(eBook PDF) Introductory &

Intermediate Algebra for College

Students 5th Edition
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebooksecure.com/download/ebook-pdf-introductory-intermediate-algebra-for-c
ollege-students-5th-edition/
 Table of Contents v

7 Rational
Expressions 489
7.1 Rational Expressions and Their Simplification 490
7.2 Multiplying and Dividing Rational Expressions 500
7.3 Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions
with the Same Denominator 507
7.4 Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions
with Different Denominators 515
Mid-Chapter Check Point 526
7.5 Complex Rational Expressions 527
7.6 Solving Rational Equations 535
7.7 Applications Using Rational Equations
and Proportions 547
7.8 Modeling Using Variation 560
Chapter 7 Review Exercises 578
Chapter 7 Test 580
Cumulative Review Exercises 581
Mid-Textbook Check Point 582
10 Radicals, Radical Functions, and
Rational Exponents 691
10.1 Radical Expressions and Functions 692
10.2 Rational Exponents 705
10.3 Multiplying and Simplifying Radical Expressions 715
10.4 Adding, Subtracting, and Dividing Radical
Expressions 723
Mid-Chapter Check Point 731
10.5 Multiplying with More Than One Term and
Rationalizing Denominators 732
10.6 Radical Equations 742
10.7 Complex Numbers 752
Chapter 10 Review Exercises 766
Chapter 10 Test 768
Cumulative Review Exercises 769

8 Basics
of Functions 585
8.1 Introduction to Functions 586
8.2 Graphs of Functions 596
8.3 The Algebra of Functions 609
Mid-Chapter Check Point 619
8.4 Composite and Inverse Functions 620
Chapter 8 Review Exercises 637
Chapter 8 Test 639
Cumulative Review Exercises 639

9 Inequalities and Problem

Solving 641
9.1 Reviewing Linear Inequalities and Using
Inequalities in Business Applications 642
9.2 Compound Inequalities 654
9.3 Equations and Inequalities Involving
Absolute Value 663
Mid-Chapter Check Point 674
9.4 Linear Inequalities in Two
Variables 675
Chapter 9 Review Exercises 688
Chapter 9 Test 689
Cumulative Review Exercises 690
vi Table of Contents

11 Quadratic Equations and

Functions 771 13 Conic Sections and Systems of
Nonlinear Equations 935
11.1 The Square Root Property and Completing the Square; 13.1 The Circle 936
Distance and Midpoint Formulas 772 13.2 The Ellipse 944
11.2 The Quadratic Formula 788 13.3 The Hyperbola 956
11.3 Quadratic Functions and Their Graphs 803 Mid-Chapter Check Point 965
Mid-Chapter Check Point 821 13.4 The Parabola; Identifying Conic Sections 966
11.4 Equations Quadratic in Form 822 13.5 Systems of Nonlinear Equations in Two Variables 978
11.5 Polynomial and Rational Inequalities 830 Chapter 13 Review Exercises 991
Chapter 11 Review Exercises 849 Chapter 13 Test 993
Chapter 11 Test 851 Cumulative Review Exercises 993
Cumulative Review Exercises 853

12 Exponential and Logarithmic

Functions 855
12.1 Exponential Functions 856
12.2 Logarithmic Functions 870
12.3 Properties of Logarithms 884
Mid-Chapter Check Point 895
12.4 Exponential and Logarithmic Equations 896
12.5 Exponential Growth and Decay; Modeling Data 911
Chapter 12 Review Exercises 928
Chapter 12 Test 931
Cumulative Review Exercises 933
14 Sequences, Series, and the
Binomial Theorem 995
14.1 Sequences and Summation Notation 996
14.2 Arithmetic Sequences 1006
14.3 Geometric Sequences and Series 1016
Mid-Chapter Check Point 1032
14.4 The Binomial Theorem 1033
Chapter 14 Review Exercises 1043
Chapter 14 Test 1045
Cumulative Review Exercises 1046
Appendix A Mean, Median, and Mode 1047
Appendix B Matrix Solutions to Linear Systems 1053

Appendix C Determinants and Cramer’s Rule 1062

Appendix D Where Did That Come From?

Selected Proofs 1071
Answers to Selected Exercises AA1
Applications Index I1
Subject Index I7
Credits C1
 Preface

Introductory and Intermediate Algebra for College Students, Fifth Edition, provides
comprehensive, in-depth coverage of the topics required in a course combining
the study of introductory and intermediate algebra. The book is written for college
students who have no previous experience in algebra and for those who need a
review of basic algebraic concepts before moving on to intermediate algebra. I wrote
the book to help diverse students, with different backgrounds and career plans, to
succeed in a combined introductory and intermediate algebra course. Introductory
and Intermediate Algebra for College Students, Fifth Edition, has two primary goals:
1. To help students acquire a solid foundation in the skills and concepts of
introductory and intermediate algebra, without the repetition of topics in two
separate texts.
2. To show students how algebra can model and solve authentic real-world problems.

One major obstacle in the way of achieving these goals is the fact that very few
students actually read their textbook. This has been a regular source of frustration
for me and for my colleagues in the classroom. Anecdotal evidence gathered over
years highlights two basic reasons students give when asked why they do not take
advantage of their textbook:
• “I’ll never use this information.”
• “I can’t follow the explanations.”

I’ve written every page of the Fifth Edition with the intent of eliminating these two
objections. The ideas and tools I’ve used to do so are described in the features that follow.
These features and their benefits are highlighted for the student in “A Brief Guide to
Getting the Most from This Book,” which appears inside the front cover.

What’s New in the Fifth Edition?

• New Applications and Real-World Data. The Fifth Edition contains 163 new
or revised worked-out examples and exercises based on updated and new data
sets. Many of these applications involve topics relevant to college students and
newsworthy items. Among topics of interest to college students, you’ll find
new and updated data sets describing student loan debt (Chapter 1, Review,
Exercise 103; Exercise Set 3.5, Exercise 39), grade inflation of As and deflation
of Cs (Exercise Set 2.1, Exercises 65–66; Exercise Set 2.7 Exercises 105–106),
median weekly earnings, by education and gender (Exercise Set 1.8,
Exercises 99–100; Section 2.2, Example 8; Exercise Set 2.2, Exercises 71–72),
political orientation of college freshmen (Chapter 3 Test, Exercise 20),
and dormitory charges at public and private colleges (Exercise Set 14.2,
Exercises 65–66). Among newsworthy topics, new applications include income
inequality (Exercise Set 2.4, Exercises 57–58; Exercise Set 4.3, Exercise 70),
perceptions of police officers (Exercise Set 2.4, Exercises 59–60), marijuana use
vii
viii Preface

among college-age students (Chapter 3 Review, Exercise 44), marriage

equality (Chapter 4 Cumulative Review, Exercises 17–20), transformation of the
music industry by the Internet (Exercise Set 7.5, Exercises 51–52), racism,
measured by age and political orientation (Section 5.1 opener; Exercise Set 5.1,
Exercises 103–104), and the changing U.S. population, by race/ethnicity
(Section 14.2, Example 3).
• New Blitzer Bonus Videos with Assessment. The Blitzer Bonus features
throughout the textbook have been turned into animated videos that are built into
the MyMathLab course. These videos help students make visual connections to
algebra and the world around them. Assignable exercises have been created within
the MyMathLab course to assess conceptual understanding and mastery. These
videos and exercises can be turned into a media assignment within the Blitzer
MyMathLab course.
• Updated Learning Guide. Organized by the textbook’s learning objectives,
this updated Learning Guide helps students learn how to make the most of
their textbook for test preparation. Projects are now included to give students
an opportunity to discover and reinforce the concepts in an active learning
environment and are ideal for group work in class.
• Updated Graphing Calculator Screens. All screens have been updated using the
TI-84 Plus C.

