Customer Reviews

Algebra 2: Applications, Equations, Graphs

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This math book is far better than the others, but that is mainly because the others I looked at were very bad.

The typical math book today contains 1) lots of distracting pictures, 2) dozens of unnecessary fonts and colors, 3) lots of forced and contrived examples that have a politically correct focus and, 4) very little math instruction.

This book has fewer distractions than the others (although it still has far too many). The actual instruction, that is, the explanation of the concepts, is often very brief and terse. Each section, however, has numerous example problems that are often very clear and helpful. The book is also well organized and the format is fairly readable. Not a great book, but much better than the others I looked at.

I have used another book from this series, Algebra 1, and I felt that it was great at explaining everything. Maybe it was partly because of my having a wonderful teacher, however I felt that it did a wonderful job of explaining things.
In response to that of the teacher in Illinois, I would just like to say that maybe the 6th graders didn't understand it because Algebra 2 is a high school course, normally taught in that of 11th grade according to the New York State Curriculum. I feel that her comment on the book should be considered invalid, just because of her lack of explanation, and of the time that she is teaching it. I also feel that if Illinois is teaching Algebra 2 in 6th grade, that they had better change their curriculum, because not even the most advanced 6th graders can take in a good understanding and comprehension of the complex subject at that early level.
Please rethink your decision, because from what Illinois is doing, we can find that it probably has a terrible Mathematic curriculum, and that if it doesn't do something soon, they will have many kids failing in the future. I fully recommend this book as it covers all topics neccessary, and has the ability to explain the complexity of the topics to not only a student being taught by a teacher, but also a student reading the book in order to catch up on work.

I'm working out of this book in high school these days - I actually am in high school but I used the kid's review because I've no account - but it's really the worst math textbook I have ever used. It gives practice problems with certain factors that are not explained in the text. In its attempt to teach methods, it provides examples with little or no explanation of how to perform the steps. It recieves two stars only because you can sometimes figure out how to complete a problem by looking up the answers to the odd questions in the back of the book. If you, like me, are being forced to study from this book, do yourself a favor and take great notes in class.

I'm a 9th grade Algebra 2 student, and we're using this book in our class for homework problems. However, my teacher, yet extremely nice and smart as she is, sometimes has little time to teach new material because we're often short on time. Also, sometimes I just can't see the board and so I just don't see her pointing to the numbers when she says things like, "and then you move this here". Therefore, when I do my homework, occassionally I find that I have very limited knowledge on how to do the problems! But the examples giving in front of each section teach me how to do everything, and right now in Algebra 2, I have a 96% (hoping to raise it to over 97 so I can skip PreCalc and go to AP Calc next year). It is also very good to skim over the chapters before a test, and I find myself willing to carry it to and from school everyday, despite it being 2 kg =)

If you're seeking to learn Algebra 2 by yourself, I would recommend this book but warn you that it is better when accompanied by a course. For example, it doesn't cover expanding by minors when introducing matrix determinants, which I find to be much more useful than just cross multiplying. But overall, the content is very good.

(Hint: Don't read the passages to learn how to solve a problem, but look at the examples, and model your problem based on the example. That way you'll remember and absorb more =))

I am a sophomore in high school and have been using this book in my Algebra 2 math class. During class, my math teacher uses the book as a guide while teaching the material, and then he assigns homework problems out of the book. Each section shows examples of the concepts being taught. These examples do a good job explaining the concepts, and I have found them very helpful when I need additional help. In the back of the book, there are answers to the odd numbered homework problems. This is a great way to check your work and make sure you are solving the problems correctly. Also, each chapter contains a chapter review and a chapter test. The chapters also include a quiz after every two or three sections. I found these very helpful while studying for tests and quizzes. I would recommend this math book to any teacher teaching Algebra 2.

I purchased the book with the intention of teaching myself all the core material in it. The material offers readers a limited number of examples per chapter per section. While these examples may sometimes make you wish for added detail, ultimately there is enough explanation to pull the reader through. Be sure you understand the previous chapter before moving onto the next or you will most likely get lost. In the end I was very satisfied with my order. Listen to me...if your at least decent in math you'll do just fine following this Algebra 2 textbook!

I am a Math teacher and tutor and this book is BORING. Many of the problems which the student is asked to do in the exercises at the end of each chapter border on the irrelevant. Unfortunately, I am currently tutoring some students who are required to "endure" this textbook. ...

More and more, people are posting reviews of the SELLERS of the book rather than Reviews of the CONTENT of the book itself. Giving your seller a 5 star rating for a 3 star book gives everyone the impression that the book is worth 5 stars(!) Again, rate the book, not the seller.

As for the book itself it's just okay. There are few other better ALG 2 books out there.

The text is comprehensive and much improved over the texts used only 20 years ago. There is excellent coverage of matrix algebra which was lacking from texts or only glossed over either because instructors didn't see the need or did not understand the functions of matricies. This text gives the students a good grasp of future encounters with matrix algebra.

The real trouble with Algebra and Precalculus is that many of the topics are interchangable. This book does a fairly good job of covering many different topics. I wish some of the examples were a little better, but there a lot of solutions and answers in the back for the many problems at the end of a section. I think ideally, an Algebra II course should be very skill based, focused on "solving for x" in various situations. A little more concrete and a little less analytical. A precalculus course should be focused more on functions and function analysis. Also it should include trigonometry and topics typically covered in a calculus course (without differentiation or integration) such as polar coordinates, parametrics, and vectors.