Brief calculator tutorials, called Calculator Hints, are provided in relevant chapters to help students learn or brush up on their financial calculator skills. There is an appendix (D) with instructions for using the HP-10B and TI BA II Plus Financial Calculators. Spreadsheet Strategies are also included to help students with their Excel spreadsheet skills. This feature appears in self-contained sections and shows students how to set up spreadsheets to analyze common financial problems-a vital part of every business student's education!

Incorporates a concept building approach to learning. Chapter sections are intentionally kept short to promote a step-by-step, building block approach to learning. Each section is followed by a series of short concept questions that highlight the key ideas just presented before moving on to new material. Also, the crucial topic of the time value of money is covered in two chapters, allowing for a patient, building block approach. This is a hallmark of the highly successful Ross, Westerfield, Jordan textbooks.

Highlighted concepts, found throughout the text, are important ideas pulled out and presented in a shaded box. They signal to students that this material is important for their understanding. This is vital, since many students have difficulty prioritizing the most important concepts.

Numbered Examples are extensively integrated into the chapters. These examples provide detailed applications and illustrations of the material in a step-by-step format. Each example is completely self-contained so that students don't have to search for additional information. These are valuable learning aids because they provide both detail and explanation.

Chapter-Opening Vignettes with Functional Integration Links-each chapter begins with a recent real-world event to introduce students to the chapter concepts. Since many non-finance majors use this text, a brief paragraph linking the vignette and chapter concepts to majors in marketing, management, and accounting is included.

Every chapter ends with a set of Critical Thinking Questions that challenge students to apply the concepts they have learned from the real-world examples in the chapter to new situations.

Pedagogical use of color-this learning tool uses color in an extensive and largely self-evident role that alerts students to the relationship between numbers in a discussion and an accompanying table or figure. The use of color is defined in the end sheets for quick reference.

Summary Tables succinctly restate key principles, results, and equations. They appear whenever it is useful to emphasize and summarize a group of related topics.