The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (Penguin Reference Books) [Paperback]

David Nelson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0140513426 | ISBN-13: 978-0140513424 | Edition: 2nd

The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics takes in all branches of pure and applied mathematics, from algebra to mechanics and from number theory to statistics. Invaluable for students at all levels, it is also a useful and versatile source book for economists, business people, engineers, technicians and scientists of all kinds who use mathematics in the course of their work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A first-class job ... Buy yourself a copy at once' Bulletin of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications

About the Author

David Nelson is a Lecturer in Education at the University of Manchester, England, specializing in mathematics education and microcomputing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 2nd edition (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140513426
• ISBN-13: 978-0140513424
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,223,072 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Handy reference, January 29, 2002

By 

Ppaul (Gauteng, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (Penguin Reference Books) (Paperback)

This book is useful for anyone doing maths at college. It summarizes just about everything and is good as a quick reference to refresh your memory on something. (It is also fun just to page through, and look at all the wierd things that mathematicians have come up with). Another advantage is that if you are studying a section in maths that you are finding a little confusing or hard to grasp, the entry in this dictionary will give the important points. But don't expect too much detail, which I think is the main drawback of the book.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really, really helpful!, April 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dictionary of Mathematics, The Penguin (Dictionary, Penguin) (Paperback)

Anybody who regularly does math on a more-or-less advanced level will delight in this book; it is exhaustive but managable (the size of a common pocket novel, really) and quite concise. Buyers should realize, of course, that books like these are not meant to learn you calculus or whatever; instead, it is more of a helpful hand when you need it. Now, what was that formula for partial integration, again...?

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for college mathematics students, June 24, 2005

By 

Christopher Cho (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (Penguin Reference Books) (Paperback)

As a student studying mathematics, I find it very useul! Packed with 3200 terms and 200 illustrations, It's a great quick reference guide. I found things in this guide that I couldn't find in any other book or guide. Another thing about this reference guide is the lack of poor illustrations and examples. Some things this guide helped me with is PARABOLAS, ELLIPSES, HYPERBOLAS, GAMMA FUNTION, ZETA FUNCTION, FEIGENBAUM NUMBER, THE GREEK ALPHABET, and much more. I thank David Nelson and Penguin Books for such excellent work.