* Outstanding applications put learning into context for students. Blitzer creates intriguing applications that show students the relevance of math. Appealing to a wide range of interests and majors, Blitzer interest with an ongoing selection of novel applications. o Mid-Chapter Checkpoints contain a set of review exercises that allow students to review skills and concepts from several sections before the end-of-chapter exercises. o Practice Plus Problems are more challenging problems that test conceptual understanding by requiring students to combine skills and to revisit key concepts in order to solve. o Cumulative Review Exercises at the end of each chapter ensure that students remember previously learned material, keeping the fundamental skills and concepts fresh in their minds as they move on to the next chapter. o End-of-chapter tests cover all of the important topics in the chapter, helping students study for the real thing. * Integrated study aids help students make the most of their time outside of the classroom. o Chapter Test Prep Videos contain worked-out solutions to every exercise in every chapter test. An instructor walks students through each exercise step-by-step, allowing students to pause and watch again as needed. This valuable study tool comes with every new copy of the textbook. o Study Tip boxes appear throughout the book. These offer suggestions for problem solving, point out common student errors, and provide informal tips and suggestions. o Technology boxes illustrate the many capabilities of graphing utilities that go beyond just graphing. o Chapter Reviews organize chapter material into easy-to-use two-column review charts. These summarize the definitions and concepts for every section of the chapter and refer students to illustrative examples. * Content Features o Complex numbers and graphs and graphing utilities appear in Chapter 1. This early introduction allows students to apply their understanding of complex numbers to their work in solving quadratic equations, and sets the stage for using graphing to support the algebraic work in solving equations and inequalities. o A general discussion on cost and average cost functions appears in section 3.6, making it possible for students to model these functions from verbal conditions before exploring the behavior of their graphs.