jovan algebra | Page 3

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chapter 6 Factoring and the Distributive Property 133
Distributing Negative Numbers 135
Combining Like Terms 137
Adding/Subtracting Fractions 139
Factoring 141
Factoring with Negative Numbers 143
More Factoring 145
Factoring by Grouping 147
Factoring to Simplify Fractions 148
The FOIL Method 151
Factoring Quadratic Polynomials 154
Factoring the Difference of Two Squares 159
More on Factoring Quadratic Polynomials 162
Quadratic-Type Expressions 164
Factoring to Simplify a Larger Family of Fractions 166
Adding/Subtracting Fractions 169
Summary 175
Quiz 177
chapter 7 Linear Equations 183
Solving Linear Equations 186
A Strategy for Solving Linear Equations 189
Decimals 200
Formulas 204
Equations Leading to Linear Equations 210
Summary 220
Quiz 221
chapter 8 Linear Applications 223
Percents 224
Increasing/Decreasing by a Percent 225
Working with Formulas 233
Number Sense 241
Problems Involving Three Unknowns 248
Grade Problems 251
Coin Problems 256
Investment Problems 259
Mixture Problems 262
Work Problems 271
Distance Problems 285

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Geometric Figures 300
Summary 306
Quiz 308
chapter 9 Linear Inequalities 311
Inequalities and the Number Line 312
Solving Linear Inequalities 314
Interval Notation 318
Applied Problems 320
Bounded Intervals 329
Solving Double Inequalities 330
Applications of Double Inequalities 336
Summary 342
Quiz 345
chapter 10 Quadratic Equations 349
Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring 350
Extracting Roots 361
Solving Quadratic Equations with the
Quadratic Formula 363
Rational Equations That Lead to Quadratic Equations 373
Summary 382
Quiz 383
chapter 11 Quadratic Applications 387
Number Sense Problems 388
Revenue Problems 391
More Work Problems 400
The Height of a Falling Object 407
Problems in Geometry 416
Distance Problems 429
Round-trip Problems 442
Summary 447
Quiz 449
Final Exam 451
Answers to Quizzes and Final Exam 465
Appendix 469
Index 475

How to Use This Book
By working through this book, you will learn algebra skills that are necessary
for just about any high school or college math course. This book has two fea-
tures that most other math books do not. One of them is that this book presents
only one idea at a time. This allows you to gradually master all of the material.
The other feature is that the solutions to the problems in the examples and
practice sets are complete. Usually, only one step is performed at a time so that
you can clearly see how to solve the problem. Because fractions and word problems (also called “applications”) frustrate
students, this book covers these topics with extra care. We begin with very
simple, basic fraction operations and slowly move into more complicated
fraction operations. Whenever a new algebra technique is covered, an entire
section is devoted to how this technique affects fractions. Even though two entire chapters are devoted to word problems, we develop
one of the most important skills necessary for solving word problems right away.
In Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, we learn how to translate English sentences into
mathematical symbols. In Chapter 8, the first chapter that covers word prob-
lems, we begin with easier word problems and then we learn how to solve many
of the standard problems found in an algebra course. You will get the most from this book if you do not try to work through a
section without understanding how to solve all of the problems in the previous
practice set. In general, each new section extends the topic from the previous
section. Once you have finished the last section in a chapter, review the chapter
before taking the multiple-choice quiz. This will help you see how well you
have retained the material. Once you have finished the last chapter,
review all of the chapters before taking the multiple-choice Final Exam. The

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Final Exam is probably too long to take at once. Instead, you can treat it
as several smaller tests. Try to improve your score with each of