You are on page 1of 61

College Algebra 5th Edition, (Ebook

PDF)
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmass.com/product/college-algebra-5th-edition-ebook-pdf/
Editorial Director Chris Hoag
Editor in Chief Anne Kelly
Sponsoring Editor Kathryn O’Connor NOTICE:
Editorial Assistant Judith Garber This work is
Program Manager Tatiana Anacki solely for the use
Project Manager Kathleen A. Manley
Program Management Team Lead Marianne Stepanian
of instructors and
Project Management Team Lead Christina Lepre administrators for
Media Producer Erica Lange the purpose of
TestGen Content Manager Marty Wright
MathXL Content Manager Kristina Evans
teaching courses
Marketing Manager Peggy Lucas and assessing
Marketing Assistant Justine Goulart student learning.
Senior Author Support/ Unauthorized
Technology Specialist Joe Vetere
Rights and Permissions dissemination,
Project Manager Diahanne Lucas Dowridge publication or sale
Procurement Specialist Carol Melville of the work, in
Associate Director of Design Andrea Nix
Program Design Lead and Cover Design Barbara T. Atkinson whole or in part
Text Design, Art Editing, (including posting
and Photo Research The Davis Group, Inc. on the internet)
Editorial and Production Coordination Martha Morong/Quadrata, Inc.
Composition Lumina Datamatics Ltd. will destroy the
Illustrations Network Graphics, William Melvin, integrity of the
and Lumina Datamatics Ltd. work and is strictly
Cover Image Petals of a flower, © irin-k/
Shutterstock prohibited.

Copyright © 2016, 2012, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is protected by copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited
reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise. For information regarding permissions, request forms and the appropriate contacts
within the Pearson Education Global Rights & Permission department, please visit www.pearsoned.com/permissions/.

Acknowledgments of third party content appear on page A-50, which constitutes an extension of this copyright page.

PEARSON, ALWAYS LEARNING, and MYMATHLAB are exclusive trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries owned by
Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, any third-party trademarks that may appear in this work are the property of their
respective owners and any references to third-party trademarks, logos or other trade dress are for demonstrative or
descriptive purposes only. Such references are not intended to imply any sponsorship, endorsement, authorization, or
promotion of Pearson’s products by the owners of such marks, or any relationship between the owner and Pearson
Education, Inc. or its affiliates, authors, licenses or distributors.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


Beecher, Judith A.
College algebra / Judith A. Beecher, Judith A. Penna, Marvin L. Bittinger, Indiana University Purdue University
Indianapolis, 5th edition.
pages cm
Includes indexes.
ISBN 0-321-96957-X (student edition)
1. Algebra—Textbooks. I. Penna, Judith A. II. Bittinger, Marvin L. III. Title.
QA152.3.B44 2016
512.9dc23
2014022118

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10—DOW—18 17 16 15 14

SE ISBN-13: 978-0-321-96957-6
www.pearsonhighered.com ISBN-10: 0-321-96957-X
Contents

Preface xi
Guide to Success xvii

1 Graphs, Functions, and Models 1


1.1 Introduction to Graphing 2
Graphs / Solutions of Equations / Graphs of Equations /
The Distance Formula / Midpoints of Segments / Circles
Visualizing the Graph 13
1.2 Functions and Graphs 17
Functions / Notation for Functions / Graphs of Functions /
Finding Domains of Functions / Visualizing Domain and Range /
Applications of Functions
1.3 Linear Functions, Slope, and Applications 32
Linear Functions / The Linear Function f 1x2 = mx + b and Slope /
Applications of Slope / Slope–Intercept Equations of Lines / Graphing
f 1x2 = mx + b Using m and b / Applications of Linear Functions
Visualizing the Graph 43
Mid-Chapter Mixed Review 48
1.4 Equations of Lines and Modeling 50
Slope–Intercept Equations of Lines / Point–Slope Equations of Lines /
Parallel Lines / Perpendicular Lines / Mathematical Models /
Curve Fitting
1.5 Linear Equations, Functions, Zeros, and Applications 62
Linear Equations / Special Cases / Applications Using Linear Models /
Zeros of Linear Functions
1.6 Solving Linear Inequalities 79
Linear Inequalities / Compound Inequalities / An Application
Study Guide 85
Review Exercises 91
Chapter Test 95

2 More on Functions 97
2.1 Increasing, Decreasing, and Piecewise Functions;
Applications 98
Increasing, Decreasing, and Constant Functions / Relative Maximum and
Minimum Values / Applications of Functions / Functions Defined Piecewise
2.2 The Algebra of Functions 111
The Algebra of Functions: Sums, Differences, Products, and Quotients /
Difference Quotients

v
vi Contents

2.3 The Composition of Functions 118


The Composition of Functions / Decomposing a Function as a Composition
Mid-Chapter Mixed Review 125
2.4 Symmetry 127
Symmetry / Even Functions and Odd Functions
2.5 Transformations 133
Transformations of Functions / Vertical Translations and Horizontal
Translations / Reflections / Vertical and Horizontal Stretchings and
Shrinkings
Visualizing the Graph 143
2.6 Variation and Applications 147
Direct Variation / Inverse Variation / Combined Variation
Study Guide 155
Review Exercises 162
Chapter Test 165

3 Quadratic Functions and Equations; Inequalities 167


3.1 The Complex Numbers 168
The Complex-Number System / Addition and Subtraction /
Multiplication / Conjugates and Division
3.2 Quadratic Equations, Functions, Zeros, and Models 174
Quadratic Equations and Quadratic Functions / Completing the Square /
Using the Quadratic Formula / The Discriminant / Equations Reducible
to Quadratic / Applications
3.3 Analyzing Graphs of Quadratic Functions 189
Graphing Quadratic Functions of the Type f 1x2 = a1x - h22 + k /
Graphing Quadratic Functions of the Type f 1x2 = ax2 + bx + c, a ≠ 0 /
Applications
Visualizing the Graph 198
Mid-Chapter Mixed Review 202
3.4 Solving Rational Equations and Radical Equations 203
Rational Equations / Radical Equations
3.5 Solving Equations and Inequalities with Absolute Value 211
Equations with Absolute Value / Inequalities with Absolute Value
Study Guide 214
Review Exercises 220
Chapter Test 223
Contents vii

4 Polynomial Functions and Rational Functions 225


4.1 Polynomial Functions and Models 226
The Leading-Term Test / Finding Zeros of Polynomial Functions /
Polynomial Models
4.2 Graphing Polynomial Functions 238
Graphing Polynomial Functions / The Intermediate Value Theorem /
Visualizing the Graph 246
4.3 Polynomial Division; The Remainder Theorem and
the Factor Theorem 248
Division and Factors / The Remainder Theorem and Synthetic Division /
Finding Factors of Polynomials
Mid-Chapter Mixed Review 256
4.4 Theorems about Zeros of Polynomial Functions 257
The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra / Finding Polynomials with
Given Zeros / Zeros of Polynomial Functions with Real Coefficients /
Rational Coefficients / Integer Coefficients and the Rational Zeros Theorem /
Descartes’ Rule of Signs
4.5 Rational Functions 266
The Domain of a Rational Function / Asymptotes / Applications
Visualizing the Graph 280
4.6 Polynomial Inequalities and Rational Inequalities 284
Polynomial Inequalities / Rational Inequalities
Study Guide 295
Review Exercises 305
Chapter Test 309

5 Exponential Functions and Logarithmic Functions 311


5.1 Inverse Functions 312
Inverses / Inverses and One-to-One Functions / Finding Formulas for
Inverses / Inverse Functions and Composition / Restricting a Domain
5.2 Exponential Functions and Graphs 323
Graphing Exponential Functions / Applications / The Number e /
Graphs of Exponential Functions, Base e
5.3 Logarithmic Functions and Graphs 333
Logarithmic Functions / Finding Certain Logarithms /
Converting Between Exponential Equations and Logarithmic Equations /
Finding Logarithms on a Calculator / Natural Logarithms /
Changing Logarithmic Bases / Graphs of Logarithmic Functions /
Applications
Visualizing the Graph 344
Mid-Chapter Mixed Review 347
viii Contents

5.4 Properties of Logarithmic Functions 349


Logarithms of Products / Logarithms of Powers / Logarithms of
Quotients / Applying the Properties / Simplifying Expressions of
the Type loga ax and aloga x
5.5 Solving Exponential Equations and Logarithmic Equations 356
Solving Exponential Equations / Solving Logarithmic Equations
5.6 Applications and Models: Growth and Decay;
Compound Interest 367
Population Growth / Interest Compounded Continuously /
Models of Limited Growth / Exponential Decay
Study Guide 381
Review Exercises 388
Chapter Test 391

6 Systems of Equations and Matrices 393


6.1 Systems of Equations in Two Variables 394
Solving Systems of Equations Graphically / The Substitution Method /
The Elimination Method / Applications
Visualizing the Graph 404
6.2 Systems of Equations in Three Variables 409
Solving Systems of Equations in Three Variables / Applications /
Mathematical Models and Applications
6.3 Matrices and Systems of Equations 418
Matrices and Row-Equivalent Operations / Gaussian Elimination
with Matrices / Gauss–Jordan Elimination
6.4 Matrix Operations 425
Matrix Addition and Subtraction / Scalar Multiplication /
Products of Matrices / Matrix Equations
Mid-Chapter Mixed Review 435
6.5 Inverses of Matrices 436
The Identity Matrix / The Inverse of a Matrix /
Solving Systems of Equations
6.6 Determinants and Cramer’s Rule 442
Determinants of Square Matrices / Evaluating Determinants Using Cofactors /
Cramer’s Rule
6.7 Systems of Inequalities and Linear Programming 449
Graphs of Linear Inequalities / Systems of Linear Inequalities /
Applications: Linear Programming
6.8 Partial Fractions 461
Partial Fraction Decompositions
Study Guide 466
Review Exercises 472
Chapter Test 475
Contents ix

