Customer Reviews

Basic Math and Pre-Algebra For Dummies Education Bundle

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great package deal: 2 books - "Basic Math & Pre-Algebra for Dummies" and "Basic Math & Pre-Algebra Workbook for Dummies". Purchased this way you save a bit of money over purchasing them separately, and one reinforces the concepts laid out in the other. A great purchase for the beginning Pre-Algebra student or anyone who wants to understand the building block basics of what Pre-Algebra is and how it works.

First, a bit of background on me. The only 'D' I got in college was in Algebra. All A's and B's otherwise, and I think the 'D' was given to me out of pity so I could get my Bachelor's and move on! Little did I know that years later I'd have a daughter, who in 6th grade would then be taking Pre-Algebra and need my help. "Ask your Father..." was my first inclination, and then I spotted these books.

Now I am reading these books and using the knowledge I'm gaining to help her gain a basic understanding of the subject. Concepts I missed way back when, are clearer now and I find that I'm able to explain concepts with ease after reading about each subject. (Maybe that's because I'm no longer getting graded, but I do think the books help too!)

The workbook and book have tear-out cheat sheets, with basic explanations about the Order of Operations, Inequalities, Place Values, Negative and Absolute Values, Basic Algebra Conventions, and Solving Algebraic Equations. Practice exercises in the workbook are coordinated with the chapters in the book, for easy reference. Comments throughout both the book and workbook are peppered with humor. The simple organization of each book makes the ideas being covered seem far less daunting that I remembered too.

These 'For Dummies' books cover the following and more:

- Understanding fractions, decimals and percents.
- Algebra word problems.
- Prime numbers, factors and multiples.
- Graphing and measures.
- Solving single and multiple variable equations.

The books also cover 'how to use the book' and explain what the icons mean throughout the book. Definitions are clear and illustrations are often accented by a 'tip' that helps you know how to 'think' about attacking certain problems. I liked that feature!

The book touches on Basic Geometry and alternative numbers (Roman numerals, Mayan numerals, Binary numbers, Hexadecimal numbers, Prime-based numbers and 10 Curious types of numbers). Preparing the reader for what comes next in their mathematics education - and probably sells more books!

Overall, this is an excellent bundled (book/workbook) supplement to any-age student of Pre-Algebra, or for any parent who wants to assist their child in understanding the basic concepts of this subject.

I'm going back to school after 25 years so this has helped me brush up on my math skills that I had forgotten or haven't used in awhile. Don't get too discouraged if you are having troubles getting some of your answers to match the answer key. Some of the answers are WRONG!!! I spent a lot of time on some problems trying to figure out HOW they could have come to their answers and why I came to mine...I came across wrong answers in the key at least once or twice through each section.

I plan on going back to school soon and needed a study guide so I would't have to end up in remedial classes. Since I have to pay my tuition all out of pocket, it would just be a waste of money, so I figured I should learn and relearn everything that I either copied off of someones' paper in high school or just winged without knowing a thing. This book is very helpful and it does every chapter in a way that builds up from the one before so you really get it. I believe I got stumped in school when we began doing multiplication and negatives. I have a BAD, and I mean BAD memory (kinda like Dory a la Finding Nemo), and seeing the huge times table really threw me for a loop that I had to remember all of that. This book cuts it down to half which of course is a no brainer as 3x8 is 8x3, but you couldnt tell me that when I was 10, that thing had me so discombobulated (Yay, big word! Im ready for colige now!). Flashcards may seem kiddish and might embarrass you if, say, you leave one at your work desk accidentally and a coworker sees it(ehem). They really do work though, even for me, who can't remember a thing. I had to keep THREE flashcards on my desk for a WEEK and look at them sporadically or think of them when I was away from my desk to remember just THREE! It really, really helps to remember those pesky X tables as much as I hate to admit it. Negatives I never really could wrap my head around until now. I suppose its because once you're an adult and have a bank account, you know a negative, or an overdraft = an overdraft fee, a bad, bad thing, lol. So it makes it easy to say -$3(overdraft)- $8(the overdraft fee your bank charges to your account, i wish!)= -$11 since it would give you MORE of a negative bank balance so its easy to remember that the answer would still have a negative sign, instead of memorizing all the rules rules rules. After that I was on a roll. The rest of it is rather methodical and easy if you memorized your x tables and negatives. The workbook is a must if you want it to sink in, so the bundle is your best option if you're really serious about studying. Its also a great refresher course if you happen to be one of those lucky people that did learn it all but forgot after so many years of cobwebs in the brain(the mnemonic PEMDAS, remember that?). The only downside is the book does have a few typos, but its nothing you can't decipher for yourself. The moral of the story here children, is really learn your stuff early on becuase you will have to waste your time doing it all over again someday anyway if you want to get anywhere in life.

I have a child that is returning to school and was in need a "math review". This is an easy to read, understand, and is able to bring someone up-to-speed in basic math very quickly.

This book is great! I got it because I want to go back to school and want to take more math classes. The review is excellent and I am learning so many new things that make all of it easier to learn and remember. I really wish I would have had access to a book like this when I was in school the first time, I would have had an easier and much more fulfilling experience with my whole math career.

I've never been real good at math and always end up taking remedial classes which I was tired of, so I decided to buy this book and it has helped tremendously.

It has the very basics in math but it also has a good foundation for algebra. It is the set of learning tools you need to learn the basics of algebra.

These books are great easy to read and follow, the perfect books to brush up on your old math skills.

Great books, however, I didn't find much use for the for the "main book". The workbook is very thorough and breaks down every equation. If you want to save a bit of money just go with the workbook. But if you don't mind spending a little extra, you never know when you may want more explanation on anything. No complaints. Just finished it in 4 days and wow, did I forget a lot!! Dummies brought it all back for me. I will be ordering the Algebra1 for dummies today.

The book gives very good review of basic mathematics. When it comes to the last couple of chapters, where they go over beginning albegra, the examples were very good for VERY basic algebra. Then they give you more complicated problems without detailed examples of how the problems are solved. SO, 5 stars for basic math and 2 stars for the pre-algebra = an average score of 3.5.