Nature of Mathematics, 13th edition, by Karl Smith, published by Cengage Learning, is written for liberal arts students and based on the belief that learning to solve problems is the principal reason for studying mathematics. Karl Smith introduces students to Polya's problem-solving techniques and shows them how to use these techniques to solve unfamiliar problems that they encounter in their own lives. Through the emphasis on problem solving and estimation, along with numerous in-text study aids, students are assisted in understanding the concepts and mastering the techniques. The WebAssign enhancement to this textbook engages students with immediate feedback, rich tutorial content, video instruction, and a full eBook.

Question 1 demonstrates prime factorization grading in which common bases are not required to be combined under a single exponent. The question includes a Watch It and a Master It.

Question 2 requires the student to enter a reduced fraction, in accordance with the instructions. The question includes a Watch It.

Question 3 uses grading to enforce the simplification of radical expressions. Use the mathPad to enter the radical symbol.

Question 4 is an application question with multiple parts. The first question requires an exact answer simplified or not, in the form of a radical, and the second question asks for the rounded answer. The question includes a Watch It and a Master It.

Question 5 uses grading that enforces an expanded answer with like terms combined, in accordance with the instructions. The question includes a Watch It and a Master It.

Question 6 highlights factoring grading. Notice the prompt that provides instructions to the student for cases in which the expression cannot be factored.

Question 7 features prompts that alert the student on how to enter several answer possibilities: a single answer, multiple answers, or no real solution. Thus, the question does not give away the type of answer. In this case, the grading accepts a comma-separated list of answers.

Question 8 uses grading that checks that each expression is written as a single logarithm. The question includes a Watch It.

Question 9 features a question from the statistics chapter of the text. The question gives a randomized data set and requires the student to find the regression line.

Question 10 showcases our matrix grading where the entire matrix is graded as a single response rather than each element individually. This demo assignment allows many submissions and allows you to try another version of the same question for practice wherever the problem has randomized values.