Elementary and Intermediate Algebra: A Practical Approach provides concise, manageable treatment of the mathematics required for the combined algebra course. While emphasizing problem solving and the real-world applications of algebra, the text provides solid coverage of core mathematical concepts and essential symbol manipulation skills. Furthermore, the text encourages students to use graphing technology while still requiring them to master pencil-and-paper techniques for certain tasks. Authors Craine, McGowan, and Ruben combine their experience and expertise as a math educator and author, a math researcher, and an authority on math anxiety to deliver a balanced, targeted text that enables instructors to cover all the material for the combined course in one text. Pedagogically, the instructional material is concise, clear, and presentedin a style that encourages students to read all the material and complete all the exercises.Chapter openers, chapter-end explorations tied to the openers, definitions,key concepts, examples, notes, cautions, chapter summaries, and exercisesets appear in each chapter. Additional problems are available for student practice on the accompanying web site. Readable and direct, the text\'s student-friendly style uses a minimum ofmathematical jargon. Mathematical vocabulary is introduced at point-of-use, as it is needed to understand an underlying concept. Real-world applications are used to introduce each chapter and throughout the text to help students see the math in context and understand its relevance in everyday life. Examples focus on a particular concept and include complete worked-out solutions. Examples presented with multiple solution methodsalgebraic, graphical, and/or numericalhelp students with different learning styles understand solutions from various aspects. Eduspace is Houghton Mifflin\'s online learning tool. Powered by Blackboard, Eduspace is a customizable, powerful and interactive platform that provides instructors with text-specific online courses and content in multiple disciplines. The Craine/McGowan/Rubens Elementary and Intermediate Algebra course includes algorithmic exercises, test bank content in question pools, interactive tutorials and video explanations.