Ron Aharoni - Arithmetic for Parents: A Book for Grown-Ups About Childrens Mathematics: A Book for Grown-Ups About Childrens Mathematics (Revised Edition)

Algebra

for Parents

A Book for Grown-Ups About

Middle School Mathematics

Other World Scientific Titles by the Author

Arithmetic for Parents: A Book for Grown-Ups About Childrens Mathematics Revised Edition

ISBN: 978-981-4602-89-1

ISBN: 978-981-4602-90-7 (pbk)

Mathematics, Poetry and Beauty

ISBN: 978-981-4602-93-8

ISBN: 978-981-4602-94-5 (pbk)

Circularity: A Common Secret to Paradoxes, Scientific Revolutions and Humor

ISBN: 978-981-4723-67-1

ISBN: 978-981-4723-68-8 (pbk)

Algebra

for Parents

A Book for Grown-Ups About

Middle School Mathematics

Ron Aharoni

Technion, Israel institute of Technology, Israel

Published by

World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224

USA office:27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601

UK office:57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Aharoni, Ron, author.

Title: Algebra for parents : a book for grown-ups about middle school mathematics / Ron Aharoni, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel.

Description: New Jersey : World Scientific, [2021]

Identifiers: LCCN 2020041069 | ISBN 9789811209222 (hardcover) | ISBN 9789811210747 (paperback) | ISBN 9789811209239 (ebook for institutions) | ISBN 9789811209246 (ebook for individuals)

Subjects: LCSH: Algebra--Study and teaching. | Algebra--Study and teaching (Middle school)

Classification: LCC QA152.3 .A24 2021 | DDC 512.9071/2--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020041069

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Copyright 2021 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the publisher.

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Printed in Singapore

Mathematics is for the lazy. It means letting the principles do the work for you.

George Polya, a Hungarian-American mathematician and educator.

For the lazy? You must be kidding, Professor Polya. Everybody knows that mathematics is the hardest academic subject! Go entice others with promises of easy life.

But Polya means precisely what he says. In fact, this is true for all abstract thinking. A short-term effort results in a long term economy. We invent an abstraction, say cat, and using it we know what to expect from every cat we meet, instead of learning anew how to behave with such a creature every time we meet one. A one-time investment bears long range fruit.

So, why does Polya speak of mathematics, among all abstractions?