7 Conic Sections 477


7.1 The Parabola 478
Parabolas / Finding Standard Form by Completing the Square /
Applications
7.2 The Circle and the Ellipse 486
Circles / Ellipses / Applications
Mid-Chapter Mixed Review 495
7.3 The Hyperbola 497
Standard Equations of Hyperbolas / Applications
7.4 Nonlinear Systems of Equations and Inequalities 505
Nonlinear Systems of Equations / Modeling and Problem Solving /
Nonlinear Systems of Inequalities
Visualizing the Graph 513
Study Guide 517
Review Exercises 521
Chapter Test 524

8 Sequences, Series, and Combinatorics 525


8.1 Sequences and Series 526
Sequences / Finding the General Term / Sums and Series /
Sigma Notation / Recursive Definitions
8.2 Arithmetic Sequences and Series 533
Arithmetic Sequences / Sum of the First n Terms of an Arithmetic Sequence /
Applications
8.3 Geometric Sequences and Series 541
Geometric Sequences / Sum of the First n Terms of a Geometric Sequence /
Infinite Geometric Series / Applications
Visualizing the Graph 547
8.4 Mathematical Induction 550
Proving Infinite Sequences of Statements
Mid-Chapter Mixed Review 554
8.5 Combinatorics: Permutations 556
Permutations / Factorial Notation / Permutations of n Objects Taken
k at a Time / Permutations of Sets with Nondistinguishable Objects
8.6 Combinatorics: Combinations 564
Combinations
8.7 The Binomial Theorem 570
Binomial Expansion Using Pascal’s Triangle / Binomial Expansion Using
Factorial Notation / Finding a Specific Term / Total Number of Subsets
x Contents

8.8 Probability 577


Experimental Probability and Theoretical Probability / Computing
Experimental Probabilities / Theoretical Probability
Study Guide 586
Review Exercises 590
Chapter Test 593

Just-In-Time 595

Answers A-1
Photo Credits A-50
Index of Applications I-1
Index I-5
Preface

This College Algebra textbook is known for enabling students to “see the math” through its
• focus on visualization,
• early introduction of functions,
• complete, optional technology coverage, and
• connections between math concepts and the real world.
! With the new edition, we continue to innovate by positioning the review material
New as a more effective tool for teachers and students. Chapter R from the previous edition
has been condensed into 25 Just-In-Time review topics that are placed at the back of the
book. This new review feature is designed to give each student the opportunity to be
successful in this course by providing a quick review of topics from intermediate algebra
that will be built upon in new college algebra topics. The review can be used in an indi-
vidualized instruction format since some students will require more review than others.
Treating the review in this manner will allow more time to cover the college algebra
topics in the syllabus.
On the other hand, some instructors might choose to review some or all of the topics
with the entire class at the beginning of the course or in a just-in-time format as each is
needed. We think instructors will appreciate the flexibility that the Just-In Time feature
offers them.
Additional resources in the MyMathLab courses reflect the themes of just-in-time
review and concept retention. For example, new Cumulative Review assignments allow
students to synthesize and retain concepts learned throughout the course.
Our overarching goal is to provide students with a learning experience that will not
only lead to success in this course, but also prepare them to be successful in the math-
ematics courses they take in the future.

Content Changes to the Fifth Edition


Just • Just-In-Time Review Review of prerequisite algebra topics is now presented when
in
time
students need it most.
• A set of 25 numbered short review topics creates an efficient review of interme-
10
diate algebra topics.
• This feature is placed at the back of the text. Just-In-Time icons are positioned
throughout the text next to the example where review of an intermediate algebra
topic would be helpful.
• Even more just-in-time review resources are available in the MyMathLab
course for College Algebra with Integrated Review and in the Getting Ready
MyMathLab exercises.
• Informed Exercises We have analyzed the MyMathLab usage data, which has
helped us revise our exercises for this new edition. The goal is to ultimately improve
the quality and quantity of exercises that matter the most to instructors and stu-
dents.
• Symmetry and Transformations These topics are now presented in two sections
rather than one.

xi
xii Preface

Emphasis on Functions
Functions are the core of this course and are presented as a thread that runs through-
out the course rather than as an isolated topic. We introduce functions in Chapter 1,
whereas many traditional college algebra textbooks cover equation-solving in Chapter
1. Our approach of introducing students to a relatively new concept at the beginning of
the course, rather than requiring them to begin with a review of material that was pre-
viously covered in intermediate algebra, immediately engages them and serves to help
them avoid the temptation to not study early in the course because “I already know this.”
The concept of a function can be challenging for students. By repeatedly expos-
ing them to the language, notation, and use of functions, demonstrating visually how
functions relate to equations and graphs, and also showing how functions can be used
to model real data, we hope to ensure that students not only become comfortable with
functions but also come to understand and appreciate them. You will see this emphasis
on functions woven throughout the other themes that follow.

Classify the Function Exercises With a focus on conceptual understanding,


students are asked periodically to identify a number of functions by their type (linear,
quadratic, rational, and so on). As students progress through the text, the variety of func-
tions with which they are familiar increases and these exercises become more challeng-
ing. The “classifying the function” exercises appear with the review exercises in the Skill
Maintenance portion of an exercise set. (See pp. 266 and 356.)

Visual Emphasis
Our early introduction of functions allows graphs to be used to provide a visual aspect to
solving equations and inequalities. For example, we are able to show students both alge-
braically and visually that the solutions of a quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 are
the zeros of the quadratic function f (x) = ax2 + bx + c, as well as the first coordinates
of the x-intercepts of the graph of that function. This makes it possible for students, par-
ticularly visual learners, to gain a quick understanding of these concepts. (See pp. 182,
185, 227, 285, and 344.)

Visualizing the Graph Appearing at least once in every chapter, this feature pro-
vides students with an opportunity to match an equation with its graph by focusing on
the characteristics of the equation and the corresponding attributes of the graph. (See pp.
143, 198, and 280.) In addition to this full-page feature, many of the exercise sets include
exercises in which the student is asked to match an equation with its graph or to find an
equation of a function from its graph. (See pp. 145, 146, 236, and 330.) In MyMathLab,
animated Visualizing the Graph features for each chapter allow students to interact with
graphs on an entirely new level.

Side-by-Side Examples Many examples are presented in a side-by-side, two-


column format in which the algebraic solution of an equation appears in the left column
and a graphical solution appears in the right column. (See pp. 176, 290–291, 360, and 361.)
This enables students to visualize and comprehend the connections among the solutions
of an equation, the zeros of a function, and the x-intercepts of the graph of a function.

Technology Connections This feature appears throughout the text to dem-


onstrate how a graphing calculator can be used to solve problems. The technology is
set apart from the traditional exposition so that it does not intrude if no technology is
desired. Although students might not be using graphing calculators, the graphing cal-
culator windows that appear in the Technology Connection features enhance the visual
element of the text, providing graphical interpretations of solutions of equations, zeros of
functions, and x-intercepts of graphs of functions. (See pp. 21, 181, and 360.) A graphing
calculator manual providing keystroke-level instruction, written by author Judy Penna,
is available online.
Preface xiii

Making Connections
Zeros, Solutions, and x-Intercepts We find that when students understand the
connections among the real zeros of a function, the solutions of its associated equation, and
the first coordinates of the x-intercepts of its graph, a door opens to a new level of mathemat-
ical comprehension that increases the probability of success in this course. We emphasize
zeros, solutions, and x-intercepts throughout the text by using consistent, precise terminol-
ogy and including exceptional graphics. Seeing this theme repeated in different contexts
leads to a better understanding and retention of these concepts. (See pp. 176 and 185.)

Connecting the Concepts This feature highlights the importance of connecting


concepts. When students are presented with concepts in visual form—using graphs, an
outline, or a chart—rather than merely in paragraphs of text, comprehension is stream-
lined and retention is enhanced. The visual aspect of this feature invites students to stop
and check their understanding of how concepts work together in one section or in several
sections. This check in turn enhances student performance on homework assignments
and exams. (See pp. 73, 185, and 253.)

Annotated Examples We have included over 730 annotated examples designed to


fully prepare the student to work the exercises. Learning is carefully guided with the
use of numerous color-coded art pieces and step-by-step annotations. Substitutions and
annotations are highlighted in red for emphasis. (See pp. 179 and 352.)

Now Try Exercises Now Try Exercises are found after nearly every example. This
feature encourages active learning by asking students to do an exercise in the exercise set
that is similar to the example the student has just read. (See pp. 182, 272, and 328.)

Synthesis Exercises These exercises appear at the end of each exercise set and
encourage critical thinking by requiring students to synthesize concepts from several
sections or to take a concept a step further than in the general exercises. For the Fifth
Edition, these exercises are assignable in MyMathLab. (See pp. 32, 255, 333, and 380.)

