A Graphical Approach to College Algebra (6th Edition) – PDF

About The Author

Gary K. Rockswold

Dr. Gary Rockswold has been teaching mathematics for 34 years at all levels from 7th grade to graduate school, including junior high and high school students, vocational, talented youth, graduate students, undergraduate students, and adult education classes. Now retired, he most recently served as professor of mathematics at Minnesota State University – Mankato. Rocksworld graduated with majors in physics and mathematics from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Gary received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Iowa State University. He has an interdisciplinary background and has also taught astronomy, computer science and physical science. Outside of mathematics, Gary enjoys spending time with his lovely wife and their 2 children.

John Hornsby

When John Hornsby enrolled as an undergraduate at Louisiana State University, he was uncertain whether he wanted to study education, mathematics, or journalism. His ultimate decision was to become a teacher, but after 25 years of teaching at the high school and university levels and 15 years of writing math textbooks, all 3 of his goals have been realized; his love for teaching and for mathematics is evident in his passion for working with students at all elvels and fellow teachers as well. His specific professional interests are mathematics history, recreational mathematics, and incorporating graphing calculators into the curriculum.

Hornsby's personal life is busy as he devotes time to his family. He has been a rabid baseball fan all of his life. His other hobbies include numismatics (the study of coins) and record collecting. He loves the music of the 1960s and has an extensive collection of the recorded works of Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons.

Margaret L. Lial

Margaret (Marge) Lial (late) was always interested in mathematics; it was her favorite subject in the first grade! Margaret's intense desire to educate both herself and her students inspired the writing of numerous best-selling textbooks. Professor Lial, who received Bachelor's and Master's degrees from California State University at Sacramento, was most recently affiliated with American River College. An avid reader and traveler, her travel experiences often found their way into her textbooks as exercise sets, applications, and feature sets.

Marge was particularly interested in archeology, and trips to various digs and ruin sites produced fascinating problems for her textbooks, involving such topics as the building of Mayan pyramids and the acoustics of ancient ball courts in the Yucatan.