Algebra: Form And Function Cloth, Second Edition

Algebra: Form and Function offers a fresh approach to algebra that focuses on teaching readers how to truly understand the principles, rather than viewing them merely as tools for other forms of mathematics. Meant for a College Algebra course, Algebra: Form and Function is an introduction to one of the fundamental aspects of modern society. Algebraic equations describe the laws of science, the principles of engineering, and the rules of business. The power of algebra lies in the efficient symbolic representation of complex ideas, which also presents the main difficulty in learning it. It is easy to forget the underlying structure of algebra and rely instead on a surface knowledge of algebraic manipulations. Most students rely on surface knowledge of algebraic manipulations without understanding the underlying structure of algebra that allows them to see patterns and apply it to multiple situations: McCallum focuses on the structure from the start.

William G. McCallum is a University Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Head of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Arizona. Born in Sydney, Australia in 1956, he received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Harvard University in 1984, under the supervision of Barry Mazur. After spending two years at the University of California, Berkeley, and one at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, he joined the faculty at the University of Arizona in 1987. In 1989 he joined the Harvard calculus consortium, and is the lead author of the consortium's multivariable calculus and college algebra texts. In 1993-94 he spent a year at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, and in 1995-96 he spent a year at the Institute for Advanced Study on a Centennial Fellowship from the American Mathematical Society. In 2005 he received the Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars from the National Science Foundation. In 2006 he founded the Institute for Mathematics and Education at the University of Arizona. He was Director of the Institute until 2009 and now chairs its advisory board. In 2009-2010 he led the work team that developed the NGA/CCSSO Common Core Math Standards. His professional interests include arithmetical algebraic geometry and mathematics education.