Real-Data Applications We encourage students to see and interpret the mathe-


matics that appears every day in the world around them. Throughout the writing pro-
cess, we conducted an energetic search for real-data applications, and the result is a va-
riety of examples and exercises that connect the mathematical content with everyday
life. Most of these applications feature source lines and many include charts and graphs.
Many are drawn from the fields of health, business and economics, life and physical sci-
ences, social science, and areas of general interest such as sports and travel. (See pp. 39
(“Food Stamp Program”), 66 (“Words in Languages”), 133 (“Peace Corps Volunteers”),
187 (“Funding for Afghan Security”), 236 (“Vinyl Album Sales”), 331 (“Alternative-Fuel
Vehicles”), 406 (“Cosmetic Surgery”), 415 (“Top Auction Art Sales”), 494 (“The Ellipse at
the White House”), and 546 (“The Economic Multiplier; Super Bowl XLVII”).)

Ongoing Review
The most significant change to the Fifth Edition is the new Just-in-Time Review feature,
designed to provide students with efficient and effective review of basic algebra skills.

Just New! Just-in-Time Review Chapter R has been condensed into 25 numbered short
in
time review topics to create an efficient review of intermediate algebra topics. This feature is
placed at the back of the book.
10
• Just-In-Time icons are placed throughout the text next to the example where review of
an intermediate algebra topic would be helpful. (See pp. 35, 99, 115, 171, 232, and 319.)
• The coverage of each topic contains worked-out examples and a short exercise set.
Answers to all exercises appear at the back of the book.
xiv Preface

• Worked-out solutions to all exercises are included in the Student Solutions Manual.
• Students can find additional review support in the MyMathLab course for College
Algebra with Integrated Review and in the Getting Ready MyMathLab exercises.

Mid-Chapter Mixed Review This review reinforces understanding of the math-


ematical concepts and skills covered in the first half of the chapter before students move
on to new material in the second half of the chapter. Each review begins with at least
three true/false exercises that require students to consider the concepts they have stud-
ied and also contains exercises that drill the skills from all prior sections of the chapter.
These exercises are assignable in MyMathLab. (See pp. 125–126 and 256–257.)
Collaborative Discussion and Writing Exercises appear in the Mid-Chapter Mixed
Review as well. These exercises can be discussed in small groups or by the class as a
whole to encourage students to talk about the key mathematical concepts in the chapter.
They can also be assigned to individual students to give them an opportunity to write
about mathematics. (See pp. 202 and 257.)
A section reference is provided for each exercise in the Mid-Chapter Mixed
Review. This tells the student which section to refer to if help is needed to work the
exercise. Answers to all exercises in the Mid-Chapter Mixed Review are given at the
back of the book.

Study Guide This feature is found at the beginning of the Summary and Review
near the end of each chapter. Presented in a two-column format and organized by section,
this feature gives key concepts and terms in the left column and a worked-out example in
the right column. It provides students with a concise and effective review of the chapter
that is a solid basis for studying for a test. In MyMathLab, these Study Guides are accom-
panied by narrated examples to reinforce the key concepts and ideas. (See pp. 214–220
and 381–387.)

Exercise Sets There are over 5040 exercises in this text. The exercise sets are en-
hanced with real-data applications and source lines, detailed art pieces, tables, graphs,
and photographs. In addition to the exercises that provide students with concepts pre-
sented in the section, the exercise sets feature the following elements to provide ongoing
review of topics presented earlier:
• Skill Maintenance Exercises. These exercises provide an ongoing review of con-
cepts previously presented in the course, enhancing students’ retention of these
concepts. These exercises include Vocabulary Reinforcement, described below, and
Classifying the Function exercises, described earlier in the section “Emphasis on
Functions.” A section reference is provided for each exercise. This tells the student
which section to refer to if help is needed to work the exercise. Answers to all Skill
Maintenance exercises appear in the answer section at the back of the book. (See pp.
133, 210, 283, and 347.)
• Enhanced Vocabulary Reinforcement Exercises. This feature checks and reviews
students’ understanding of the vocabulary introduced throughout the text. It
appears once in every chapter, in the Skill Maintenance portion of an exercise set,
and is intended to provide a continuing review of the terms that students must know
in order to be able to communicate effectively in the language of mathematics. (See
pp. 84, 154, 214, and 283.) These are now assignable in MyMathLab and can serve
as reading quizzes.
• Enhanced Synthesis Exercises. These exercises are described under the Making
Connections heading and are also assignable in MyMathLab.

Review Exercises These exercises in the Summary and Review supplement the
Study Guide by providing a thorough and comprehensive review of the skills taught in
the chapter. A group of true/false exercises appears first, followed by a large number
of exercises that drill the skills and concepts taught in the chapter. In addition, three
Preface xv

multiple-choice exercises, one of which involves identifying the graph of a function, are
included in the Review Exercises for every chapter. Each review exercise is accompanied
by a section reference that, as in the Mid-Chapter Mixed Review, directs students to the
section in which the material being reviewed can be found. Collaborative Discussion
and Writing exercises are also included. These exercises are described under the Mid-
Chapter Mixed Review heading on p. xiv. (See pp. 220–223 and 388–390.)

Chapter Test The test at the end of each chapter allows students to test themselves
and target areas that need further study before taking the in-class test. Each Chapter
Test includes a multiple-choice exercise involving identifying the graph of a function.
Answers to all questions in the Chapter Tests appear in the answer section at the back of
the book, along with corresponding section references. (See pp. 223–224 and 391–392.)

DOMAIN Review Icons Placed next to the concept that a student is currently studying, a re-
ReVieW seCtiOn 1.2
view icon references a section of the text in which the student can find and review topics
on which the current concept is built. (See pp. 267 and 324.)

Acknowledgments
We wish to express our heartfelt thanks to a number of people who have contributed
in special ways to the development of this textbook. Our editor, Kathryn O’Connor,
encouraged and supported our vision. We are very appreciative of the marketing insight
provided by Peggy Lucas, our marketing manager, and of the support that we received
from the entire Pearson team, including Kathy Manley, project manager, Barbara
Atkinson, cover designer, Judith Garber, editorial assistant, and Justine Goulart, mar-
keting assistant. We also thank Erica Lange, media producer, for her creative work on
the media products that accompany this text. And we are immensely grateful to Martha
Morong for her editorial and production services, and to Geri Davis for her text design
and art editing, and for the endless hours of hard work they have done to make this a
book of which we are proud. We also thank Mike Rosenborg for his meticulous accuracy
checking and proofreading of the text.

The following reviewers made invaluable contributions to the development of the Fifth
Edition and we thank them for that:
Holly Ashton, Pikes Peak Community College
Stacie Bardran, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Kim Berges, Morrisville State College
Sherry S. Biggers, Clemson University Department of Mathematical Sciences
Nadine Bluett, Front Range Community College
Gary Brice, Lamar University
Christine Bush, Palm Beach Community College, Lake Worth
Shawn Clift, Ph.D., Eastern Kentucky University
Walter Czarnec, Framingham State College
Joseph De Guzman, Riverside College, Norco Campus
Douglas Dunbar, Okaloosa-Walton Community College
Wayne Ferguson, Northwest Mississippi Community College
Joseph Gaskin, State University of New York, Oswego
Sunshine Gibbons, Southeast Missouri State University
Dauhrice K. Gibson, (retired), Gulf Coast Community College
Jim Graziose, Palm Beach Community College
Joseph Lloyd Harris, Gulf Coast Community College
Dr. Mako E. Haruta, University of Hartford
Susan K. Hitchcock, Palm Beach Community College
Sharon S. Hudson, Gulf Coast Community College
Patricia Ann Hussey, Triton College
Jennifer Jameson, Coconino Community College, Flagstaff
xvi Preface

Cheryl Kane, University of Nebraska


Marjorie S. LaSalle, DeKalb College
Valerie LaVoice, Community College System of New Hampshire
Susan Leland, Montana Tech of the University of Montana
Jeremy Lyle, The University of Southern Mississippi
Bernard F. Mathon, Miami-Dade College
Debra McCandrew, Florence-Darlington Technical College
Barry J. Monk, Macon State College
Claude Moore, Cape Fear Community College
Darla Ottman, Elizabethtown Community College
Vicki Partin, Lexington Community College
Martha Pate, Lamar State College—Port Arthur
Leslie Richardson, College of the Mainland
Kathy V. Rodgers, University of Southern Indiana
Lucille Roth, Tech of the Low Country
Abdelrida Saleh, Miami-Dade College
Nicholas Sedlock, Framingham State University
Pavel Sikorskii, Michigan State University
Russell Simmons, Brookhaven College
Rajalakshmi Sriram, Okaloosa-Walton Community College
Corwin Stanford, The University of Southern Mississippi
J.A.B.
J.A.P.
M.L.B.
Get the most out of
MyMathLab ®

MyMathLab creates personalized experiences to help each student


achieve success and provides powerful tools so instructors can create
the perfect learning experiences for their courses.

Personalized Support
for Students
• MyMathLab comes with many
learning resources—eText,
animations, videos, and more—
all designed to support you as
you complete your assignments.

• Whether you’re doing homework


or working from the adaptive
study plan, you’ll receive immediate
feedback, so you’ll know exactly
where you need help.
Exercise with feedback and learning aids

Data-Driven Reporting
for Instructors
• MyMathLab’s comprehensive online
gradebook automatically tracks
students’ results on tests, quizzes,
homework, and in the study plan.