What’s New in the Blitzer Developmental

Mathematics Series?
Two new textbooks and MyMathLab courses have been added to the series:
• Developmental Mathematics, First Edition, is intended for a course sequence
covering prealgebra, introductory algebra, and intermediate algebra. The text
provides a solid foundation in arithmetic and algebra.
• Pathways to College Mathematics, First Edition, provides a general survey
of topics to prepare STEM and non-STEM students for success in a variety of
college math courses, including college algebra, statistics, liberal arts mathematics,
quantitative reasoning, finite mathematics, and mathematics for education majors.
The prerequisite is basic math or prealgebra.
• MyMathLab with Integrated Review courses are also available for select Blitzer
titles. These MyMathLab courses provide the full suite of resources for the core
textbook, but also add in study aids and skills check assignments keyed to the
prerequisite topics that students need to know, helping them quickly get up to speed.

What Familiar Features Have Been Retained in the Fifth

Edition of Introductory and Intermediate Algebra for
College Students?
• Learning Objectives. Learning objectives, framed in the context of a student
question (What am I supposed to learn?), are clearly stated at the beginning of each
section. These objectives help students recognize and focus on the section’s most
important ideas. The objectives are restated in the margin at their point of use.
• Chapter-Opening and Section-Opening Scenarios. Every chapter and every
section open with a scenario presenting a unique application of mathematics in
students’ lives outside the classroom. These scenarios are revisited in the course of
the chapter or section in an example, discussion, or exercise.
• Innovative Applications. A wide variety of interesting applications, supported by
up-to-date, real-world data, are included in every section.
• Detailed Worked-Out Examples. Each example is titled, making the purpose of
the example clear. Examples are clearly written and provide students with detailed
step-by-step solutions. No steps are omitted and each step is thoroughly explained
to the right of the mathematics.
 Preface ix

• Explanatory Voice Balloons. Voice balloons are used in a variety of ways

to demystify mathematics. They translate algebraic ideas into everyday
English, help clarify problem-solving procedures, present alternative ways of
understanding concepts, and connect problem solving to concepts students have
already learned.
• Check Point Examples. Each example is followed by a similar matched problem,
called a Check Point, offering students the opportunity to test their understanding
of the example by working a similar exercise. The answers to the Check Points are
provided in the answer section.
• Concept and Vocabulary Checks. This feature offers short-answer exercises,
mainly fill-in-the-blank and true/false items, that assess students’ understanding
of the definitions and concepts presented in each section. The Concept and
Vocabulary Checks appear as separate features preceding the Exercise Sets.
• Extensive and Varied Exercise Sets. An abundant collection of exercises is
included in an Exercise Set at the end of each section. Exercises are organized
within eight category types: Practice Exercises, Practice Plus Exercises, Application
Exercises, Explaining the Concepts, Critical Thinking Exercises, Technology
Exercises, Review Exercises, and Preview Exercises. This format makes it easy to
create well-rounded homework assignments. The order of the Practice Exercises is
exactly the same as the order of the section’s worked examples. This parallel order
enables students to refer to the titled examples and their detailed explanations to
achieve success working the Practice Exercises.
• Practice Plus Problems. This category of exercises contains more challenging
practice problems that often require students to combine several skills or concepts.
With an average of ten Practice Plus problems per Exercise Set, instructors are
provided with the option of creating assignments that take Practice Exercises to a
more challenging level.
• Mid-Chapter Check Points. At approximately the midway point in each chapter,
an integrated set of Review Exercises allows students to review and assimilate the
skills and concepts they learned separately over several sections.
• Early Graphing. Chapter 1 connects formulas and mathematical models to data
displayed by bar and line graphs. The rectangular coordinate system is introduced
in Chapter 3. Graphs appear in nearly every section and Exercise Set. Examples
and exercises use graphs to explore relationships between data and to provide ways
of visualizing a problem’s solution.
• Geometric Problem Solving. Chapter 2 (Linear Equations and Inequalities in One
Variable) contains a section that teaches geometric concepts that are important
to a student’s understanding of algebra. There is frequent emphasis on problem
solving in geometric situations, as well as on geometric models that allow students
to visualize algebraic formulas.
• A Getting Ready for Intermediate Algebra section helps students make the
transition from introductory algebra to intermediate algebra, ensuring that they
have the appropriate prerequisite skills needed to move on.
• Thorough, Yet Optional, Technology. Although the use of graphing utilities
is optional, they are utilized in Using Technology boxes to enable students to
visualize and gain numerical insight into algebraic concepts. The use of graphing
utilities is also reinforced in the Technology Exercises appearing in the Exercise
Sets for those who want this option. With the book’s early introduction to graphing,
students can look at the calculator screens in the Using Technology boxes and gain
an increased understanding of an example’s solution even if they are not using a
graphing utility in the course.
• Great Question! This feature presents a variety of study tips in the context of
students’ questions. Answers to questions offer suggestions for problem solving,
point out common errors to avoid, and provide informal hints and suggestions.
As a secondary benefit, this feature should help students not to feel anxious or
threatened when asking questions in class.
x Preface

• Achieving Success. The Achieving Success boxes at the end of many sections offer
strategies for persistence and success in college mathematics courses.
• Chapter Review Grids. Each chapter contains a review chart that summarizes the
definitions and concepts in every section of the chapter. Examples that illustrate
these key concepts are also included in the chart.
• End-of-Chapter Materials. A comprehensive collection of Review Exercises for
each of the chapter’s sections follows the review grid. This is followed by a Chapter
Test that enables students to test their understanding of the material covered in the
chapter. Beginning with Chapter 2, each chapter concludes with a comprehensive
collection of mixed Cumulative Review Exercises.
• Blitzer Bonuses. These enrichment essays provide historical, interdisciplinary, and
otherwise interesting connections to the algebra under study, showing students that
math is an interesting and dynamic discipline.
• Discovery. Discover for Yourself boxes, found throughout the text, encourage
students to further explore algebraic concepts. These explorations are optional
and their omission does not interfere with the continuity of the topic under
consideration.

I hope that my passion for teaching, as well as my respect for the diversity of
students I have taught and learned from over the years, is apparent throughout this
new edition. By connecting algebra to the whole spectrum of learning, it is my intent to
show students that their world is profoundly mathematical, and indeed, p is in the sky.
Robert Blitzer
Resources for Success
MyMathLab for the Blitzer Developmental
Algebra Series
MyMathLab is available to accompany Pearson’s market-leading text offerings. This text’s flavor and
approach are tightly integrated throughout the accompanying MyMathLab course, giving students a
consistent tone, voice, and teaching method that make learning the material as seamless as possible.

Section Lecture and Chapter Test Prep

Videos
An updated video program provides a multitude of
resources for students. Section Lecture videos walk
students through the concepts from every section of the
text in a fresh, modern presentation format. Chapter Test
Prep videos walk students through the solution of every
problem in the text’s Chapter Tests, giving students video
resources when they might need it most.

Blitzer Bonus Videos

NEW! Animated videos have been created to mirror the Blitzer Bonus features throughout the textbook.
Blitzer Bonus features in the text provide interesting real-world connections to the mathematical topics at
hand, conveying Bob Blitzer’s signature style to engage students. These new Blitzer Bonus videos will help
students to connect the topics to the world around them in a visual way. Corresponding assignable exercises
in MyMathLab are also available, allowing these new videos to be turned into a media assignment to truly
ensure that students have understood what they’ve watched.

Learning Catalytics
Integrated into MyMathLab, the Learning Catalytics
feature uses students’ devices in the classroom for an
engagement, assessment, and classroom intelligence
system that gives instructors real-time feedback on
student learning. Learning Catalytics contains Pearson-
created content for developmental math topics that
allows you to take advantage of this exciting technology
immediately.

Student Success Modules

These modules are integrated within the MyMathLab
course to help students succeed in college courses and
prepare for future professions.

www.mymathlab.com
xi
 Resources for Success
Instructor Resources
Annotated Instructor’s Edition
This version of the text contains answers to
exercises printed on the same page, with graphing
answers in a special Graphing Answer Section at
the back of the text.
The following resources can be downloaded from
www.pearsonhighered.com or in MyMathLab.
PowerPoint® Lecture Slides
Fully editable slides correlated with the textbook
include definitions, key concepts, and examples
for use in a lecture setting.
Instructor’s Solutions Manual
This manual includes fully worked-out solutions
to all text exercises.
Instructor’s Resource Manual
This manual includes a Mini-Lecture, Group
Activities, and Additional Exercises for every
section of the text. It also includes Chapter Test
forms, as well as Cumulative and Final Exams,
with answers.
TestGen®
TestGen® (www.pearsoned.com/testgen) enables
instructors to build, edit, print, and administer
tests using a computerized bank of questions
developed to cover all the objectives of the text.
www.mymathlab.com
xii
Student Resources
The following additional resources are available
to support student success:
Learning Guide
UPDATED! Organized by learning objectives,
the Learning Guide helps students make the
most of their textbook and prepare for tests.
Now updated to include projects, students will
have the opportunity to discover and reinforce
the concepts in an active learning environment.
These projects are ideal for group work in class.
The Learning Guide is available in MyMathLab,
and available as a printed supplement.
Video Lecture Series
Available in MyMathLab, the video program
covers every section in the text, providing
students with a video tutor at home, in lab, or on
the go. The program includes Section Lecture
Videos and Chapter Test Prep videos.
Student Solutions Manual
This manual provides detailed, worked-out
solutions to odd-numbered section exercises,
plus all Check Points, Review/Preview Exercises,
Mid-Chapter Check Points, Chapter Reviews,
Chapter Tests, and Cumulative Reviews.
 Preface xiii

Acknowledgments
An enormous benefit of authoring a successful series is the broad-based feedback
I receive from the students, dedicated users, and reviewers. Every change to this
edition is the result of their thoughtful comments and suggestions. I would like to
express my appreciation to all the reviewers, whose collective insights form the
backbone of this revision. In particular, I would like to thank the following people
for reviewing Introductory and Intermediate Algebra for College Students.

Cindy Adams, San Jacinto College Charles C. Edgar, Onondaga Community

Gwen P. Aldridge, Northwest Mississippi
Community College
Ronnie Allen, Central New Mexico
Community College
Dr. Simon Aman, Harry S. Truman
College
Howard Anderson, Skagit Valley College
John Anderson, Illinois Valley
Community College
Michael H. Andreoli, Miami Dade
College – North Campus
Michele Bach, Kansas City Kansas
Community College
Jana Barnard, Angelo State University
Rosanne Benn, Prince George’s
Community College
Christine Brady, Suffolk County
Community College
Gale Brewer, Amarillo College
Carmen Buhler, Minneapolis
Community & Technical College
Warren J. Burch, Brevard College
Alice Burstein, Middlesex Community
College
Edie Carter, Amarillo College
Jerry Chen, Suffolk County Community
College
Sandra Pryor Clarkson, Hunter College
Sally Copeland, Johnson County
Community College
Valerie Cox, Calhoun Community
College
Carol Curtis, Fresno City College
Robert A. Davies, Cuyahoga Community
College
Deborah Detrick, Kansas City Kansas
Community College
Jill DeWitt, Baker College of Muskegon
Ben Divers, Jr., Ferrum College
Irene Doo, Austin Community College
College
Karen Edwards, Diablo Valley College
Scott Fallstrom, MiraCosta College
Elise Fischer, Johnson County
Community College
Susan Forman, Bronx Community
College
Wendy Fresh, Portland Community
College
Jennifer Garnes, Cuyahoga Community
College
Gary Glaze, Eastern Washington
University
Jay Graening, University of Arkansas
Robert B. Hafer, Brevard College
Andrea Hendricks, Georgia Perimeter
College
Donald Herrick, Northern Illinois
University
Beth Hooper, Golden West College
Sandee House, Georgia Perimeter
College
Tracy Hoy, College of Lake County
Laura Hoye, Trident Community College
Margaret Huddleston, Schreiner
University
Marcella Jones, Minneapolis Community &
Technical College
Shelbra B. Jones, Wake Technical
Community College
Sharon Keenee, Georgia Perimeter
College
Regina Keller, Suffolk County
Community College
Gary Kersting, North Central Michigan
College
Dennis Kimzey, Rogue Community
College
Kandace Kling, Portland Community
College
xiv Preface

Gray Knippenberg, Lansing Community Matthew Peace, Florida Gateway College

College
Mary Kochler, Cuyahoga Community
College
Scot Leavitt, Portland Community College
Robert Leibman, Austin Community
College
Jennifer Lempke, North Central Michigan
College
Ann M. Loving, J. Sargent Reynolds
Community College
Kent MacDougall, Temple College
Jean-Marie Magnier, Springfield
Technical Community College
Hank Martel, Broward College
Kim Martin, Southeastern Illinois College
John Robert Martin, Tarrant County
College
Lisa McMillen, Baker College of Auburn
Hills
Irwin Metviner, State University of New
York at Old Westbury
Jean P. Millen, Georgia Perimeter College
Lawrence Morales, Seattle Central
Community College
Morteza Shafii-Mousavi, Indiana
University South Bend
Lois Jean Nieme, Minneapolis
Community & Technical College
Allen R. Newhart, Parkersburg
Community College
Karen Pain, Palm Beach State College
Peg Pankowski, Community College of
Allegheny County – South Campus
Robert Patenaude, College of the
Canyons
Dr. Bernard J. Piña, New Mexico State
University – Doña Ana Community
College
Jill Rafael, Sierra College
James Razavi, Sierra College
Christopher Reisch, The State University
of New York at Buffalo
Nancy Ressler, Oakton Community
College
Katalin Rozsa, Mesa Community College
Haazim Sabree, Georgia Perimeter
College
Chris Schultz, Iowa State University
Shannon Schumann, University of
Phoenix
Barbara Sehr, Indiana University
Kokomo
Brian Smith, Northwest Shoals
Community College
Gayle Smith, Lane Community College
Dick Spangler, Tacoma Community
College
Janette Summers, University of Arkansas
Robert Thornton, Loyola University
Lucy C. Thrower, Francis Marion College
Mary Thurow, Minneapolis Community &
Tech College
Richard Townsend, North Carolina
Central University
Cindie Wade, St. Clair County
Community College
Andrew Walker, North Seattle
Community College
Kathryn Wetzel, Amarillo College

Additional acknowledgments are extended to Dan Miller and Kelly Barber

for preparing the solutions manuals and the new Learning Guide; Brad Davis,
for preparing the answer section and serving as accuracy checker; the codeMantra
formatting team for the book’s brilliant paging; Brian Morris and Kevin Morris at
Scientific Illustrators, for superbly illustrating the book; and Francesca Monaco, project
manager, and Kathleen Manley, production editor, whose collective talents kept every
aspect of this complex project moving through its many stages.
I would like to thank my editors at Pearson, Dawn Giovanniello and Megan Tripp,
who guided and coordinated the book from manuscript through production. Thanks
to Beth Paquin and Studio Montage for the quirky cover and interior design.
Finally, thanks to marketing manager Alicia Frankel for your innovative marketing
efforts, and to the entire Pearson sales force, for your confidence and enthusiasm
about the book.
 To the Student

The bar graph shows some of the qualities that students say make a great teacher.

Q UAL
ITIES
T H AT
MAKE
Explain
s thing A GRE
s clearl AT T E A
y CHER
Funny a
n d entert
aining
Helpfu 70%
l 47%

Passio
their s nate about
40%
ubjec t
22%
10%
Source:
Avanta Le 30%
arning Sy
stem
50%

70%

It was my goal to incorporate each of the qualities that make a great teacher
throughout the pages of this book.

Explains Things Clearly

I understand that your primary purpose in reading Introductory and Intermediate
Algebra for College Students is to acquire a solid understanding of the required topics
in your algebra course. In order to achieve this goal, I’ve carefully explained each
topic. Important definitions and procedures are set off in boxes, and worked-out
examples that present solutions in a step-by-step manner appear in every section.
Each example is followed by a similar matched problem, called a Check Point, for you
to try so that you can actively participate in the learning process as you read the book.
(Answers to all Check Points appear in the back of the book.)

xv
xvi To the Student

Funny/Entertaining
Who says that an algebra textbook can’t be entertaining? From our quirky cover to
the photos in the chapter and section openers, prepare to expect the unexpected.
I hope some of the book’s enrichment essays, called Blitzer Bonuses, will put a smile
on your face from time to time.

Helpful
I designed the book’s features to help you acquire knowledge of introductory
and intermediate algebra, as well as to show you how algebra can solve authentic
problems that apply to your life. These helpful features include:
• Explanatory Voice Balloons: Voice balloons are used in a variety of ways to make
math less intimidating. They translate algebraic language into everyday English,
help clarify problem-solving procedures, present alternative ways of understanding
concepts, and connect new concepts to concepts you have already learned.
• Great Question!: The book’s Great Question! boxes are based on questions
students ask in class. The answers to these questions give suggestions for problem
solving, point out common errors to avoid, and provide informal hints and
suggestions.
• Achieving Success: The book’s Achieving Success boxes give you helpful strategies
for success in learning algebra, as well as suggestions that can be applied for
achieving your full academic potential in future college coursework.
• Detailed Chapter Review Charts: Each chapter contains a review chart that
summarizes the definitions and concepts in every section of the chapter. Examples
that illustrate these key concepts are also included in the chart. Review these
summaries and you’ll know the most important material in the chapter!

Passionate about Their Subject

I passionately believe that no other discipline comes close to math in offering a more
extensive set of tools for application and development of your mind. I wrote the book
in Point Reyes National Seashore, 40 miles north of San Francisco. The park consists
of 75,000 acres with miles of pristine surf-washed beaches, forested ridges, and bays
bordered by white cliffs. It was my hope to convey the beauty and excitement of
mathematics using nature’s unspoiled beauty as a source of inspiration and creativity.
Enjoy the pages that follow as you empower yourself with the algebra needed to
succeed in college, your career, and your life.

Regards,
Bob
Robert Blitzer
 About the Author

Bob Blitzer is a native of Manhattan and

received a Bachelor of Arts degree with dual
majors in mathematics and psychology (minor:
English literature) from the City College
of New York. His unusual combination of
academic interests led him toward a Master
of Arts in mathematics from the University of
Miami and a doctorate in behavioral sciences
from Nova University. Bob’s love for teaching
mathematics was nourished for nearly 30 years
at Miami Dade College, where he received
numerous teaching awards, including Innovator
of the Year from the League for Innovations
in the Community College and an endowed
chair based on excellence in the classroom.
In addition to Introductory and Intermediate
Algebra for College Students, Bob has written
textbooks covering developmental mathematics,
introductory algebra, intermediate algebra,
college algebra, algebra and trigonometry, precalculus, and liberal arts mathematics,
all published by Pearson. When not secluded in his Northern California writer’s cabin,
Bob can be found hiking the beaches and trails of Point Reyes National Seashore,
and tending to the chores required by his beloved entourage of horses, chickens, and
irritable roosters.

xvii
This page intentionally left blank
 1

CHAPTER
Variables, Real Numbers,
and Mathematical Models
W
•
hat can algebra possibly tell me about

the rising cost of movie ticket prices over the years?

• how I can stretch or shrink my lifespan?
• the widening imbalance between numbers of women and men on college campuses?
• the number of calories I need to maintain energy balance?
• the widening imbalance between salaries of male and female college graduates?

In this chapter, you will learn how the special language of algebra describes your world.

Here’s where you’ll find these applications:

• Movie ticket prices: Exercise Set 1.1, Exercises 83–84
• Stretching or shrinking my lifespan: Section 1.6, Example 6
• College gender imbalance: Section 1.7, Example 9
• Caloric needs: Section 1.8, Example 12; Exercise Set 1.8, Exercises 97–98
• Gender divide in salaries for college graduates: Exercise Set 1.8, Exercises 99–100.

1958 1967 1980 1990 2000 2010 2013

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Cool Hand Luke Ordinary People Dances with Wolves Miss Congeniality Alice in Wonderland 12 Years a Slave
TICKET PRICE TICKET PRICE TICKET PRICE TICKET PRICE TICKET PRICE TICKET PRICE TICKET PRICE
$0.68 $1.22 $2.69 $4.23 $5.39 $7.89 $8.38

Sources: Motion Picture Association of America, National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 1
2 C H AP T E R 1 Variables, Real Numbers, and Mathematical Models
SEC TION
1.1
What am I supposed
to learn?
After studying this section,
you should be able to:
1 Evaluate algebraic
expressions.
2 Translate English
phrases into algebraic
expressions.
3 Determine whether a
number is a solution of
an equation.
4 Translate English
sentences into
algebraic equations.
5 Evaluate formulas.
1 Evaluate algebraic
expressions.
Introduction to Algebra: Variables and
Mathematical Models
You are thinking about buying a high-
definition television. How much distance
should you allow between you and the
TV for pixels to be undetectable and the
image to appear smooth?
Algebraic Expressions
Let’s see what the distance between you
and your TV has to do with algebra. The
biggest difference between arithmetic and
algebra is the use of variables in algebra. A variable
is a letter that represents a variety of different numbers. For example, we can let x
represent the diagonal length, in inches, of a high-definition television. The industry
rule for most of the current HDTVs on the market is to multiply this diagonal length
by 2.5 to get the distance, in inches, at which a person with perfect vision can see a
smooth image. This can be written 2.5 # x, but it is usually expressed as 2.5x. Placing a
number and a letter next to one another indicates multiplication.
Notice that 2.5x combines the number 2.5 and the variable x using the operation
of multiplication. A combination of variables and numbers using the operations of
addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, as well as powers or roots, is called an
algebraic expression. Here are some examples of algebraic expressions:
x
x + 2.5 x − 2.5 2.5x 2.5 3x + 5 !x + 7.
6JGXCTKCDNGx 6JGXCTKCDNGx VKOGUVJG 6JGXCTKCDNGx OQTGVJCP OQTGVJCP
KPETGCUGFD[ FGETGCUGFD[ XCTKCDNGx FKXKFGFD[ VKOGUVJG VJGUSWCTGTQQV
XCTKCDNGx QHVJGXCTKCDNGx
Great Question!
Are variables always represented by x?
No. As you progress through algebra, you will often see x, y, and z used, but any letter
can be used to represent a variable. For example, if we use l to represent a TV’s diagonal
length, your ideal distance from the screen is described by the algebraic expression 2.5l.
Evaluating Algebraic Expressions
We can replace a variable that appears in an algebraic expression by a number. We
are substituting the number for the variable. The process is called evaluating the
expression. For example, we can evaluate 2.5x (the ideal distance between you and
your x-inch TV) for x = 50. We substitute 50 for x. We obtain 2.5 # 50, or 125. This
means that if the diagonal length of your TV is 50 inches, your distance from the
screen should be 125 inches. Because 12 inches = 1 foot, this distance is 12512 feet, or
approximately 10.4 feet.
Many algebraic expressions involve more than one operation. The order in which
we add, subtract, multiply, and divide is important. In Section 1.8, we will discuss the
rules for the order in which operations should be done. For now, follow this order:
 SECTI ON 1.1 Introduction to Algebra: Variables and Mathematical Models 3

A First Look at Order of Operations

1. Perform all operations within grouping symbols, such as parentheses.

2. Do all multiplications in the order in which they occur from left to right.
3. Do all additions and subtractions in the order in which they occur from left
to right.

Great Question! EXAMPLE 1 Evaluating Expressions

What am I supposed
to do with the worked Evaluate each algebraic expression for x = 5:
examples?
a. 3 + 4x b. 4(x + 3).
Study the step-by-step
solutions in these examples.
Reading the solutions slowly Solution
and with great care will a. We begin by substituting 5 for x in 3 + 4x. Then we follow the order of operations:
prepare you for success with Multiply first, and then add.
the exercises in the Exercise
Sets. 3 + 4x

4GRNCEGxYKVJ

=3+4∙5
= 3 + 20 Perform the multiplication: 4 # 5 = 20.
= 23 Perform the addition.

Great Question! b. We begin by substituting 5 for x in 4(x + 3). Then we follow the order of operations:
Why is it so important to
Perform the addition in parentheses first, and then multiply.
work each of the book’s
Check Points? 4(x + 3)
You learn best by doing.
Do not simply look at the 4GRNCEGxYKVJ
worked examples and
conclude that you know how = 4(5 + 3)
to solve them. To be sure
you understand the worked = 4(8) Perform the addition inside the
examples, try each Check parentheses: 5 + 3 = 8.
Point. Check your answer 4(8) can also be written as 4 # 8.
in the answer section before = 32 Multiply. 
continuing your reading.
Expect to read this book
with pencil and paper handy
CHECK POINT 1 Evaluate each expression for x = 10:
to work the Check Points. a. 6 + 2x b. 2(x + 6).

Example 2 illustrates that algebraic expressions can contain more than one
variable.

EXAMPLE 2 Evaluating Expressions

Evaluate each algebraic expression for x = 6 and y = 4:

3x + 5y + 2
a. 5x - 3y b. .
2x - y
4 C H AP T E R 1 Variables, Real Numbers, and Mathematical Models

Solution
a. 5x − 3y This is the given algebraic expression.

4GRNCEG 4GRNCEG
xYKVJ yYKVJ

=5∙6−3∙4 We are evaluating the expression for x = 6 and y = 4.

= 30 - 12 Multiply: 5 # 6 = 30 and 3 # 4 = 12.

= 18 Subtract.

b. 3x + 5y + 2 This is the given algebraic expression.

2x − y
4GRNCEGxYKVJ 4GRNCEGyYKVJ

3∙6+5∙4+2
=
2∙6−4 We are evaluating the expression for x = 6 and y = 4.

18 + 20 + 2
= Multiply: 3 # 6 = 18, 5 # 4 = 20, and 2 # 6 = 12.
12 - 4
40
= Add in the numerator.
8 Subtract in the denominator.
= 5 Simplify by dividing 40 by 8. 

CHECK POINT 2 Evaluate each algebraic expression for x = 3 and y = 8:

6x - y
a. 7x + 2y b. .
2y - x - 8

2 Translate English Translating to Algebraic Expressions

phrases into algebraic Problem solving in algebra often requires the ability to translate word phrases into
expressions. algebraic expressions. Table 1.1 lists some key words associated with the operations of
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Table 1.1 Key Words for Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division
Operation Addition ( + ) Subtraction ( − ) Multiplication ( ~ ) Division ( ÷ )
plus minus times divide
sum difference product quotient
Key words
more than less than twice ratio
increased by decreased by multiplied by divided by

EXAMPLE 3
Translating English Phrases
into Algebraic Expressions
Write each English phrase as an algebraic expression. Let the variable x represent the
number.
a. the sum of a number and 7
b. ten less than a number
c. twice a number, decreased by 6
d. the product of 8 and a number
e. three more than the quotient of a number and 11
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
sympathy it represented, together with its mute assurance that in the
household she would find at least one friend.
 CHAPTER IV
THE NEW LIFE

The next morning Posey was awakened by the voice of Mrs.

Hagood at her door, “Come, Posey; time to get up, and be spry
about it, too.”
The clock was just striking six as she came out of her room, but
the kitchen was already warm and Mrs. Hagood in a loose calico
wrapper was busy about the breakfast.
“I don’t want you to dawdle in bed,” was her salutation. “I’m stirring
myself mornings and I want folks about me to stir, too. Hurry and
wash you, then take this dish and go down cellar for some cucumber
pickles. They are in that row on the left hand side, the third jar. Now
mind and remember, for I don’t want to keep telling things over to
you.”
As she returned with the pickles Mr. Hagood came in with a pail of
foaming milk, and Posey, who in her household experience had been
accustomed to see milk measured by the pint, or more often the half-
pint, gave a little cry of wonder and delight.
“I want ter know?” and Mr. Hagood’s thin, kindly face wrinkled from
mouth to eyes in a smile. “Never saw so much milk as this at once
before. Why I get this pail full every night and morning, and I calc’late
Brindle’ll do still better when she gets out to grass.” As he spoke he
had strained out a cupful of the fresh, warm milk and handed it to
Posey, saying, “Drink that now, an’ see if it don’t taste good.”
“What are you doing, Elnathan?” demanded Mrs. Hagood, who
was skillfully turning some eggs she was frying.
“Wal, now, Almiry, I’m just givin’ the child what she never had
before in her life, a drink o’ fresh, warm milk. I thought, Almiry,” with
an accent of mild reproof, “you’d like her to have what milk she
wanted to drink.”
 “You know as well as anybody,” was her tart retort, “that I never
scrimped anybody or anything around me yet of victuals; Posey can
have all the milk she wants to drink with her breakfast, but there’s no
use for her to be stoppin’ her work and spendin’ time to drink it now,
or you to be lettin’ the cream rise on the milk before it’s strained, to
watch her.”
Breakfast out of the way Mrs. Hagood said, “Now, Posey, you may
go out and feed the chickens. You will find a bag of shelled corn on
the granary floor; give them the basin that stands on a barrel beside
it twice full.”
It was a command that Posey gladly obeyed, but she wondered
that the flock of eager fluttering chickens, who crowded around her,
and flew up into the granary door, seemed so indifferent to the
breakfast she scattered for them. “Go and eat,” she vainly urged,
“go!”
Posey had on occasion seen city hens, poor, dirty, bedraggled
fowls, but these were so different, plump and snowy, bright of eye,
and sleek of plumage, that it was a pleasure to linger among them.
But Mrs. Hagood’s voice soon sounded from the door, “Posey, is it
going to take you all the forenoon to feed those hens?”
A little later as Posey was washing the breakfast dishes, taking
great pains to follow all of Mrs. Hagood’s many directions, for she
truly wished to please, she heard that lady calling her, and dropping
the wiping-towel ran out into the yard to see what was wanted.
“How came all those beans here on the ground?” Mrs. Hagood
demanded sharply, pointing as she spoke to the white kernels
scattered around.
“Why,” replied Posey in surprise, “that is what I fed the chickens as
you told me.”
“‘As I told you!’ A likely story that I would tell you to feed the hens
beans. Don’t you know enough to know beans from corn?”
“No, I don’t,” retorted Posey hotly. “And why should I? I never was
in the country before in my life, and I don’t know anything about corn,
except green corn, or beans, either.”
 “Shut right up,” exclaimed Mrs. Hagood sternly. “I won’t put up with
any impudence, and I want you to make up your mind to that. Now
look here,” holding up a handful of yellow kernels, “this is corn;
remember it, and if you make such a blunder again I’ll help you to
remember with a whip.”
Posey turned slowly and with a swelling heart re-entered the
house. She had meant no harm, the two bags had sat side by side,
the mistake had been wholly accidental, and under other
circumstances she would have been sorry enough, but now with the
sense of injustice burning at her heart she said to herself, “Cross old
thing, I don’t care if I did spill her old beans, not one bit.”
So Posey’s life with Mrs. Hagood began, and had the latter been
an agreeable person to live with it might have been a pleasant life;
she was comfortably clothed, she had an abundance of wholesome
food, and the work expected of her was in no way beyond her
strength. But Mrs. Hagood always so managed that when one task
was ended another was ready to take its place. With her it was one
continuous grind from morning till night; that the child required a
share of pleasure and recreation was an idea she would have
scouted. She worked all the time, she would have said, why was it
any worse for Posey? Besides, this was a poor child who would
always have to earn her living and the sooner she realized it the
better.
So the stocking was set up, and Posey inducted into the mysteries
of knitting. For other spare moments there were towels to hem and
sheets to turn, and when everything else failed to fill all the available
time there was always on hand a huge basket of carpet rags to be
cut, sewed, and wound.
With it all she was one of those women who never dream of
bestowing praise: if the work were ever so well done, and Posey was
at times fired with the ambition to see how well she could do, never a
word of commendation followed; if on the contrary, there was any
failure, and Mrs. Hagood’s eyes were always alert for faults, there
was always the word of sharp reproof. Then Posey would solace
herself with the reflection that she couldn’t suit her if she tried, and
she wasn’t going to try any more, and she hoped she wouldn’t be
suited, “so there!”
Often and often as Posey sat in the open doorway in the long
summer afternoons, the distant woods beyond the village beckoning
with their green shade and the basket of endless carpet rags at her
side, did she wish herself back within the pent-up walls of the
Refuge; for there when her appointed task was done she could enjoy
some free time, while here was no escape from the atmosphere of
repression, fault-finding, and petty irritation, to say nothing of the
absence of all love and sympathy, or even interest.
Mrs. Hagood would have said that all she was doing was for
Posey’s interest, but it is exceedingly doubtful if Almira Hagood ever
viewed anything or any one in a light separate from her own interest.
With a sublime self-confidence in her own ideas and opinions, she
would unhesitatingly have crushed a stronger opposition to her will;
how much the more anything so insignificant as the wishes and
feelings of a little charity girl! One, too, whom she had taken solely
that she might have her work, and whose highest good therefore
was to be useful, as her highest aim and desire ought to be to do the
work she assigned her quickly and well; while, unfortunately for both,
Posey’s mind was often filled with a host of other and widely differing
wishes and desires.
Had kindly Mr. Hagood been an active factor in the domestic
economy, her life would have been very different; but he was only a
passive factor, so passive, in fact, as to be seldom considered, and
least of all by his wife. From the first Posey had regarded Mr.
Hagood in the light of a fellow sufferer, with the present advantage of
his little shop to escape to, where with his work as a plea he
managed to spend not only most of his days but many of his
evenings, and where he could enjoy the pleasure of his pipe and
dog, both forbidden the house, and a frequent chance visitor. For
Mrs. Hagood so frowned upon his making one of the nightly group at
the village store and post-office that, social as he was by nature, he
seldom ventured on the enjoyment.
 Still if this was his present advantage, he would always, so Posey
reflected, have to live with Mrs. Hagood, while some glad day she
would be old enough to leave, and then never need see her again
unless she chose, which she didn’t much think would ever happen.
An amiable, easy-going man, Elnathan Hagood, it was said, at the
time of his marriage had inclined to ways slightly convivial. But his
wife speedily changed all that, and by the sheer force of her superior
will had set and kept his feet in a straight path. By nature “handy”
with tools the shop had been her idea, where she started him as
surgeon to the various disabled vehicles of Horsham; while she, in
the meantime, having taken charge of his modest patrimony,
proceeded to put it out to usury, in a literal as well as figurative
sense.
In all the country round no one knew how to drive a sharp bargain,
and for that matter a hard one, better than Almira Hagood; and woe
to the luckless debtor who expected mercy at her hands. With these
qualities but few really liked Mrs. Hagood; she was too dominant,
positive, selfish, and avaricious to win many friends, or to care much
for friendship. At the same time, and for all that her methods were
now and then a shade questionable, there were many who admired
her thrift, energy, business shrewdness, and practical ability, and
took a certain pride in her success as in some sort reflecting credit
on her home village.
It is almost needless to say that in the twenty years or more she
had managed the property it had greatly increased in value, and at
this time included outlying farms, village property, bank stock,
mortgages, and sundry other investments. In regard to this she
never thought of consulting her husband, and if he ever ventured on
a suggestion as a rule passed it over without the slightest regard.
The word “we” was one seldom heard from her lips. It was always
“my horse,” “my cow”; she referred to the time when “I built my barn,”
or “when I bought my farm,” with a complete ignoring of any partner
in the firm matrimonial. Indeed, whatever the light in which she
regarded Elnathan Hagood personally, for his ability and opinions
she did not disguise her contempt, and any attempt to assert himself
was quickly and vigorously suppressed; and the common opinion as
to his condition was voiced by an old companion, “I tell you, she
keeps his nose clus to the grindstun.”
It was then not strange that for the most part he went about with
the subdued and apologetic air of one aware of his own
insignificance. Sometimes, for his kindly nature held an especially
tender place for children, he attempted to expostulate in Posey’s
behalf; but his mild, “Now, Almiry, I wouldn’t,” or “Almiry, you know
children will be children,” made matters no better for Posey, and only
brought a storm about his own head.
Weakness held no part in Mrs. Hagood; “capable” was the term
that truly fitted her; at the same time there was no more tenderness
in her nature than in her well-polished cook-stove. A timid, sensitive
child would have wilted, pined, and perhaps have died in her
atmosphere; but Posey was not more sensitive than the average
healthy, hungry child, and was even more than usually high-spirited
and fearless. Her affections—meagerly as they had been fed—were
warm, her impulses generous, and her nature one to whom love and
kindness might have proved controlling forces where threats and
violence failed. Such being the case, her life with Mrs. Hagood could
hardly fail to intensify all her faults of temperament; the more so as
the almost daily outraging of her sense of justice led to a feeling of
resentment that from its frequency became well-nigh constant.
There were also occasions when this rose to an especial high-
water mark. One such was the event of a Sunday School picnic to a
little lake distant some half-hour’s ride on the cars. An event that all
the younger members of the school had looked forward to with eager
anticipations, and Posey perhaps most of all, for a picnic was
something she had never known. But when the time came Mrs.
Hagood flatly refused her permission to attend.
“I’m not going to throw away forty cents to go, and if I wouldn’t for
myself I don’t know why I should for you,” she had said. “Crystal
Lake! I want to know! Nobody ever thought of calling it anything but
Wilson’s Pond when I was a girl, or of its being any great sight. But
now it’s Crystal Lake folks must all run to see it, and I don’t suppose
it’s anything more than it was before.”
 “Almiry,” ventured Mr. Hagood in his most persuasive tone, with a
glance at Posey’s drooping head, “ef you’ll let her go I’ll pay the
fare.”
“Really, Elnathan Hagood,” turning on him with withering sarcasm,
“seems to me you have grown suddenly rich. If you have more
money than you know what to do with you may go over to the store
and get me ten pounds of sugar, and a couple of pounds of raisins. I
want them right away. As for Posey, I’ve said once she couldn’t go
and that settles it. I don’t believe in picnics, anyway; they’re just an
excuse for people to spend time and money; Posey hasn’t been
good for anything since they began to talk of this one, and if she was
to go she’d wear out her shoes, and tear her dress, and come home
so used up she wouldn’t be good for anything for a week to come.
It’s all nonsense, and she’s enough sight better off right here.”
So with a swelling heart Posey saw the others gathering for the
start. “Why, Posey, aren’t you ready?” called one of her classmates
over the fence as she was sweeping off the walk.
“No, I can’t go,” she answered with the curtness of despair.
“Won’t Mrs. Hagood let you?”
Posey shook her head; it was an occasion where words were
insignificant.
“Well, I just think she’s a horrid, mean old thing,” cried the
indignant and friendly sympathizer.
“Who’s that is a ‘mean old thing’?” demanded Mrs. Hagood, who
at that moment suddenly appeared around the corner of the house.
“No-nobody,” stammered the little girl, all the more frightened
because of her guilty consciousness.
“Oh,” blandly remarked that lady, “it was my mistake then; I
thought I heard you saying that somebody was,” and with a grim
smile she turned away, adding as she did so, “Posey, you have
swept that walk long enough, come in now and wash the dishes.”
It is to be feared that Mrs. Hagood found Posey anything but
efficient help that day, for the bitter rebellion in her heart found
outward expression in careless, sullen indifference. She slopped
water on the floor, jammed the wood into the stove, and slammed
the dishes with a violence that threatened their destruction. And
when Mrs. Hagood sharply demanded what she was thinking of, she
muttered a reply in a tone that brought her a shake, with the
admonition to be careful, if she knew what was good for herself.
After the morning’s work was finished Posey was sent out to pick
currants for jelly; and a little later Mr. Hagood might have been seen
slipping, with all the caution of a criminal, along behind the screening
grapevine trellis towards the end of the garden where were the
currant bushes, and half hidden among them Posey shedding hot
and bitter tears over her task.
“I’m real sorry you couldn’t go, Posey,” he said in a voice lowered
as if fearful it might reach the keen ears of his wife, “for I know how
you’d been a-lottin’ on it; but Mrs. Hagood knows what’s best fer
you.”
Loyalty was a strong element in Elnathan Hagood’s nature.
Whatever his private thought might be, not a complaining word of her
had he ever been heard to utter. And child though she was, Posey
instinctively recognized and respected this feeling, but now carried
away by her disappointment and grief she exclaimed passionately, “I
don’t know whether she does or not! At any rate I don’t believe she
ever was a little girl in her life.”
“Well, you know the real trouble is,” explained Mr. Hagood, “that
she never had any little girl of her own.” For it was one of his favorite
theories that a child, especially a little daughter, would have softened
all the asperity of that somewhat flinty nature, rendering it at once
sweet and tender.
“Besides,” he continued, “a picnic isn’t anything really so
wonderful. I wouldn’t give a single cent to go to one myself; though
to be sure I’m gettin’ oldish and a bit stiff for swingin’, and rowin’ on
the lake, and racin’ through the woods, an’ all that sort of thing I used
to enjoy so when I was your age.”
 He checked himself with the sudden realization that this was
hardly the way to impress upon her what undesirable affairs picnics
were, and busied himself in extracting a paper parcel from his coat
pocket. “Now don’t cry any more,” he urged; “see here, I’ve brought
you some nuts and candy.”
“Oh, Mr. Hagood,” cried Posey impulsively jumping up and
throwing her arms around his neck, to his great astonishment, and
hardly less confusion, “you are the very best man in all the world!”
“Well, now, Honey,” his wrinkled face flushing with pleasure at the
caress, to him something so unwonted and unexpected, and giving
her hand an awkward stroke by way of return, “you be a good girl
and mebby you and I will go somewhere and have a picnic by
ourselves some day. I’ll see if I can’t fix it.”
Then Mr. Hagood, in the same stealthy manner with which he had
come, returned to his shop. And Posey behind the currant bushes
forgot to breathe out threatenings and slaughter against Mrs.
Hagood, as she munched her candy, so much the sweeter for the
sympathy that had accompanied it, and found herself more cheered
than an hour before she would have believed it possible she ever
could be again.
 CHAPTER V
THE PICNIC

