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 | | The Complete Idiot's Guide to Algebra by W. Michael Kelley ISBN-10: 9781592571611 ISBN-10: 1-59257-161-1 ISBN-13: 9781592571611 ISBN-13: 978-1-59257-161-1 Paperback 2004-07-06 Alpha Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description From the author of the highly successful The Complete Idiot's Guide to Calculus comes the perfect book for high school and college students. Following a standard algebra curriculum, it will teach students the basics so that they can make sense of their textbooks and get through algebra class with flying colors. | ||
Reviews | ||
Great book for those who haven't done this in a while!!! I am 35, & returning to college to complete a degree after a long absence. The problem was, I never did my math courses the first time through, so I was required to take a placement test for them. I bought a few of those quick-study type guides, but nothing clicked. I was walking into Borders one night, and came upon this book in the Clearance rack for a mere $5! Thinking I had nothing to lose, I purchased it. The next night I worked (I work 2nd shift), I started reading/working my way through it. I wish I'd had this book the first time I took Algebra in high school. Mr. Kelley's book is written for those who don't quite "get it", in somewhat simple, well-explained terms, & also with a quirky sense of humor, so, dare I say, it's a little bit more FUN than I remember Algebra being the first time I encountered it. It has practice problems for each concept, & a slue more in the back. About a month later, I went to the testing center to take my placement test for my math courses. Upon completing it, I mentioned to the lady there that I'd used the book as a study guide, & that I hoped that it had helped. She said, "Oh, it helped all right. You can get right into the Algebra class for your program." She then asked me to write down the name of the book, so she could suggest it to other people. Thank you, Mr. Kelley, for that great book! JWS | ||
Great supplement to textbook I haven't picked up an algebra book in 20 years. Even in high school I never "got" word problems. After reading the word problem section in this book, I was able to correctly solve the problem in the book and a couple in my textbook. That alone was worth the price of the book. I was so excited, I ordered a copy for a friend of mine that was taking an algebra class. | ||
Very good book! However, works better if you have background knowledge first. I just finished this book and plan on continuing by finishing the others. However, I feel it's best used after having a little background knowledge first. I found this book much easier to follow after working problems beforehand. I use these books not really for solving problems, but for learning math methods and math terminology. If home studying, an excellent addition to this book is the "Math Tutor" dvd series. Algebra 1 and 2 of that series cover topics in this book. Plus, you get practice solving actual problems in a "step-by-step" way. This book includes a nice bonus: it not only covers Algebra 1, but also covers functions and other topics from Algebra 2. If you're into flakey comedy, you might also want to give "Standard Deviants: The Series" a whirl. They're fun to watch one or twice for picking up tidbits and study tips (even one very powerful mnemonic on the Trig. set). "Youtube" also has some excellent materials and lessons. I personally find that I best learn Math syntopically. Basically, do problems from a variety of sources and read from a variety of sources. Things you didn't pick up from one source you will from the others. It's like a puzzle and starts to piece itself together. It's good practice for picking up different teaching styles too! It sounds like a lot of work, but I notice it actually cuts my time down compared to reading from only one source. Some of the "Demystified" books are suppose to be very good. I haven't tried them yet. However, read reviews because there are a few clunkers (different authors). I love this method of learning math; for me, it works so much better than the average textbook -- and it's more fun. Caution: You really should have a strong fraction-solving knowledge base before entering Algebra. Having that will save you tons of time later. Kelley's book includes a chapter on it, but if you need practice, "Painless Fractions" is an excellent source. | ||
Takes the Mystery Out of Algebra for Me I'm glad I bought this book. It is working well for me. The author explains everything very clearly. It sure has tamed what, for me, was always a real demon. I absolutely hated math, especially algebra, but this book has changed my outlook, and I feel soooo proud of being able to finally understand at least the basics of algebra. This book is working where math class failed. | ||
excellent help! I really did enjoy reading this book! The humor helped with the subject matter explanations. The book was a great help for me. | ||