Intermediate Algebra

Intermediate Algebra prepares students for further courses in the college math curriculum. Students of all backgrounds will be delighted to find a refreshing book that appeals to every learning style and reaches out to diverse demographics. Through down-to-earth explanations, patient skill-building, and exceptionally interesting and realistic applications, this worktext will empower students to learn and master algebra in the real world.

Ignacio Bello attended the University of South Florida, where he earned a B.A. and M.A. in Mathematics. He began teaching at USF in 1967, and in 1971 he became a member of the Faculty at Hillsborough Community College and Coordinator of the Math and Sciences Department. Professor Bello instituted the USF/HCC remedial program, a program which started with 17 students taking Intermediate Algebra and grew to more than 800 students with courses covering Developmental English, Reading, and Mathematics. Aside from the present series of books (Basic College Mathematics, Introductory Algebra, and Intermediate Algebra), Professor Bello is the author of more than 40 textbooks including Topics in Contemporary Mathematics, College Algebra, Algebra and Trigonometry, and Business Mathematics. Many of these textbooks have been translated into Spanish. With Professor Fran Hopf, Bello started the Algebra Hotline, the only live, college-level television help program in Florida. Professor Bello is featured in three television programs on the award winning Education Channel. He has helped create and develop the USF Mathematics Department Website (http://mathcenter.usf.edu) which serves as support for the Finite Math, College Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, and Introductory Algebra, and CLAST classes at USF. You can see Professor Bello’s presentations and streaming videos at this website, as well as at http://www.ibello.com. Professor Bello is a member of the MAA and AMATYC and has given many presentations regarding the teaching of mathematics at the local, state, and national levels.

Fran Hopf has been teaching mathematics for Hillsborough Community College for 27 years. She teaches algebra and finite mathematics both on campus and as distance learning courses for the University of South Florida where she is presently a PhD student in higher education with a cognate in mathematics. Fran has a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and a master’s in education from the University of South Florida. In addition to this textbook she has authored course supplements for intermediate algebra and has reviewed texts for developmental and liberal arts mathematics. Fran and Ignacio were co-hosts for a live, call-in Algebra Hotline program that aired weekly for three years on the Education Channel in Tampa, Florida that supported a college algebra telecourse. Fran has developed curriculum and videos for a math review for the CLAST, a mandatory test given to college students attending state universities in Florida. The CLAST material can be found at http://mathcenter.usf.edu/. She is a member of AMATYC and has co-presented with Bello at the AMATYC national convention. Whether in the classroom, on the Internet, or writing curriculum, Fran enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for mathematics.