Functions and Change: A Modeling Approach to College Algebra

Functions and Change provides an alternative to a traditional college algebra course for students who either will not take another math course or may go on to a business calculus course. The authors wrote this text for the many college algebra students who are poorly served by books that focus on preparing them for a course they will never take, traditional calculus.

Bruce Crauder received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1981, after which he spent a post-doctoral year at the Institute for Advanced Studies. Since then, he has held positions at the University of Utah, University of Pennsylvania, University of North Carolina, Colorado State University, and is now at Oklahoma State University as a Professor of Mathematics. Crauder has, in the past, held NSF research grants in algebraic geometry as well as several NSF grants for mathematics curricular reform and development with Benny Evans and Alan Noell. He is currently the Associate Dean for Instruction of the College of Arts & Sciences at Oklahoma State.

Benny Evans received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1971. After a year at the Institute for Advanced Study he came to Oklahoma State University where he has served as Undergraduate Director, Associate Head, and Head, and is currently Professor of Mathematics. His academic interests are in topology and mathematics education. He is the author of 28 publications in refereed journals and a number of books and expository articles.

Alan Noell earned his Ph.D. degree from Princeton University in 1983 and had a two-year postdoctoral position at Caltech. His scholarly activities include complex analysis and curriculum development. He has been a Co-Principal Investigator on grants funded by the National Science Foundation. He has served as Undergraduate Director and Graduate Director in the Department of Mathematics at Oklahoma State, and he is currently Professor of Mathematics.