“Elnathan, I’m out of flour; you must go to mill to-day,” said Mrs.
Hagood one morning a little later.
Mr. Hagood had been anticipating this direction, but he answered
with a guileless air, “Must you have it to-day? Joe Hatch is a hurryin’
about his wagon.”
“Yes, I can’t bake again till I have some more flour; and I guess
Joe Hatch can wait.”
“You couldn’t go?”
“Me? The idea; no, my time’s worth too much to spend a good
share of the day going to mill. There was a payment due yesterday
on that money I lent Dawson, and if he doesn’t come this morning I
shall go around and see him.”
Mr. Hagood paused in the door with a reflective manner, “I don’t
know, Almira, but ’twould be a good idea to take Posey along and
show her the way; old Jim’s that gentle she could drive him well
enough, an’ ’twould be dreadful handy sometimes if I could send her
to mill when I’m pushed with work. She’s quick to learn anything.”
“Quick enough when she wants to be. But why don’t you send her
to-day? You can tell her the way; she could hardly miss it.”
“Y-e-s, but it’s kind of ticklish gettin’ down the hill there at the mill,
I’d want to show her about that myself. But it’s just as you say.”
Mrs. Hagood hesitated, but the thought that if Posey could take his
place in going to mill Mr. Hagood could be at work decided the
matter. “Well, take her then,” she said; “she’s in the garden picking
peas; call her in and tell her to get ready.”
 Just before he was ready to start, Mr. Hagood came in, “There’s
never no knowin’ how many will be ahead of me, or how long I’ll
have to wait my turn; the last time I got pretty nigh famished, so I
wish you’d put up a bite o’ lunch in case I have to wait again, as I’m
likely to.”
Then with the bag of wheat in the back of the stout buggy, the
basket of lunch under the seat, and Rover, the old dog, capering
around them, they set off, between meadows where the sun of the
July morning had not yet dried the dewy freshness from the grass,
and cornfields, the ribbon leaves of whose green rows waved and
rustled in the light breeze. When they were well outside the village
Rover came to the side of the buggy and looked up with expectant
eyes. “Almiry says there ain’t no sense in lettin’ a dog ride,” Mr.
Hagood remarked apologetically, “an’ I s’pose she’s right. But Rover
does enjoy it so much that when I’m alone I generally let him. Come
up, old fellow! There,” as the dog bounded into the buggy, “sit up
now like a gentleman.” And Rover lifting his head, lolled out his
tongue, and looked first at one and then the other with an air of deep
content.
It was a five-mile drive, but it seemed short to Posey, though easy-
going Jim took his own gait, and once when Mr. Hagood saw on a
converging road another wagon piled with bags he held his own
horse back until he saw they had the right of way, which in this case
assured him a wait of two or three hours at least.
At last the mill was reached, with the wide, smooth pond spreading
above it, whose water tumbling over the dam hurried foam-flecked
away through a deep, rocky gorge, made still more shadowy by the
hemlocks that lined it, on whose very verge stood the tall old mill.
“You think it’s a pretty place?” as Posey gave a little cry of delight as
the shining water came in view. “Well, I do myself, for a fact. But look
now ef I ever send you alone,” and Posey watched as he wound
down the short but steep descent to the mill door, through which she
looked with wide, curious eyes.
“And you never saw a grist mill afore? Well, come right in an’ see
one now,” and Posey followed Mr. Hagood and the miller who had
shouldered their bag of wheat inside, where belts and bands were
whirring, and great hoppers slowly turning as they fed the grain to
the crushing stones. The noise and clatter drowned the miller’s voice
but she understood his good-natured smile and beckoning finger as
he opened little doors here and there and she caught glimpses of the
wheat on its way to be cleansed from impurities, of the flour passing
through its silken bolting sieve, of a flowing brown stream of bran,
and a white cataract of swiftly falling flour: the flour that whitened the
miller’s coat and cap, and lay as a covering over the floor, and
powdered all the beams and ledges of the mill, and swayed with the
wind in cobweb veils and festoons from the high rafters. And mingled
with all was the steady, insistent sound of the falling water just
outside, the power that gave force and motion to it all.
“We’ll have quite a spell to wait,” remarked Mr. Hagood, motioning
Posey to the door so that his voice could be heard, “there’s two big
grists ahead of us; how’d you like to go out on the pond? There’s a
boat under the willows at the end of the dam.”
Like it? Of course she would, and in a few moments she was
dipping her fingers in the clear water as Mr. Hagood rowed the little
boat toward the upper end of the pond where lily pads were floating
on the placid surface with here and there a blossom opening waxy-
white petals. It was an hour that Posey never forgot, the soft blue sky
above, the gentle motion of the boat, the lake-like water that rippled
away from the oars, and the lily blossoms with their golden hearts.
“Well, now, Posey,” said Mr. Hagood, as they drew in to shore at
last, “must be about noon by the shadders, an’ rowin’s kinder hungry
work, so I guess we may as well have our lunch.”
For this they chose a spot down close to the stream below the fall,
on a great rock that jutted out, covered with a green carpet of softest
moss, and shaded by the drooping hemlocks that found their
foothold in the ledges above. Here Posey spread out the contents of
the well-filled basket, for Mrs. Hagood’s provision was always an
ample one, the slices of bread and butter, the thin pink shavings of
dried beef, the pickles, the doughnuts and cookies, while Mr. Hagood
added as his contribution a couple of big golden oranges.
 “I’m so glad we had to wait!” observed Posey as she munched her
bread and butter.
 It was an hour that Posey never forgot.—Page 75.