• The Reporting Dashboard makes


it easier than ever to identify
topics where students are
struggling or specific students who
may need extra help. Dashboard

www.mymathlab.com
Resources for Success
Online Course (access code required)
MyMathLab delivers proven results in helping individual students succeed. It provides engaging
experiences that personalize, stimulate, and measure learning for each student. And, it comes from an
experienced partner with educational expertise and an eye on the future. MyMathLab helps prepare
students and gets them thinking more conceptually and visually through the following features:

Adaptive Study Plan


The Study Plan makes studying more efficient and
effective for every student. Performance and activity
are assessed continually in real time. The data and
analytics are used to provide personalized content–
reinforcing concepts that target each student’s
strengths and weaknesses.

Getting Ready
Students refresh prerequisite topics through
assignable skill review quizzes and personalized
homework integrated within MyMathLab.

Video Assessment
Video assessment is tied to key author example videos to check
students’ conceptual understanding of important math concepts.

Enhanced Graphing Functionality


New functionality within the graphing
utility allows graphing of 3-point quadratic
functions, 4-point cubic graphs, and
transformations in exercises.

Skills for Success Modules are integrated within the MyMathLab course to help
students succeed in collegiate courses and prepare for future professions.

Skill Maintenance These exercises support ongoing review at the


course level and help students maintain essential skills.
Instructor Resources Student Resources
Additional resources can be downloaded from Additional resources to help student success.
www.pearsonhighered.com or hardcopy resources
can be ordered from your sales representative. Author Example Videos
Ideal for distance learning or supplemental instruction,
Ready to Go MyMathLab® Course these videos feature authors Judy Beecher and Judy Penna
Now it is even easier to get started with MyMathLab. working through and explaining examples in the text.
The Ready to Go MyMathLab course option includes Assignable in MyMathLab with new Video Assessment
author-chosen preassigned homework, integrated review, questions.
and more.
New! Video Notebook
TestGen® The new Video Notebook contains fill-in-the-blank work-
TestGen® (www.pearsoned.com/testgen) enables sheets to accompany the video examples presented by the
instructors to build, edit, print, and administer tests using authors. Key definitions, theorems, and procedures are also
a computerized bank of questions developed to cover all included. After filling in the worksheet while watching the
the objectives of the text. video, the student has an excellent study guide for review
and test preparation. This is available in print or as a PDF or
PowerPoint® Lecture Slides Word document in MyMathLab.
Feature presentations written and designed specifically for this
text. These lecture slides provide an outline for presenting Student’s Solutions Manual
definitions, figures, and key examples from the text. Written by author Judy Penna, this resource contains
completely worked-out solutions with step-by-step
Annotated Instructor’s Edition annotations for all the odd-numbered exercises in the
Includes all answers to the exercise sets, usually on the exercise sets, Mid-Chapter Mixed Reviews, and Chapter
page on which the exercises appear. Sample homework Reviews, as well as solutions for all the Chapter Test
assignments are indicated by a blue underline within exercises and the Just-In-Tlme exercises.
each end-of-section exercise set and may be assigned in
MyMathLab. Graphing Calculator Manual
Contains keystroke level instruction for the Texas
Instructor’s Solutions Manual Instruments TI-84 Plus using MathPrint OS. Mirrors the topic
(Download Only) order in the main text to provide a just-in-time mode of
Written by Judy Penna, this resource contains worked-out instruction.
solutions to all exercises in the exercise sets, Mid-Chapter
Mixed Reviews, Chapter Reviews, and Chapter Tests, as
well as solutions for all the Just-In-Time exercises.
Online Test Bank (Download Only)
Contains four free-response text forms for each chapter
following the same format and having the same level of
difficulty as the test in the main text and two multiple-
choice test forms for each chapter. It also provides six
forms of the final examination, four with free-response
questions and two with multiple-choice questions.
To the Student

GuIDE TO SuCCESS
Success can be planned. Combine goals and good study habits to create a plan for success that
works for you. The following list contains study tips that your authors consider most helpful.

Skills for Success

Set goals and expect success. Approach this class experience with a positive attitude.
Communicate with your instructor when you need extra help.
Take your text with you to class and lab. Each section in the text is designed with
headings and boxed information that provide an outline for easy reference.
Ask questions in class, lab, and tutoring sessions. Instructors encourage them, and
other students probably have the same questions.
Begin each homework assignment as soon as possible. If you have difficulty, you will
then have the time to access supplementary resources.
Carefully read the instructions before working homework exercises and include all
steps.
Form a study group with fellow students. Verbalizing questions about topics that you do
not understand can clarify the material for you.
After each quiz or test, write out corrected step-by step solutions to all missed questions.
They will provide a valuable study guide for the midterm exam and the final exam.
MyMathLab has numerous tools to help you succeed. Use MyMathLab to create a
personalized study plan and practice skills with sample quizzes and tests.
Knowing math vocabulary is an important step toward success. Review vocabulary
with Vocabulary Reinforcement exercises in the text and in MyMathLab.
If you miss a lecture, watch the video in the Multimedia Library of MyMathLab that
explains the concepts you missed.

In writing this textbook, we challenged ourselves to do everything possible to help you learn the
concepts and skills contained between its covers so that you will be successful in this course and in
the mathematics courses you take in the future. We realize that your time is both valuable and lim-
ited, so we communicate in a highly visual way that allows you to learn quickly and efficiently. We
are confident that, if you invest an adequate amount of time in the learning process, this text will be
of great value to you. We wish you a positive learning experience.

Judy Beecher
Judy Penna
Marv Bittinger

xx
JUST-IN-TIME Review
Throughout this text, there are Just-In-Time icons, numbered 1–25, that refer to the following 25 intermediate-algebra
topics. Each mini-review lesson is accompanied by several exercises. All answers are provided in the answer section at
the back of the text.
1. Real Numbers 14. Equation-Solving Principles
2. Properties of Real Numbers 15. Inequality-Solving Principles
3. Absolute Value 16. The Principle of Zero Products
4. Operations with Real Numbers 17. The Principle of Square Roots
5. Order on the Number Line 18. Simplify Rational Expressions
6. Interval Notation 19. Multiply and Divide Rational Expressions
7. Integers as Exponents 20. Add and Subtract Rational Expressions
8. Scientific Notation 21. Simplify Complex Rational Expressions
9. Order of Operations 22. Simplify Radical Expressions
10. Introduction to Polynomials 23. Rationalize Denominators
11. Add and Subtract Polynomials 24. Rational Exponents
12. Multiply Polynomials 25. The Pythagorean Theorem
13. Factor Polynomials

JUST
IN
TIME REAL NUMBERS
1
Some frequently used sets of real numbers and the relationships among them are shown in the
following diagram.

Real Numbers

Irrational Numbers: Rational Numbers:


Examples Examples
7 2
√42 = 6.480740698…, p , 0, 29, 2,
8 81.4, 92,
3
-7.13133133313333… 11
0.125, 6 , 0.27

Rational Numbers That Integers:


Are Not Integers: … -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3,…
Examples
2 4
5 8.3, 0.56
3 22,
2,

Negative Integers: Whole Numbers:


-1, -2, -3,… 0, 1, 2, 3,…

Natural Numbers:
Zero: 0 (Positive Integers)
1, 2, 3,…

(continued)

JIT-1
JUST-IN-TIME Review

Numbers that can be expressed in the form p>q, where p and q are In Exercises 1–6, consider the numbers
integers and q ≠ 0, are rational numbers. Decimal notation for 2 6
3 , 6, 23, -2.45, 226, 18.4,
rational numbers either terminates (ends) or repeats. Each of the fol-
27, 5 16, 7.151551555 c,
3
-11, 2
lowing is a rational number:
3, - 87, 0, 216.
5
- 235, 2
13
0, -17, , 225 = 5; 1. Which are rational numbers?
4
1 2. Which are rational numbers but
= 0.25 (terminating decimal); not integers?
4
5 3. Which are irrational numbers?
- = -0.454545 c = -0.45 (repeating decimal);
11 4. Which are integers?
5
= 0.8333 c = 0.83 (repeating decimal). 5. Which are whole numbers?
6
6. Which are real numbers?
The real numbers that are not rational are irrational numbers.
Decimal notation for irrational numbers neither terminates nor
repeats. Each of the following is an irrational number. Note in each
that there is no repeating block of digits.
22 = 1.414213562 c,
-6.12122122212222 c,
p = 3.1415926535 c
1 227 and 3.14 are rational approximations of the irrational
number p. 2
The set of all rational numbers combined with the set of all
irrational numbers gives us the set of real numbers.

EXAMPLE 1 consider the numbers


4 12
-3, 2 11, 5, 134.3, 0, 225, 13.262662666…, 437.
a) Which are integers?
The integers are -3, 0, 225 1225 = 52, and 437.
b) Which are integers but not whole numbers?
The whole numbers are the positive integers and 0. Thus, there is
one integer that is not a whole number, -3.
c) Which are rational numbers?
p
The numbers that can be expressed as q, where p and q are
integers and q ≠ 0, are - 3, 12 5 , 134.3, 0, 225, and 437. (Note
that, although 13.262662666… has a pattern of digits, it does not
have a repeating block of digits.)
d) Which are irrational numbers?
The irrational numbers are the numbers that are not rational,
4
2 11 and 13.262662666….
e) Which are real numbers?
All of the given numbers are real numbers.

