Head First Algebra: A Learner's Guide to Algebra I [Paperback]

Dan Pilone (Author), Tracey Pilone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2009 | Series: Head First

Having trouble understanding algebra? Do algebraic concepts, equations, and logic just make your head spin? We have great news: Head First Algebra is designed for you. Full of engaging stories and practical, real-world explanations, this book will help you learn everything from natural numbers and exponents to solving systems of equations and graphing polynomials.

Along the way, you'll go beyond solving hundreds of repetitive problems, and actually use what you learn to make real-life decisions. Does it make sense to buy two years of insurance on a car that depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot? Can you really afford an XBox 360 and a new iPhone? Learn how to put algebra to work for you, and nail your class exams along the way.

Your time is way too valuable to waste struggling with new concepts. Using the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory learning experience, Head First Algebra uses a visually rich format specifically designed to take advantage of the way your brain really works.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you need help with algebra, this unique book is designed for you. Full of engaging stories and practical explanations, Head First Algebra will help you learn everything from natural numbers to exponents to solving systems of equations and graphing polynomials.

Right after you tell someone that you’re writing a math book, that’s what half the people tell you. Why is that? You never hear somebody say “I’m not a history person.” They’ll just say “I don’t like history.” It says to me that people think it’s something wrong with them, not the subject.

Why is that important? Because it means that helping learners struggling with math is equal parts working on the material and working on the learner. In order to really get the learner engaged, you first have to fix the math issues that they have.

Where do math issues come from?

Math study is sequential.
If you have problem with understanding a concept with addition, then you’re going to have trouble with subtraction and multiplication. So if you have a problem with Algebra, it’s going to follow you through Geometry, Algebra 2, Trigonometry, and the fact is that unless you go back and relearn the concept that is missing, there will be problems showing up in your work and it will be really hard to find the root cause.

Through elementary school, here’s how math progresses:

Pretty intuitive in the beginning (adding and subtracting you can do with blocks and it makes total sense).

Then “math” goes into the land of times tables, division, more multiplication (this time with two places), more division (this time with two places), and it tends to get...well...Boring! So by the time you start Algebra, you’re already saying, "I'm not a math person."

The problem is that Algebra is where mathematics really starts, although a bunch of people are already turned off. In Algebra you’re learning how to apply logic, how to construct a real problem in the math world, and seeking a solution to things that you can’t do in your head. You can write out the situation as you know it, and following Algebraic principles, get to the answer. The answer is something that you can actually use. You learn the process and understand the relationship that the equation, inequality, functions, or graph represents; and how to manipulate it.

EVERYBODY is a math person; you just might not know it yet. Doesn’t mean that everybody is going to love it, go out and become a math major, but it means that everyone can work with math and use it out there in the world. Because you’ll need to. Unless you plan to never spend any money or put anything together with tools, you’re going to need math to help you. And there is no reason why everyone can’t get there. They just have to start by thinking they can.

About the Author

Tracey Pilone is a freelance technical writer who has supported mission planning and RF analysis software for the Navy. She is a licensed Civil Engineer who has worked in construction management for several years in Washington DC. She has a Civil Engineering degree from Virginia Tech and a Masters of Education from the University of Virginia.

Dan Pilone is a Senior Software Architect with Blueprint Technologies, Inc. He has designed and implemented systems for Hughes, ARINC, UPS, and the Naval Research Laboratory. He also teaches project management, software design, and software engineering at The Catholic University in Washington D.C. Dan has written several books on software development, including UML 2.0 in a Nutshell and UML 2.0 Pocket Reference, both published by O'Reilly.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (January 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596514867
• ISBN-13: 978-0596514860
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for those with "math stage fright", January 25, 2009

By 

calvinnme - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Head First Algebra: A Learner's Guide to Algebra I (Paperback)

It was rather hard for me to review this book, since algebra is the basis for studies in more complex branches of mathematics, and once you know it, it is rather like describing how it is that you know how to walk. However, this does seem to be an excellent book that starts at the beginning and even before. If you have problems with basic mathematics the book has two appendices that talk about "what's left over" including the graphing calculators that were certainly not part of my algebra education back in the 1970's but are vital to learning the subject now. The other appendix is all about pre-algebra mathematics, starting with the basic addition and subtraction of integers. Since all students don't need this kind of brush-up, it is left as an extra feature.

Word problems are usually what strikes fear into students of algebra. This book helps a great deal with that since the whole book is basically about solving "word problems". The last chapter is explicitly devoted to it and is entitled "real world algebra". This book has you solving algebra problems and learning its principles without getting what I like to call math stage fright by using the same principles that work so well in the other "head first" books. There are frequent puzzles, Q&A sessions, and plenty of pictorial representations of the problems that are being solved.

Even if you get this book, a good Schaum's outline is always a good cheap source of extra problems even if they can come up short on explanation. I highly Schaum's Outline of Intermediate Algebrarecommend for that purpose. In addition, it also has additional explanations of some of the same material that is in this book so that you have some reinforcement in the realm of explanation just in case you need it. The following is the table of contents of the book, since it is currently missing from the product description.

