BEGINNING AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA: CONNECTING CONCEPTS THROUGH APPLICATIONS, shows students how to apply traditional mathematical skills in real-world contexts. The emphasis on skill building and applications engages students as they master algebraic concepts, problem solving, and communication skills. Students develop sound mathematical skills by learning how to solve problems generated from realistic applications, instead of learning techniques without conceptual understanding. Authors Mark Clark and Cynthia Anfinson have developed several key ideas to make concepts real and vivid for students. First, the authors place an emphasis on developing strong algebra skills that support the applications, enhancing student comprehension and developing their problem solving abilities. Second, applications are integrated throughout, drawing on realistic and numerically appropriate data to show students how to apply math and to understand why they need to know it. These applications require students to think critically and develop the skills needed to explain and think about the meaning of their answers. Third, important concepts are developed as students progress through the course and overlapping elementary and intermediate content in kept to a minimum. Chapter 8 sets the stage for the intermediate material where students explore the "eyeball best-fit" approach to modeling and understand the importance of graphs and graphing including graphing by hand. Fourth, Mark and Cynthia's approach prepares students for a range of courses including college algebra and statistics. In short, BEGINNING AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA: CONNECTING CONCEPTS THROUGH APPLICATIONS develops strong mathematical skills using an engaging, application-driven and problem solving-focused approach to algebra.