Do Exercises 1–6.

JIT-2
JUST
IN
TIME PROPERTIES OF REAL NUMBERS
2

Properties of Real Numbers Name the property illustrated by the


sentence.
For any real numbers a, b, and c:
1. -24 + 24 = 0
a + b = b + a and Commutative properties of
ab = ba addition and multiplication 2. 71xy2 = 17x2y

a + 1b + c2 = 1a + b2 + c Associative properties of 3. 91r - s2 = 9r - 9s


and a1bc2 = 1ab2c addition and multiplication 4. 11 + z = z + 11
a + 0 = 0 + a = a Additive identity property 5. -20 # 1 = -20
-a + a = a + 1-a2 = 0 Additive inverse property 6. 51x + y2 = 1x + y25
a#1 = 1#a = a Multiplicative identity property 7. q + 0 = q

a# = # a = 1 1a ≠ 02
1 1
8. 75 #
1
Multiplicative inverse property = 1
a a 75
a 1b + c2 = ab + ac Distributive properties 9. 1x + y2 + w = x + 1y + w2
and a1b - c2 = ab - ac
10. 81a + b2 = 8a + 8b
EXAMPLES Name the property illustrated.
1. 8#5 = 5#8 Commutative property
of multiplication
2. 14 + 1-142 = 0 Additive inverse property
3. 21a - b2 = 2a - 2b Distributive property
4. 5 + 1m + n2 = 15 + m2 + n Associative property of
addition
5. 6 # 1 = 1 # 6 = 6 Multiplicative identity
property
Do Exercises 1–10.

JIT-3
JUST-IN-TIME Review

JUST
IN
TIME ABSOLUTE VALUE
3

The absolute value of a number a, denoted  a  , is its distance from 0 Simplify.


on the number line. For example,  -5  = 5, because the distance of 1.  -98  2.  0 
-5 from 0 is 5. For any real number a,
2
 a  = a if a Ú 0 3.  4.7  4. ` - `
3
and
5. ` 14 ` 6. ` - 6.05 `
 a  = -a if a 6 0.
7
7. ` ` 8. ` - 22 `
That is, when a is nonnegative, the absolute value of a is a. When a is 4
negative, the absolute value of a is the opposite, or additive inverse, of
Find the distance between the given
a. Thus, a is never negative. For any real number a,  a  Ú 0.
pair of points on the number line.
EXAMPLES Simplify.
9. -7, 13
1.  -10  = 10
10. 2, 14.6
2.  0  = 0
11. -39, -28
4 4 3 15
3. ` ` = 12. - ,
9 9 4 8
Absolute value can be used to find the distance between two
points on the number line. For any real numbers a and b, the distance
between a and b is  a - b  or, equivalently,  b - a  .

EXAMPLE 4 Find the distance between -2 and 3.


 -2 - 3  =  -5  = 5,
or equivalently,
 3 - 1-22  =  3 + 2  =  5  = 5
Do Exercises 1–12.

JIT-4
JUST
IN
TIME OPERATIONS WITH REAL NUMBERS
4

Rules for Operations with Real Numbers Compute and simplify.


Addition 1. 8 - 1-112
• Positive Numbers: Add the same way that we add arithmetic num- 3 # 1
2. - a- b
bers. The answer is positive. 10 3
• Negative Numbers: Add absolute values. The answer is negative. 3. 15 , 1-32
• A Positive Number and a Negative Number: If the numbers have the
4. -4 - 1-12
same absolute value, the answer is 0. If the numbers have different
absolute values, subtract the smaller absolute value from the larger. 5. 7 # 1-502
If the positive number has the greater absolute value, the answer is
6. -0.5 - 5
positive. If the negative number has the greater absolute value, the
answer is negative. 7. -3 + 27
• One Number is Zero: The sum is the other number. 8. -400 , 1-402

EXAMPLES Add. 9. 4.2 # 1-32


10. -13 - 1-332
1. 9 + 1-292 = -20 2. -9 + 1-292 = -38
11. -60 + 45
3. -9 + 29 = 20 4. 9 + 1-92 = 0
1 2
5. -29 + 0 = -29 12. -
2 3
Subtraction 13. -24 , 3
• To subtract, add the opposite, or additive inverse, of the number be-
14. -6 + 1-162
ing subtracted.
1 5
EXAMPLES Subtract. 15. - , a- b
2 8
6. 15 - 6 = 15 + 1 -62 = 9 16. -30 + 30
7. 15 - 1-62 = 15 + 6 = 21 17. -15.9 + 0
8. -15 - 6 = -15 + 1-62 = -21
9. -15 - 1-62 = -15 + 6 = -9

Multiplication and Division, where the divisor is nonzero


• Multiply or divide the absolute values. If the signs are the same, the
answer is positive. If the signs are different, the answer is negative.

EXAMPLES Multiply or divide.


10. -5 # 20 = -100 11. 32 , 1-42 = -8
12. -32 , 4 = -8 13. -32 , 1-42 = 8
14. -5 # 1-202 = 100 15. 5 # 20 = 100
Do Exercises 1–17.

JIT-5
JUST-IN-TIME Review

JUST
IN
TIME ORDER ON THE NUMBER LINE
5

The real numbers are modeled using a number line, as shown below. Classify the inequality as true or false.
Each point on the line represents a real number, and every real num- 1. 9 6 -9
ber is represented by a point on the line.
2. -10 … -1
22.9 2E 3 p *
3. - 226 6 -5
25 24 23 22 21 0 1 2 3 4 5
4. 26 Ú 26
The order of the real numbers can be determined from the num- 5. -30 7 -25
ber line. If a number a is to the left of a number b, then a is less than b 4 5
1a 6 b2. Similarly, a is greater than b 1a 7 b2 if a is to the right of b 6. - 7 -
5 4
on the number line. For example, we see from the number line above
that -2.9 6 - 35, because -2.9 is to the left of - 35 . Also, 17
4 7 23,
because 174 is to the right of 23.
The statement a … b, read “a is less than or equal to b,” is true
if either a 6 b is true or a = b is true. A similar statement holds for
a Ú b.

EXAMPLES Classify the inequality as true or false.


1. -3 6 -1
-3 is to the left of -1 on the number line, so -3 6 -1. The
given inequality is true.
2. -3 … -1
This inequality is true because -3 6 -1 is true.

3. 6.2 Ú 6.2
This inequality is true becuase 6.2 = 6.2 is true.

Do Exercises 1–6.

JIT-6
JUST
IN
TIME INTERVAL NOTATION
6

Sets of real numbers can be expressed using interval notation. For Write interval notation.
example, for real numbers a and b such that a 6 b, the open interval 1. 5x  -5 … x … 56
1a, b2 is the set of real numbers between, but not including, a and b.
The parentheses indicate that the endpoints, a and b, are not included 2. 5x  -3 6 x … -16
in the interval. 3. 5x  x … -26
For real numbers a and b such that a … b, the closed interval
[a, b] is the set of real numbers between a and b and also a and b. The 4. 5x  x 7 3.86
brackets indicate that a and b are included in the interval. 5. 5x  7 7 x6
Some intervals extend without bound in one or both directions.
The interval 3a, q 2, for example, begins at a and extends to the right 6. 5x  -2 6 x 6 26
without bound. The bracket indicates that a is included in the interval. Write interval notation for the graph.
7.
SET INTERVAL 2524232221 0 1 2 3 4 5
NOTATION NOTATION GRAPH
8. 1.7
5x  a 6 x 6 b6 1a, b2 ( ) 2524232221 0 1 2 3 4 5
a b
9.
5x  a … x … b6 3a, b4 [ ] 2524232221 0 1 2 3 4 5
a b
10. œ5
5x  a … x 6 b6 3a, b2 [ )
a b 2524232221 0 1 2 3 4 5

5x  a 6 x … b6 1a, b4 ( ]
a b

5x  x 7 a6 1a, q 2 (
a

5x  x Ú a6 3a, q 2 [
a

5x  x 6 b6 1- q , b2 )
b

5x  x … b6 1- q , b4 ]
b
5x  x is a real number6 1- q , q 2
Do Exercises 1–10.

JIT-7
JUST-IN-TIME Review

JUST
IN
TIME INTEGERS AS EXPONENTS
7

When a positive integer is used as an exponent, it indicates the number Write with positive exponents.
of times that a factor appears in a product. For example, 73 means 1. 3-6
7 # 7 # 7, where 7 is the base and 3 is the exponent.
For any nonzero numbers a and b and any integers m and n, 1
2.
10.22 -5
1 a-m bn
a0 = 1, a-m = m , and -n = m . w -4
a b a 3.
z-9
Properties of Exponents
For any real numbers a and b and any integers m and n, assuming 0 is Simplify.
not raised to a nonpositive power: z 2
4. a b
am # an = am + n
y
Product rule
m 5. 1000
a
= am - n 1a ≠ 02 Quotient rule
an a5
6.
1am2n = amn Power rule a-3
7. 12xy321-3x -5y2
1ab2m = ambm Raising a product to a power
8. x -4 # x -7
a m am
a b = m 1b ≠ 02 Raising a quotient to a power
b b 9. 1mn2-6
10. 1t -524
EXAMPLES Simplify each of the following.

