a prolific number of problems; around one hundred. Very suitable and convenient for a lecturer [you?] to assign as homework, since the book only supplies answers to half of these. Enough to keep your students happily [?] busy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad., January 3, 2011

By 

djean (Laguna Vista, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: College Algebra (Hardcover)

As other reviewers stated, the examples do little to help you answer the questions or the associated online content that most colleges use via Blackboard..

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete, April 4, 2009

By 

Michael Robinson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: College Algebra (Hardcover)

I've learned nothing from the book. The book I paid $150 for ($100 after my scholarship). The examples skip most of the steps. This is fine for someone who can infer the steps with ease, but leaves someone who can't completely bewildered.

I have had to use videos on Youtube and a few websites to piece together an understanding of the material, along with some help from my instructor when I could understand the problem well enough to explain to him what I didn't get.

Even worse, many concepts (especially problem solving with algebra) are lightly touched with one or two incomplete examples at the end of the section and nothing else.

The online component is no better. Pearson has no excuse to omit steps in examples when the explanation for an entire problem would use almost no space, and yet they still do it.

The quality of the textbook is absolutely unacceptable.