“This isn’t much of a wait,” answered Mr. Hagood. “When I was a

boy an’ used to go to mill with my grist in a bag on the horse behind
me, like as not I’d have to wait till the next day. An’ before that when
it was a hundred miles to the nearest mill father used to be gone a
week at least.”
“I guess he didn’t go very often,” hazarded Posey.
“Not very, especially as there wasn’t anything but blazed trees for
roads to go by. In them early pioneer days when folks first began to
come here to Ohio it was a pretty serious question how to get meal
and flour; sometimes they’d shave it off, an’ sometimes grind it in a
coffee mill. I’ve heard Aunt Sally Bliss tell that once she nailed the
door of an old tin lantern to a board and grated corn enough for
Johnny-cake for her family; while quite a few did like my father; he
hollowed out a place in the top of a stump, worked off a stone till it
had a handle for a pestle, then put the wheat or corn, a little at a
time, in the hollow and pounded it till it was fine enough to use.”
“That must have been ever so much work.”
“Yes, there was plenty of hard work those days, but the people
had real good times after all. Sometimes I think better’n we have
now,” he added as he slowly peeled his orange.
“Not any better than to-day,” protested Posey.
“An’ have you enjoyed it?” a smile brightening his face, as the
miller came to the mill door and waved his whitened hand in token
that the flour was ready and they rose to leave, “Has it been like a
picnic?”
“A picnic, yes,” a sudden comprehension coming to her what he
had meant it for. “Dear Mr. Hagood, it’s been so good of you, and it is
the loveliest day I ever had in all my life.”
So it will be seen that even under Mrs. Hagood’s rule Posey’s life
was not all shadow, the less so that Mr. Hagood touched by her
pleasure managed with gentle guile and under one pretext and
another to secure her for a companion now and then. Outings which
it would be hard to tell which enjoyed the more, Posey for herself or
Mr. Hagood for her. Occasionally, too, some matter of business
would call Mrs. Hagood away for the afternoon, when she would take
her towels to hem or carpet rags to sew, as the case might be, out to
the little shop with its mingled odors of fresh lumber, paint, and
varnish, where Mr. Hagood hummed old tunes and whistled softly to
himself as he worked. And where seated on a rheumatic buggy seat
in one corner, with the shaggy head of Rover resting on her knee, in
watching Mr. Hagood at his work, and listening to his favorite old-
time stories she would find real if unexciting enjoyment.
Then again during the season of raspberries and blackberries
many were the delightful hours Posey spent berrying in the “back
pasture.” A field this, only a little remote from the village, but hidden
from it by a bit of intervening woods, and so shut away from all
outward, disturbing sight or sound that with its peaceful stillness and
sunny, wind-swept solitude, it seemed as genuine a bit of nature as
though the subduing hand of man had never been laid upon it, and
one which the city-bred child fairly revelled in.
A big, stony, thin-soiled field was the “back pasture,” affording
hardly grass enough for the two or three cows which fed there,
hence held in slight esteem by its owner and suffered to lapse into
an almost unchecked growth of briars and undergrowth, with here
and there a thicket of young and fast-growing trees, a spot where
wild growths ran riot, where bittersweet hung its clusters, and the
wild grape tangled its strong and leafy meshes; a spot, too, that the
birds knew, where they nested and sang, for the most part
unmolested and unafraid.
But the crowning charm of the place to Posey was the chattering
brook that with many a curve and bend, as if seeking excuse to
linger, ran in a little hollow through the centre of the pasture. A clear,
sparkling little stream, gurgling and hurrying through the sunlit
spaces, loitering in the shadows of the willows whose green fingers
bent down to meet its current, with shallow places where one could
wade or cross on stepping-stones, and deep pools where minnows
loved to gather and hide them under the trailing grasses of the
banks.
This was Posey’s first acquaintance with a brook and for her it had
not only charm but almost personality; she talked to it as she would
to a companion, beside it she felt a certain sense of companionship,
and no matter how often she might come, always she greeted the
sight of the stream with the same delight.
For her these were truly halcyon days, and most fervently did she
wish that berries ripened the year round. As it was, being both quick
of eyes and nimble of fingers, Mrs. Hagood permitted her to come
nearly as often as she chose while they were in season. So many a
summer morning was thus spent, for the best picking was to the
earliest comer, and where it often happened, an addition to her own
content if not to the contents of her basket, she met other children of
the village bent on a similar errand.
And always whatever of the hard or unpleasant the days might
hold, every week brought its Sunday, when the interminable
hemming and patch-work and carpet rags, with the other more
distasteful of the week-day duties were laid aside for one day. Mrs.
Hagood was not herself greatly given to church-going, but she
considered it an eminently respectable habit and saw to it that the
family credit was duly upheld by Mr. Hagood and Posey. In her own
mind Posey held the Sundays when Mrs. Hagood stayed at home as
by far the most enjoyable. For then Mr. Hagood could pass her
surreptitious stems of caraway seed, with an occasional peppermint
drop; moreover, he could drop into a gentle doze, and she could
venture to move now and then without fear of a sharp nudge from
Mrs. Hagood’s vigorous elbow.
There, too, was the Sunday School, where she could sit with a row
of other girls, exchange furtive remarks between the teacher’s
questions, compare library books, or loiter for little chats on the
homeward way.
Then in the long summer Sunday afternoons she could lie on the
grass under the shading maples and read the same library books; or
perhaps, what was still better, while Mrs. Hagood dozed in her
favorite rocker, she, Mr. Hagood and Rover, who made the third in
this trio of friends, would stroll away together, beyond the village,
across the open, sunny, breeze-swept fields, past ripening grain and
meadow, along fence-rows where alders spread their umbels of lace-
like blossoms, and later the golden rod tossed the plumes of its
yellow-crested army. These fence-rows that were in very truth the
“squirrels’ highway,” on which the sight every now and then of one
skurrying along with bright eyes and bushy tail saucily waving
defiance, would set Rover nearly wild with excitement, to the great
amusement of his companions.
“Poor old Rover!” was the way Posey commonly spoke of her
dumb friend. But there was certainly no occasion for the first
adjective, for Mrs. Hagood could truly boast that nothing around her
suffered for the lack of enough to eat; and as a reward for his canine
faithfulness she even went so far as to give him a discarded mat on
which he might lie in the woodhouse. But whine he ever so pitifully,
he was not allowed to cross beyond that threshold and join the family
circle, a privilege his social dog nature did so crave. And all his tail-
wagging and mute appeals were equally without avail to draw from
his mistress the caressing touch or word his dog soul so evidently
and ardently longed for.
Rover was a trusty watch-dog, and for this Mrs. Hagood valued
him; at the same time she frowned on his idle existence, and had
even considered the matter of having Mr. Hagood make a dog-power
that she might use him to churn with. Against this her husband had
urged that he wasn’t heavy enough, though privately he confided to
Posey that it “wasn’t in nature for dogs to work like humans, an’ he
wa’n’t goin’ to make no dog-churn for old Rover to tread, not if he
knew himself, he wa’n’t.”
 CHAPTER VI
THE STORM BREAKS

The thing, however, which rankled deepest in Posey’s mind, and

caused her more bitter feelings than everything else, was that for all
Mrs. Hagood’s promise, which she herself standing by had heard,
that Posey should go regularly to the near-by school, she had not
been allowed to attend even for a single day. At first she had waited
expecting something would be said about it every day, and at last
had ventured to ask when she was to begin.
Mrs. Hagood heard the question with an air of surprise. “School!”
she repeated, “and all the house-cleaning, and spring and summer
work coming on, I wonder how you think I can spare you to go to
school. One would think that with all I’m doing for you, and the work
you make, that you’d want to help what little you could.”
Posey choked back a lump in her throat; in her own mind she was
sure that she was doing more work than she made, and earning all
she received or she wouldn’t be kept; at the same time it was plainly
evident that school, at least for the present, was not for her. “If I can’t
go this spring term, can I in the fall?” she asked somewhat anxiously.
Mrs. Hagood was busy making pies, and fall was far in the future.
“Yes, I guess so,” she answered, glad to get rid of the matter so
easily. “If you are a smart girl to work this summer you can go to
school next fall.”
So summer went by, and all through its days Posey bore this
promise in mind; many a time it was an incentive to her when she
would otherwise have flagged; and a spur to endeavor without which
she might have been negligent. Autumn came, apples grew ruddy in
the orchards, grapes ripened on the vines, and the woods changed
their summer’s dress of green for one of yellow and scarlet. Yet
Posey, who all through the spring and early summer had watched
with longing eyes the children passing to and fro, saw the opening of