1. 4 2 # 4-5 = 4 2 + 1-52 = 4-3 , or


1
43
7 0
2. a b = 1
9
1
3. 1822-5 = 821-52 = 8-10, or
810
x11
4. = x11 - 4 = x7
x4
a 3 a3
5. a b = 3
b b
1
6. 1cd2-2 = c-2d -2, or 2 2
cd
Do Exercises 1–10.

JIT-8
JUST
IN
TIME SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
8

We can use scientific notation to name both very large and very Convert to scientific notation.
small positive numbers and to perform computations. Scientific 1. 18,500,000
notation for a number is an expression of the type N * 10m, where
1 … N 6 10, N is in decimal notation, and m is an integer. Note that 2. 0.000786
in scientific notation positive exponents are used for numbers greater 3. 0.0000000023
than or equal to 10 and negative exponents for numbers between
0 and 1. 4. 8,927,000,000
Convert to decimal notation.
EXAMPLES Convert to scientific notation.
5. 4.3 * 10-8
1. 9,460,000,000,000 = 9.46 * 1012 Number greater than 10;
6. 5.17 * 106
postive exponent.
7. 6.203 * 1011
2. 0.0648 = 6.48 * 10-2 Number between 0 and 1;
negative exponent. 8. 2.94 * 10-5
Convert to decimal notation.
3. 5.4 * 107 = 54,000,000 4. 3.819 * 10-3 = 0.003819

Do Exercises 1–8.

JUST
IN
TIME ORDER OF OPERATIONS
9

Mathematicians have agreed on the following procedure, or rules for Calculate.


order of operations. 1. 3 + 18 , 6 - 3
Rules for Order of Operations 2. 5 # 3 + 8 # 32 + 4 16 - 22
1. Do all calculations within grouping symbols before operations outside. 3. 513 - 8 # 32 + 4 # 6 - 22
When nested grouping symbols are present, work from the inside out.
2. Evaluate all exponential expressions. 4. 16 , 4 # 4 , 2 # 256
3. Do all multiplications and divisions in order from left to right. 5. 26 # 2-3 , 210 , 2-8
4. Do all additions and subtractions in order from left to right.
418 - 622 - 4 # 3 + 2 # 8
6.
EXAMPLES 31 + 190
1. 815 - 323 - 20 2. 10 , 18 - 62 + 9 # 4
= 8 # 23 - 20 25 + 32
= 8 # 8 - 20 10 , 2 + 9 # 4
=
= 64 - 20 32 + 9
= 44 5 + 36 41
= = = 1
41 41
Do Exercises 1–6.

JIT-9
JUST-IN-TIME Review

JUST
IN
TIME INTRODUCTION TO POLYNOMIALS
10

Polynomials are a type of algebraic expression that you will often en- Determine the degree of the
counter in your study of algebra. Some examples of polynomials are polynomial.
3x - 4y, 5y3 - 73 y2 + 3y - 2, -2.3a4, 1. 5 - x6
16, and z6 - 25. 2. x2y5 - x7y + 4
Algebraic expressions like 8x - 13, x2 + 3x - 4, and 3. 2a4 - 3 + a2
5
3a - 11 + a are polynomials in one variable. Algebraic expressions
4. -41
like 3ab3 - 8 and 5x4y2 - 3x3y8 + 7xy2 + 6 are polynomials in
several variables. The degree of a term is the sum of the exponents of 5. 4x - x3 + 0.1x8 - 2x5
the variables in that term. The degree of a polynomial is the degree of
Classify the polynomial as a monomial,
the term of highest degree.
a binomial, or a trinomial.
A polynomial with just one term, like -9y6, is a monomial. If a
polynomial has two terms, like x2 + 4, it is a binomial. A polynomial 6. x - 3
with three terms, like 4x2 - 4xy + 1, is a trinomial. 7. 14y5

EXAMPLES Determine the degree of the polynomial. 1 2


8. 2y - y + 8
4
1. 2x3 - 1 Degree: 3
2. -5 1-5 = -5x02 Degree: 0
3. w - 3.5 + 4w = 4w5 + w2 - 3.5
2 5
Degree: 5
4. 7xy3 - 16x2y4 Degree: 2 + 4, or 6
Do Exercises 1–8.

JUST
IN
TIME ADD AND SUBTRACT POLYNOMIALS
11

If two terms of an expression have the same variables raised to the Add or subtract.
same powers, they are called like terms, or similar terms. We can 1. 18y - 12 - 13 - y2
combine, or collect, like terms using the distributive property. For ex-
2. 13x2 - 2x - x3 + 22
ample, 3y2 and 5y2 are like terms and 3y2 + 5y2 = 13 + 52y2 = 8y2.
- 15x2 - 8x - x3 + 42
We add or subtract polynomials by combining like terms.
3. 12x + 3y + z - 72
EXAMPLES Add or subtract each of the following. + 14x - 2y - z + 82
+ 1-3x + y - 2z - 42
1. 1-5x + 3x - x2 + 112x3 - 7x2 + 32
3 2
4. 13ab2 + 4a2b - 2ab + 62
= 1-5x3 + 12x32 + 13x2 - 7x22 - x + 3 + 1-ab2 - 5a2b + 8ab + 42
= 1-5 + 122x3 + 13 - 72x2 - x + 3 = 7x3 - 4x2 - x + 3 5. 15x2 + 4xy - 3y2 + 22
2. 16x2y3 - 9xy2 - 15x2y3 - 4xy2 - 19x2 - 4xy + 2y2 - 12
= 6x2y3 - 9xy - 5x2y3 + 4xy = x2y3 - 5xy
Do Exercises 1–5.

JIT-10
JUST
IN
TIME MULTIPLY POLYNOMIALS
12

To multiply monomials, we first multiply their coefficients, and then Multiply.


we multiply their variables. 1. 13a221-7a42

EXAMPLES 2. 1y - 321y + 52

1. 1-2x3215x42 = 1-2 # 521x3 # x42 = -10x7 3. 1x + 621x + 32

2. 13yz2218y3z52 = 13 # 821y # y32 1z2 # z52 = 24y4z7 4. 12a + 321a + 52

We can find the product of two binomials by multiplying the First 5. 12x + 3y212x + y2
terms, then the Outer terms, then the Inner terms, then the Last terms. 6. 1x + 322
Then we combine like terms, if possible. This procedure is sometimes
called FOIL. 7. 15x - 322
8. 12x + 3y22
EXAMPLE 3 Multiply: 12x - 7213x + 42.
9. 1n + 621n - 62
F L
F O I L 10. 13y + 4213y - 42
12x - 7213x + 42 = 6x2 + 8x - 21x - 28
= 6x2 - 13x - 28.
I
O
Special Products of Binomials
1A + B22 = A 2 + 2AB + B 2 Square of a sum
1A - B22 = A 2 - 2AB + B 2 Square of a difference
1A + B21A - B2 = A 2 - B 2 Product of a sum and a difference

EXAMPLES
4. 14x + 122 = 14x22 + 2 # 4x # 1 + 12
= 16x2 + 8x + 1
5. 13y2 - 222 = 13y222 - 2 # 3y2 # 2 + 22
= 9y4 - 12y2 + 4
6. 1x2 + 3y21x2 - 3y2 = 1x222 - 13y22
= x4 - 9y2
Do Exercises 1–10.

JIT-11
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI

Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least


the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely
valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace
of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several
missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its
former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A
thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn
crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the
agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe
fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier
imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller,
without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under
the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who,
as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of
course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.
FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER”
(Sarcopsylla penetrans)

The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,


some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing,
but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not
only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are
nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built
against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of
which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not
long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect
to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very
particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can
attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature,
from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a
man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable
of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the
state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on
the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of
pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for
the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his
Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen
all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise
raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of
Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous
consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of
this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,
or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg
ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of
Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there
develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is
stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by
an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so
far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the
toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature
penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it
may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.
Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which
we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much
easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a
European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely
shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I
constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were
taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I
thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive
sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill
the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of
the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all
the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of
prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?
The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are
really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to
smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from
the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most
distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other
narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both
“off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we
recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were
once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the
craving for tobacco in the tropics.
Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken
seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which
have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early
afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and
making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to
an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work
progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole
body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on
my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun
is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness
and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to
establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have
ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the
circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do
so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with
my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are
abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes
later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and
lemon-juice.
Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make
them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring
heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might
mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my
great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This
is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment,
that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an
hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the
wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.
Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state
of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever
should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a
kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and
more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly
follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at
least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my
work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.
My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which
makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in
the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy
from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari;
consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant
post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began
by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had
bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when
they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered
the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to
entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was
consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a
jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding,
consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening
meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned
vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission
entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his
own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us,
seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of
food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls
when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins
left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I
am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten
years to come.
Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the
genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch:
Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9
× 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.
How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a
ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for
taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated
mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but
he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light
contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the
above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his
ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion
to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough
cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an
extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most
conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog
did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by
finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few
days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he
mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his
mutilated finger-tips.
Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all
directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old
habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal
elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had
promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only
from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.
The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off
at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is
about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the
Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area
is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface,
however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western
edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the
eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering
any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which
here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is
inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other
primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and
manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day
such a fire is a grand sight.
Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the
great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as
time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction,
sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to
let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.
Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush,
and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more
favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to
the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use
taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea
of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to
make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of
the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction
through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are
everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of
yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these
beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their
upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the
western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of
deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine
to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.
It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the
short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at
the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves
bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki
suits had not escaped scatheless.

NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR


MAHUTA

I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.

MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO


This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe
Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original
one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is
only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from
one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just
large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a
large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing
with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into
which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The
door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat
curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs
corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust
through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular
opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]

MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY

With no small pride first one householder and then a second


showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the
Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of
“Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these
marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows
the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at
Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two
heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same
time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if
the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken
their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them
to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have
two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise,
come in for a blowing-up.
The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially
miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the
temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here
have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to
congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even
the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala,
shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country
are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident
danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only
attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief
Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with
partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular
grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks
the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.
Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something
of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted
solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde
bush:—
“We shall arrive with the great master; we stand in a row and have
no fear about getting our food and our money from the Serkali (the
Government). We are not afraid; we are going along with the great
master, the lion; we are going down to the coast and back.”
With regard to the characteristic features of the various tribes here
on the western edge of the plateau, I can arrive at no other
conclusion than the one already come to in the plain, viz., that it is
impossible for anyone but a trained anthropologist to assign any
given individual at once to his proper tribe. In fact, I think that even
an anthropological specialist, after the most careful examination,
might find it a difficult task to decide. The whole congeries of peoples
collected in the region bounded on the west by the great Central
African rift, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and on the east by the Indian
Ocean, are closely related to each other—some of their languages are
only distinguished from one another as dialects of the same speech,
and no doubt all the tribes present the same shape of skull and
structure of skeleton. Thus, surely, there can be no very striking
differences in outward appearance.
Even did such exist, I should have no time
to concern myself with them, for day after day,
I have to see or hear, as the case may be—in
any case to grasp and record—an
extraordinary number of ethnographic
phenomena. I am almost disposed to think it
fortunate that some departments of inquiry, at
least, are barred by external circumstances.
Chief among these is the subject of iron-
working. We are apt to think of Africa as a
country where iron ore is everywhere, so to
speak, to be picked up by the roadside, and
where it would be quite surprising if the
inhabitants had not learnt to smelt the
material ready to their hand. In fact, the
knowledge of this art ranges all over the
continent, from the Kabyles in the north to the
Kafirs in the south. Here between the Rovuma
and the Lukuledi the conditions are not so
favourable. According to the statements of the
Makonde, neither ironstone nor any other
form of iron ore is known to them. They have
not therefore advanced to the art of smelting
the metal, but have hitherto bought all their
THE ANCESTRESS OF
THE MAKONDE
iron implements from neighbouring tribes.
Even in the plain the inhabitants are not much
better off. Only one man now living is said to
understand the art of smelting iron. This old fundi lives close to
Huwe, that isolated, steep-sided block of granite which rises out of
the green solitude between Masasi and Chingulungulu, and whose
jagged and splintered top meets the traveller’s eye everywhere. While
still at Masasi I wished to see this man at work, but was told that,
frightened by the rising, he had retired across the Rovuma, though
he would soon return. All subsequent inquiries as to whether the
fundi had come back met with the genuine African answer, “Bado”
(“Not yet”).
BRAZIER

Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I


came across in the bush near Akundonde’s. This man is the favourite
of women, and therefore no doubt of the gods; he welds the glittering
brass rods purchased at the coast into those massive, heavy rings
which, on the wrists and ankles of the local fair ones, continually give
me fresh food for admiration. Like every decent master-craftsman he
had all his tools with him, consisting of a pair of bellows, three
crucibles and a hammer—nothing more, apparently. He was quite
willing to show his skill, and in a twinkling had fixed his bellows on
the ground. They are simply two goat-skins, taken off whole, the four
legs being closed by knots, while the upper opening, intended to
admit the air, is kept stretched by two pieces of wood. At the lower
end of the skin a smaller opening is left into which a wooden tube is
stuck. The fundi has quickly borrowed a heap of wood-embers from
the nearest hut; he then fixes the free ends of the two tubes into an
earthen pipe, and clamps them to the ground by means of a bent
piece of wood. Now he fills one of his small clay crucibles, the dross
on which shows that they have been long in use, with the yellow
material, places it in the midst of the embers, which, at present are
only faintly glimmering, and begins his work. In quick alternation
the smith’s two hands move up and down with the open ends of the
bellows; as he raises his hand he holds the slit wide open, so as to let
the air enter the skin bag unhindered. In pressing it down he closes
the bag, and the air puffs through the bamboo tube and clay pipe into
the fire, which quickly burns up. The smith, however, does not keep
on with this work, but beckons to another man, who relieves him at
the bellows, while he takes some more tools out of a large skin pouch
carried on his back. I look on in wonder as, with a smooth round
stick about the thickness of a finger, he bores a few vertical holes into
the clean sand of the soil. This should not be difficult, yet the man
seems to be taking great pains over it. Then he fastens down to the
ground, with a couple of wooden clamps, a neat little trough made by
splitting a joint of bamboo in half, so that the ends are closed by the
two knots. At last the yellow metal has attained the right consistency,
and the fundi lifts the crucible from the fire by means of two sticks
split at the end to serve as tongs. A short swift turn to the left—a
tilting of the crucible—and the molten brass, hissing and giving forth
clouds of smoke, flows first into the bamboo mould and then into the
holes in the ground.
The technique of this backwoods craftsman may not be very far
advanced, but it cannot be denied that he knows how to obtain an
adequate result by the simplest means. The ladies of highest rank in
this country—that is to say, those who can afford it, wear two kinds
of these massive brass rings, one cylindrical, the other semicircular
in section. The latter are cast in the most ingenious way in the
bamboo mould, the former in the circular hole in the sand. It is quite
a simple matter for the fundi to fit these bars to the limbs of his fair
customers; with a few light strokes of his hammer he bends the
pliable brass round arm or ankle without further inconvenience to
the wearer.
SHAPING THE POT