Chapter 1. what is algebra?
Chapter 2. 2 (more) complicated equations
Chapter 3. rules for numeric operations
Chapter 4. exponent operations
Chapter 5. graphing
Chapter 6. inequalities
Chapter 7. systems of equations
Chapter 8. expanding binomials & factoring
Chapter 9. quadratic equations
Chapter 10. functions
Chapter 11. real-world algebra
Appendix A. leftovers
Section A.1. #1 Negative Exponents
Section A.2. Working with negative exponents
Section A.3. Negative exponents also give you flexibility
Section A.4. #2 Table of values for graphing
Section A.5. #3 Absolute value equations
Section A.6. #4 Calculators
Section A.7. #5 More practice, especially for factoring
Appendix B. pre-Algebra review
Section B.1. Algebra starts with numbers
Section B.2. How do you work with negative numbers?
Section B.3. Addition and subtraction of integers
Section B.4. Working with mixed integers
Section B.5. Multiplication and division of integers
Section B.6. The rules for integer signs - multiplication and division
Section B.7. Absolute Value
Section B.8. Number sets - all together
Section B.9. The number sets
Section B.10. How decimals communicate
Section B.11. Addition and subtraction with decimals
Section B.12. Decimal multiplication
Section B.13. Decimal division
Section B.14. Let's do some division!
Section B.15. Special decimals
Section B.16. Working with percents
Section B.17. Fractions
Section B.18. Fractions show parts of a whole
Section B.19. Fraction multiplication
Section B.20. Fraction division mixes numerators and denominators
Section B.21. Improper fractions
Section B.22. Divide to make an improper fraction proper
Section B.23. More about improper fractions
Section B.24. Invert a fraction to get its reciprocal
Section B.25. Fraction division - option #2
Section B.26. Adding and subtracting fractions
Section B.27. You need a common denominator
Section B.28. Equivalent fractions get you matching denominators
Section B.29. Use the lowest common denominator for addition
Section B.30. Fraction addition and subtraction training
Section B.31. Dividing by one doesn't change the value
Section B.32. Reduce fractions by dividing by 1
Section B.33. Factor trees can eliminate lots of little steps
Section B.34. Pick out the prime factors
Section B.35. Reduce fractions with the factor tree
Section B.36. Putting it all together - fractions
Section B.37. Converting decimals to fractions
Section B.38. Conversions everywhere
Section B.39. Division by Zero doesn't work
Section B.40. Sometimes multiplication takes forever!
Section B.41. Is there a shorter way?
Section B.42. Why does all this matter?

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, but someone needed to edit for ERRORS, July 26, 2009

By 

Michael Lovett (Lake Wylie, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Head First Algebra: A Learner's Guide to Algebra I (Paperback)

On a Thursday I found out I needed to take a college placement test on Monday and this test included higher math, including Algebra, which I hadn't studied in 30 year.

I hit the local Barnes & Noble and came home with three books on Algebra, and over the next 2.5 days worked through a good chunk of all of them, allowing me to do some good side-by-side comparisons.

I liked the verbose teaching style and constant use of fairly realistic examples in this book. I like that they explain some things that other books just assume you know, and therefore don't mention.

I like all the "hand-written" side notes and arrows and diagrams, and the contrived "discussions" after many topics; all these help get you thinking and remembering what you've just read, and worked on.

This book is the closest thing to being in a classroom. I say this, because many of the notes and arrows, which I just referred to, are similar to questions and answers that would probably take place in real classroom after a teacher introduced one of these topics. For example, after introducing linear graphing, a teacher would certain get questions like "But what's the point of doing this? What does it accomplish?". This book spends lots of time answering questions like these, really helping you understand that topic and answering lots of questions that would probably come up in your own mind as well.

I would give this book a better rating but they really missed the mark in one area: accuracy. Early on in the book I found several errors in the answer that really discouraged me. I thought I had misunderstood a topic and went back over the material several times till I finally just concluded they'd gotten it wrong.

This is not acceptable, folks. It's clear that LOTS of work went into this book, couldn't a little time have been spent making sure the answers were correct?

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Head First Book On The Market, March 23, 2009

By 

Daniel McKinnon "Dan" (Tewksbury, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Head First Algebra: A Learner's Guide to Algebra I (Paperback)

'Head First Algebra: A Learner's Guide to Algebra I' is quite simply the best book in the line of Head First publications for the following reasons:

1. The writing is outstanding, examples are relative and easy to follow and there are plenty of different ways to present the data within.

2. The Head First line of books are targeted towards individuals that want to be entertained while learning. With the target audience being high school students, this is the exact group that will be doing algebra and wanting to be entertained.

3. Content is logically broken up over 500+ pages and 11 chapters. The authors really got it right with showing the different facets of algebra I in the right order and way.

If you are a student learning algebra you owe it to yourself to pick up this book. I loved math when I was a student and would have loved to have learned it this way.

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED