Basic Math & Pre-Algebra Workbook For Dummies with Online Practice

Mark Zegarelli

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781119357513
• eBook ISBN: 9781119357520
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Mathematics
• Subtopic: Algebra
• Index: Mathematics

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.

Part 1

Getting Started with Basic Math and Pre-Algebra

IN THIS PART …

Understand place value.

Use the Big Four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Calculate with negative numbers.

Simplify expressions using the order of operations (PEMDAS).

Work with factors and multiples.

Chapter 1

We’ve Got Your Numbers

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding how place value turns digits into numbers

Rounding numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousand

Calculating with the Big Four operations: Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing

Getting comfortable with long division

In this chapter, I give you a review of basic math, and I do mean basic. I bet you know a lot of this stuff already. So, consider this a trip down memory lane, a mini-vacation from whatever math you may be working on right now. With a really strong foundation in these areas, you’ll find the chapters that follow a lot easier.

First, I discuss how the number system you’re familiar with — called the Hindu-Arabic number system (or decimal numbers) — uses digits and place value to expr...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part 1: Getting Started with Basic Math and Pre-Algebra
• Part 2: Slicing Things Up: Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
• Part 3: A Giant Step Forward: Intermediate Topics
• Part 4: The X Factor: Introducing Algebra
• Part 5: The Part of Tens
• About the Author
• Connect with Dummies
• End User License Agreement