Customer Reviews

Master Math: Trigonometry (Master Math Series)

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

 

 

I bought this book and Trignometry for Dummies to help me prepare for my first trig exam in college. My professor is good, but his explanations aren't always clear and I really needed something to bridge the gap. This book does an excellent job of explaining not only HOW to do things, but WHY. It's even better than the textbook I was required to buy for the class. As for the other book, Trig for Dummies, it's just doesn't hold a candle to this one.

This is the best book out there on learning trigonometry. I especially appreciate the visually oriented focus. Each concept is described in all its forms, such as sine. Do you know each of the different ways sine can be described? Like the other Master Math books by Ross, the topics flow logically and are in context with what precedes and follows. It is thorough yet concise, and packed full of everything you, as tutor, or your kids need to know. The real world and fun applications are wonderful! The information is explained clearly and in a way that makes sense, so that a given concept is explained in such a way you understand what is being discussed rather than just memorizing formulas. What a breath of fresh air after the often-confusing text books I was and my children are given in school. I really feel I understand trigonometry after reading this book! If I were going back to school, and taking math or science, this book would be in my backpack. Also recommend: Master Math: Geometry. Master Math: Algebra. Master Math: Basic Math and Pre-Algebra. Also loved her novel: ARROWS THROUGH TIME: A Time Travel Tale of Adventure, Courage, and Faith

Students, teachers and parents alike will appreciate the application-oriented focus of this book, which reviews basic geometry and trigonometric functions and pairs explanations of these basics with practical applications. This adds new life and depth to the process of review for those who've had the math before, but want to brush up.

A little background on my situation. I need to pass (preferably with an "A")college trigonometry in order to obtain my degree. Math has always been my weak area. I had attempted to take it about a year and a half ago, and it didn't end well. I ended up dropping the class.
Since then, I have decided to barge into the mathematics world once again in order to properly defeat trigonometry. My plan was to get a comprehensive book on trig and learn everything during the summer; then, I won't feel so behind and lost in class. I choose this book due to the great reviews.
I'm on page 50. It's not what I expected at all. It goes into great detail on the easy topics and hardly does anything on the difficult ones. It doesn't show all the steps to solving the math. It doesn't explain how to use your calculator along with the equations (i.e. When do you press cos, sin, tan, cot, etc. in the equations?).
This book reminds me of borrowing notes from someone that is doing really well in class.It doesn't really teach you what's going on, but if you know what's going on, it could come in handy. I think perhaps when I am getting assignments, and I want to better understand it, this book will be useful. However, it's not capable of TEACHING. It's more like a handy reminder for people who already know. The description for it, I feel, was inaccurate. I think I'm going to invest in Dummies. Sigh.

I am not a big fan of the Mastering Math series. The author just does not have a style of writing that is conducive to learning. The organization of the books does not follow the typical pattern of textbooks.

Though this title, the Trig book, is better than the others by the same author.

First, it does lack exercises as others have pointed out, and the author's writing style is confusing at times.

However, I at least can understand the author's organization of the subject. Which is simply to lay a foundation and build on it. And it succeeds.

There is a nice review of Geometry to start with, and the topics are laid out in a logical progression.

The author uses the standard examples that Trig textbooks generally cover, and a few others which really are helpful. However, the biggest selling point is that the author provides the tools to help you understand the applications and build problem solving skills of your own.

Honestly this is probably the only useful Trig study guide on the market. So by default it is the best. Avoid the Dummies books.

I do not recommend the other titles in the "Mastering Math" series, but this one is at least wothwhile. So it gets the benefit of the doubt and 4 stars.

I am teaching myself Trigonometry and I use this book as a supplement to working Trig problems and as such it is excellent.

The author is able to clearly explain the concepts, provides excellent examples and details the steps so the reader isn't left wondering "what happened" between steps.

The book does not contain problems for the reader to solve (so if that is what you need you will need to look elsewhere) but this book is excellent for the intended purpose.

I recommend this book for those that are finding their current material lacking in helping them learn the subject.

Master Math : Trigonometry by Debra Ann Ross published by the Career Press, edition 2002 seems a good textbook.

Thirteen chapters including the first two claiming to be a Review of Numbers and Coordinate Systems (12 pages) and a review of Geometry (29 pages) cover the subject.

In 356 pages including an index with figures on almost every page, the size of an old videocassette container, so light you can keep it open in one hand, able to fit in a lunch box or small backpack, no. 12 very legible text, it is effective.

Two missing features :

1) Absence of exercises with an answer key for each chapter
2) Absence of a Glossary separate from the text

Finally, I find the language very academic , dry, ; I get the feeling a robot wrote the text with no personal touch ( feelings and emotions, personal opinions) from the author.

Here is a sentence taken verbatim from the Chapter 3, on Triangles and Trigonometric Functions, on page 44 :

" Right triangles consist of one right(90 degrees) angle and two acute(<90 degrees)angles that sum to 90 degrees, so that the total sum of the angles is 180 degrees."

Effective, concise language, yes, but dry and academic with no room for anything not strictly trigonometry.

For those 3 points, I assigned a 3-star mark.

Received the book in quick order which is usually the case from Amazon and was impressed with the first look at the book. Have not had a great amount of time to get into it yet but the first impression on leafing through the pages is that it appears to be laid out well and am looking forward to it.