Customer Reviews

Basic Math and Pre-Algebra For Dummies

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Amazing book! I HATED math in high school! When I found myself going to college at 35, the entrance exam with all the algebraic problems was all French to me...I took the Pre-Algebra prep course at the college but found the textbook to be overwhelmingly confusing. This book cured all that. The For Dummies series is one of the best inventions since the wheel and this volume helped me pass Pre-Algebra as well as showing me that math can actually be a better experience than going to the dentist.

This book, while well written, is not adequate for someone like me who learns better from doing and practicing. I am going back to school after a 12 year sabbatical and was nervous about having to take a college math class. Math has always been my worst subject and the old saying, for me, is true. "If you don't use it, you lose it". I know how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and figure up percentages. As for working fractions some of the facts have escaped me and I remember nothing of Algebra. So, I got this book to help me remember how to do it. This book gives you a brief explanation of how to do it, again very briefly, and then they jump to a new subject. No practice problems for you to try to work the problem yourself to make sure you understand. If I don't practice by doing the problem myself I'm going to forget how to do it.

So, if you can do the math if someone just tells you how to do it, then you may like this book. If I wanted someone to rush through telling me how to do math and not give me any chance to try it out for myself I would have just asked my husband to tell me.

I've been out of high school for almost 14 years and really need a refresher. These "dummies" books are great. The book explains math very well. A great help!

So I got this to prep for an entrance exam. Although the book was helpful in guiding me to the right answer, the practice questions have errors in them. I ended up in tears trying to figure out how I got something wrong...and come to find out the book answer was wrong. Showed it to my professor to get a better understanding...he laughed. As I went through the book I must of found at least 10 of the practice test questions with the wrong answers. Guess that's why they say, can't believe everything you read.

This book provides step-by-step explanations that are easy to understand. It assumes you know nothing without insulting your intelligence. All of the bases are covered, and they are covered in order. If you've been frustrated trying to learn math from those clueless about teaching, this book should provide some welcome relief. I did find a couple of inaccuracies which appeared to be typos. Other than that, I have no complaints.

WARNING: I can't say the same for the next book in this series: "Algebra 1 for Dummies." That book is written by a different author, and it's terrible.

`Basic Maths and Pre-Algebra for Dummies' is a great place to go if you want to brush up on your math skills and have felt too intimidated before. In clear language and accessible format it guides your through key math concepts and introduces some basic algebra towards the end. It covers basic addition, subtraction, division and multiplication, as well as fractions, decimals and percents, graphs, geometry and stats, and basic algebra. This follows the typical `dummies' format, and if you have read any other of the dummies book you'll know what to expect. There is the slightly tongue in cheek text delivery, clear icons and obligatory part of tens at the back. I worked my way through this, accompanied with the workbook that goes with this, and my math skills increased incredibly. I realised I knew a lot of this information from school, but this book gave me the confidence to use it and it refreshed my memory about how certain equations are done. A great place to turn if you want to beat those maths demons.

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I didn't feel that it explained the steps clear enought so that I can understand them. It shows you the process but, it doesn't explain why. And if I don't know why, it's hard for me to know why and when to apply that step.

I've been going through every page of this book to re-build my foundation, and it's great!

Very easy to understand - I recommend it to all!

Very well laid out and easy to understand, I refer back to it frequently as I have been preparing for the College entrance exam. First time back to school in 11 years.
I may get the companion work book because I am quickly learning that practice certainly makes perfect when it comes to math.

I bought this book about a year ago I in my infinite wisdom as a teenager that knew it all quit school at age 15 and then realized over some years that the jobs provided and opportunities are very limited to someone that doesn't have a high school diploma or GED so I decided I would take the GED test and failed my math, and after several different books I came across this book it does an amazing job breaking down the math esp. if you haven't been through it or haven't done it in a long time. I also bought the Dummies Algebra I, I haven't got a review for it for now but would definitely recommend this the book and workbook as a starting place.