Basic Math and Pre-Algebra Workbook For Dummies

Master the fundamentals first for a smoother ride through math

Basic Math & Pre-Algebra Workbook For Dummies is your ticket to finally getting a handle on math! Designed to help you strengthen your weak spots and pinpoint problem areas, this book provides hundreds of practice problems to help you get over the hump. Each section includes a brief review of key concepts and full explanations for every practice problem, so you'll always know exactly where you went wrong. The companion website gives you access to quizzes for each chapter, so you can test your understanding and identify your sticking points before moving on to the next topic. You'll brush up on the rules of basic operations, and then learn what to do when the numbers just won't behave--negative numbers, inequalities, algebraic expressions, scientific notation, and other tricky situations will become second nature as you refresh what you know and learn what you missed.

Each math class you take builds on the ones that came before; if you got lost somewhere around fractions, you'll have a difficult time keeping up in Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus--so don't fall behind! This book provides plenty of practice and patient guidance to help you slay the math monster once and for all.

• Make sense of fractions, decimals, and percentages

• Learn how to handle inequalities, exponents, square roots, and absolute values

• Simplify expressions and solve simple algebraic equations

• Find your way around a triangle, circle, trapezoid, and more

Once you get comfortable with the rules and operations, math takes on a whole new dimension. Curiosity replaces anxiety, and problems start feeling like puzzles rather than hurdles. All it takes is practice. Basic Math & Pre-Algebra Workbook For Dummies is your ultimate math coach, with hundreds of guided practice practice problems to help you break through the math barrier.

Auteur

Mark Zegarelli is a math and test prep teacher who has written a wide variety of basic math and pre-algebra books in the For Dummies series.

Résumé
Master the fundamentals first for a smoother ride through math Basic Math & Pre-Algebra Workbook For Dummies is your ticket to finally getting a handle on math! Designed to help you strengthen your weak spots and pinpoint problem areas, this book provides hundreds of practice problems to help you get over the hump. Each section includes a brief review of key concepts and full explanations for every practice problem, so you'll always know exactly where you went wrong. The companion website gives you access to quizzes for each chapter, so you can test your understanding and identify your sticking points before moving on to the next topic. You'll brush up on the rules of basic operations, and then learn what to do when the numbers just won't behavenegative numbers, inequalities, algebraic expressions, scientific notation, and other tricky situations will become second nature as you refresh what you know and learn what you missed. Each math class you take builds on the ones that came before; if you got lost somewhere around fractions, you'll have a difficult time keeping up in Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculusso don't fall behind! This book provides plenty of practice and patient guidance to help you slay the math monster once and for all.

• Make sense of fractions, decimals, and percentages
• Learn how to handle inequalities, exponents, square roots, and absolute values
• Simplify expressions and solve simple algebraic equations
• Find your way around a triangle, circle, trapezoid, and more Once you get comfortable with the rules and operations, math takes on a whole new dimension. Curiosity replaces anxiety, and problems start feeling like puzzles rather than hurdles. All it takes is practice. Basic Math & Pre-Algebra Workbook For Dummies is your ultimate math coach, with hundreds of guided practice practice problems to help you break through the math barrier.

Contenu
Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Part 1: Getting Started with Basic Math and Pre-algebra 5

Chapter 1: We've Got Your Numbers 7

Getting in Place with Numbers and Digits 8

Rollover: Rounding Numbers Up and Down 10

Using the Number Line with the Big Four 12

The Column Lineup: Adding and Subtracting 14

Multiplying Multiple Digits 15

Cycling through Long Division 16

Solutions to We've Got Your Numbers 19

Chapter 2: Smooth Operators: Working with the Big Four Operations 23

Switching Things Up with Inverse Operations and the Commutative Property 24

Getting with the In-Group: Parentheses and the Associative Property 27

Becoming Unbalanced: Inequalities 29

Special Times: Powers and Square Roots 31

Answers to Problems in Smooth Operators 34

Chapter 3: Getting Down with Negative Numbers 37

Understanding Where Negative Numbers Come From 37

Sign-Switching: Understanding Negation and Absolute Value 39

Adding with Negative Numbers 40

Subtracting with Negative Numbers 42

Knowing Signs of the Times (And Division) for Negative Numbers 43

Answers to Problems in Getting Down with Negative Numbers 45

Chapter 4: It's Just an Expression 49

Evaluating Expressions with Addition and Subtraction 50

Evaluating Expressions with Multiplication and Division 51

Making Sense of Mixed-Operator Expressions 52

Handling Powers Responsibly 53

Prioritizing Parentheses 55

Pulling Apart Parentheses and Powers 56

Figuring Out Nested Parentheses 58

Bringing It All Together: The Order of Operations 59

Solutions to It's Just an Expression 61

Chapter 5: Dividing Attention: Divisibility, Factors, and Multiples 69

Checking for Leftovers: Divisibility Tests 70

Understanding Factors and Multiples 72

One Number, Indivisible: Identifying Prime (And Composite) Numbers 73

Generating a Number's Factors 75

Decomposing a Number into Its Prime Factors 77

Finding the Greatest Common Factor 78

Generating the Multiples of a Number 80

Finding the Least Common Multiple 81

Solutions to Divisibility, Factors, and Multiples 83

Part 2: Slicing Things Up: Fractions, Decimals, and Percents 89

Chapter 6: Fractions Are a Piece of Cake 91

Getting Down the Basic Fraction Stuff 91

In Mixed Company: Converting between Mixed Numbers and Improper Fractions 94

Increasing and Reducing the Terms of Fractions 96

Comparing Fractions with Cross-Multiplication 99

Working with Ratios and Proportions 101

Solutions to Fractions Are a Piece of Cake 103

Chapter 7: Fractions and the Big Four 109

Multiplying Fractions: A Straight Shot 109

Flipping for Fraction Division 111

Reaching the Common Denominator: Adding Fractions 113

The Other Common Denominator: Subtracting Fractions 116

Multiplying and Dividing Mixed Numbers 118

Carried Away: Adding Mixed Numbers 120

Borrowing from the Whole: Subtracting Mixed Numbers 123

Solutions to Fractions and the Big Four 126

Chapter 8: Getting to the Point with Decimals 143

Getting in Place: Basic Decimal Stuff 143

Simple Decimal-Fraction Conversions 146

New Lineup: Adding and Subtracting Decimals 148

Counting Decimal Places: Multiplying Decimals 150

Points on the Move: Dividing Decimals 151

Decimals to Fractions 153

Fractions to Decimals 155

Solutions to Getting to the Point with Decimals 157

Chapter 9: Playing the Percentages 165 Convertin...