SMOOTHING WITH MAIZE-COB

CUTTING THE EDGE


FINISHING THE BOTTOM

LAST SMOOTHING BEFORE


BURNING

FIRING THE BRUSH-PILE


LIGHTING THE FARTHER SIDE OF
THE PILE

TURNING THE RED-HOT VESSEL

NYASA WOMAN MAKING POTS AT MASASI


Pottery is an art which must always and everywhere excite the
interest of the student, just because it is so intimately connected with
the development of human culture, and because its relics are one of
the principal factors in the reconstruction of our own condition in
prehistoric times. I shall always remember with pleasure the two or
three afternoons at Masasi when Salim Matola’s mother, a slightly-
built, graceful, pleasant-looking woman, explained to me with
touching patience, by means of concrete illustrations, the ceramic art
of her people. The only implements for this primitive process were a
lump of clay in her left hand, and in the right a calabash containing
the following valuables: the fragment of a maize-cob stripped of all
its grains, a smooth, oval pebble, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, a
few chips of gourd-shell, a bamboo splinter about the length of one’s
hand, a small shell, and a bunch of some herb resembling spinach.
Nothing more. The woman scraped with the
shell a round, shallow hole in the soft, fine
sand of the soil, and, when an active young
girl had filled the calabash with water for her,
she began to knead the clay. As if by magic it
gradually assumed the shape of a rough but
already well-shaped vessel, which only wanted
a little touching up with the instruments
before mentioned. I looked out with the
MAKUA WOMAN closest attention for any indication of the use
MAKING A POT. of the potter’s wheel, in however rudimentary
SHOWS THE a form, but no—hapana (there is none). The
BEGINNINGS OF THE embryo pot stood firmly in its little
POTTER’S WHEEL
depression, and the woman walked round it in
a stooping posture, whether she was removing
small stones or similar foreign bodies with the maize-cob, smoothing
the inner or outer surface with the splinter of bamboo, or later, after
letting it dry for a day, pricking in the ornamentation with a pointed
bit of gourd-shell, or working out the bottom, or cutting the edge
with a sharp bamboo knife, or giving the last touches to the finished
vessel. This occupation of the women is infinitely toilsome, but it is
without doubt an accurate reproduction of the process in use among
our ancestors of the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
There is no doubt that the invention of pottery, an item in human
progress whose importance cannot be over-estimated, is due to
women. Rough, coarse and unfeeling, the men of the horde range
over the countryside. When the united cunning of the hunters has
succeeded in killing the game; not one of them thinks of carrying
home the spoil. A bright fire, kindled by a vigorous wielding of the
drill, is crackling beside them; the animal has been cleaned and cut
up secundum artem, and, after a slight singeing, will soon disappear
under their sharp teeth; no one all this time giving a single thought
to wife or child.
To what shifts, on the other hand, the primitive wife, and still more
the primitive mother, was put! Not even prehistoric stomachs could
endure an unvarying diet of raw food. Something or other suggested
the beneficial effect of hot water on the majority of approved but
indigestible dishes. Perhaps a neighbour had tried holding the hard
roots or tubers over the fire in a calabash filled with water—or maybe
an ostrich-egg-shell, or a hastily improvised vessel of bark. They
became much softer and more palatable than they had previously
been; but, unfortunately, the vessel could not stand the fire and got
charred on the outside. That can be remedied, thought our
ancestress, and plastered a layer of wet clay round a similar vessel.
This is an improvement; the cooking utensil remains uninjured, but
the heat of the fire has shrunk it, so that it is loose in its shell. The
next step is to detach it, so, with a firm grip and a jerk, shell and
kernel are separated, and pottery is invented. Perhaps, however, the
discovery which led to an intelligent use of the burnt-clay shell, was
made in a slightly different way. Ostrich-eggs and calabashes are not
to be found in every part of the world, but everywhere mankind has
arrived at the art of making baskets out of pliant materials, such as
bark, bast, strips of palm-leaf, supple twigs, etc. Our inventor has no
water-tight vessel provided by nature. “Never mind, let us line the
basket with clay.” This answers the purpose, but alas! the basket gets
burnt over the blazing fire, the woman watches the process of
cooking with increasing uneasiness, fearing a leak, but no leak
appears. The food, done to a turn, is eaten with peculiar relish; and
the cooking-vessel is examined, half in curiosity, half in satisfaction
at the result. The plastic clay is now hard as stone, and at the same
time looks exceedingly well, for the neat plaiting of the burnt basket
is traced all over it in a pretty pattern. Thus, simultaneously with
pottery, its ornamentation was invented.
Primitive woman has another claim to respect. It was the man,
roving abroad, who invented the art of producing fire at will, but the
woman, unable to imitate him in this, has been a Vestal from the
earliest times. Nothing gives so much trouble as the keeping alight of
the smouldering brand, and, above all, when all the men are absent
from the camp. Heavy rain-clouds gather, already the first large
drops are falling, the first gusts of the storm rage over the plain. The
little flame, a greater anxiety to the woman than her own children,
flickers unsteadily in the blast. What is to be done? A sudden thought
occurs to her, and in an instant she has constructed a primitive hut
out of strips of bark, to protect the flame against rain and wind.
This, or something very like it, was the way in which the principle
of the house was discovered; and even the most hardened misogynist
cannot fairly refuse a woman the credit of it. The protection of the
hearth-fire from the weather is the germ from which the human
dwelling was evolved. Men had little, if any share, in this forward
step, and that only at a late stage. Even at the present day, the
plastering of the housewall with clay and the manufacture of pottery
are exclusively the women’s business. These are two very significant
survivals. Our European kitchen-garden, too, is originally a woman’s
invention, and the hoe, the primitive instrument of agriculture, is,
characteristically enough, still used in this department. But the
noblest achievement which we owe to the other sex is unquestionably
the art of cookery. Roasting alone—the oldest process—is one for
which men took the hint (a very obvious one) from nature. It must
have been suggested by the scorched carcase of some animal
overtaken by the destructive forest-fires. But boiling—the process of
improving organic substances by the help of water heated to boiling-
point—is a much later discovery. It is so recent that it has not even
yet penetrated to all parts of the world. The Polynesians understand
how to steam food, that is, to cook it, neatly wrapped in leaves, in a
hole in the earth between hot stones, the air being excluded, and
(sometimes) a few drops of water sprinkled on the stones; but they
do not understand boiling.
To come back from this digression, we find that the slender Nyasa
woman has, after once more carefully examining the finished pot,
put it aside in the shade to dry. On the following day she sends me
word by her son, Salim Matola, who is always on hand, that she is
going to do the burning, and, on coming out of my house, I find her
already hard at work. She has spread on the ground a layer of very
dry sticks, about as thick as one’s thumb, has laid the pot (now of a
yellowish-grey colour) on them, and is piling brushwood round it.
My faithful Pesa mbili, the mnyampara, who has been standing by,
most obligingly, with a lighted stick, now hands it to her. Both of
them, blowing steadily, light the pile on the lee side, and, when the
flame begins to catch, on the weather side also. Soon the whole is in a
blaze, but the dry fuel is quickly consumed and the fire dies down, so
that we see the red-hot vessel rising from the ashes. The woman
turns it continually with a long stick, sometimes one way and
sometimes another, so that it may be evenly heated all over. In
twenty minutes she rolls it out of the ash-heap, takes up the bundle
of spinach, which has been lying for two days in a jar of water, and
sprinkles the red-hot clay with it. The places where the drops fall are
marked by black spots on the uniform reddish-brown surface. With a
sigh of relief, and with visible satisfaction, the woman rises to an
erect position; she is standing just in a line between me and the fire,
from which a cloud of smoke is just rising: I press the ball of my
camera, the shutter clicks—the apotheosis is achieved! Like a
priestess, representative of her inventive sex, the graceful woman
stands: at her feet the hearth-fire she has given us beside her the
invention she has devised for us, in the background the home she has
built for us.
At Newala, also, I have had the manufacture of pottery carried on
in my presence. Technically the process is better than that already
described, for here we find the beginnings of the potter’s wheel,
which does not seem to exist in the plains; at least I have seen
nothing of the sort. The artist, a frightfully stupid Makua woman, did
not make a depression in the ground to receive the pot she was about
to shape, but used instead a large potsherd. Otherwise, she went to
work in much the same way as Salim’s mother, except that she saved
herself the trouble of walking round and round her work by squatting
at her ease and letting the pot and potsherd rotate round her; this is
surely the first step towards a machine. But it does not follow that
the pot was improved by the process. It is true that it was beautifully
rounded and presented a very creditable appearance when finished,
but the numerous large and small vessels which I have seen, and, in
part, collected, in the “less advanced” districts, are no less so. We
moderns imagine that instruments of precision are necessary to
produce excellent results. Go to the prehistoric collections of our
museums and look at the pots, urns and bowls of our ancestors in the
dim ages of the past, and you will at once perceive your error.
MAKING LONGITUDINAL CUT IN
BARK

DRAWING THE BARK OFF THE LOG

REMOVING THE OUTER BARK


BEATING THE BARK

WORKING THE BARK-CLOTH AFTER BEATING, TO MAKE IT


SOFT

MANUFACTURE OF BARK-CLOTH AT NEWALA


To-day, nearly the whole population of German East Africa is
clothed in imported calico. This was not always the case; even now in
some parts of the north dressed skins are still the prevailing wear,
and in the north-western districts—east and north of Lake
Tanganyika—lies a zone where bark-cloth has not yet been
superseded. Probably not many generations have passed since such
bark fabrics and kilts of skins were the only clothing even in the
south. Even to-day, large quantities of this bright-red or drab
material are still to be found; but if we wish to see it, we must look in
the granaries and on the drying stages inside the native huts, where
it serves less ambitious uses as wrappings for those seeds and fruits
which require to be packed with special care. The salt produced at
Masasi, too, is packed for transport to a distance in large sheets of
bark-cloth. Wherever I found it in any degree possible, I studied the
process of making this cloth. The native requisitioned for the
purpose arrived, carrying a log between two and three yards long and
as thick as his thigh, and nothing else except a curiously-shaped
mallet and the usual long, sharp and pointed knife which all men and
boys wear in a belt at their backs without a sheath—horribile dictu!
[51]
Silently he squats down before me, and with two rapid cuts has
drawn a couple of circles round the log some two yards apart, and
slits the bark lengthwise between them with the point of his knife.
With evident care, he then scrapes off the outer rind all round the
log, so that in a quarter of an hour the inner red layer of the bark
shows up brightly-coloured between the two untouched ends. With
some trouble and much caution, he now loosens the bark at one end,
and opens the cylinder. He then stands up, takes hold of the free
edge with both hands, and turning it inside out, slowly but steadily
pulls it off in one piece. Now comes the troublesome work of
scraping all superfluous particles of outer bark from the outside of
the long, narrow piece of material, while the inner side is carefully
scrutinised for defective spots. At last it is ready for beating. Having
signalled to a friend, who immediately places a bowl of water beside
him, the artificer damps his sheet of bark all over, seizes his mallet,
lays one end of the stuff on the smoothest spot of the log, and
hammers away slowly but continuously. “Very simple!” I think to
myself. “Why, I could do that, too!”—but I am forced to change my
opinions a little later on; for the beating is quite an art, if the fabric is
not to be beaten to pieces. To prevent the breaking of the fibres, the
stuff is several times folded across, so as to interpose several
thicknesses between the mallet and the block. At last the required
state is reached, and the fundi seizes the sheet, still folded, by both
ends, and wrings it out, or calls an assistant to take one end while he
holds the other. The cloth produced in this way is not nearly so fine
and uniform in texture as the famous Uganda bark-cloth, but it is
quite soft, and, above all, cheap.
Now, too, I examine the mallet. My craftsman has been using the
simpler but better form of this implement, a conical block of some
hard wood, its base—the striking surface—being scored across and
across with more or less deeply-cut grooves, and the handle stuck
into a hole in the middle. The other and earlier form of mallet is
shaped in the same way, but the head is fastened by an ingenious
network of bark strips into the split bamboo serving as a handle. The
observation so often made, that ancient customs persist longest in
connection with religious ceremonies and in the life of children, here
finds confirmation. As we shall soon see, bark-cloth is still worn
during the unyago,[52] having been prepared with special solemn
ceremonies; and many a mother, if she has no other garment handy,
will still put her little one into a kilt of bark-cloth, which, after all,
looks better, besides being more in keeping with its African
surroundings, than the ridiculous bit of print from Ulaya.
MAKUA WOMEN

You might also like