Mark Zegarelli - Basic Math & Pre-Algebra All-in-One For Dummies (+ Chapter Quizzes Online)

Basic Math & Pre-Algebra All-in-One For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS WORK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES, WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS OR PROMOTIONAL STATEMENTS FOR THIS WORK. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS ENDORSE THE INFORMATION OR SERVICES THE ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A SPECIALIST WHERE APPROPRIATE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR AUTHORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies .

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022932610

ISBN 978-1-119-86708-1 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-86748-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-86726-5 (ebk)

1. Chapter 3
2. Chapter 13
3. Chapter 14
4. Chapter 17
5. Chapter 18
6. Chapter 20
7. Chapter 25

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 4
3. Chapter 10
4. Chapter 13
5. Chapter 19
6. Chapter 23
7. Chapter 25

Does math really need to be so hard? Nope.

I say this speaking as a guy who has struggled with math as much as, if not more than, you have. Believe me. And a big part of the struggle often has more to do with the lack of clarity in how math is explained than with the actual math.

This is too bad, because the whole idea behind math is supposed to be clarity. In a world where so many things are unclear, 2 + 2 will always equal 4.

My second-greatest joy in teaching math is when a light breaks across a students face as they suddenly understand something new. My greatest joy, though, is what often follows: a skepticism that it couldnt possibly be this easy.

When you approach math right, its almost always easier than you think. And a lot of the stuff that hung you up when you first saw it probably isnt all that scary after all. Many students feel they got lost somewhere along the way on the road between learning to count to ten and their first day in an algebra class and this may be true whether theyre 14 or 104. If this is you, dont worry. Youre not alone, and help is right here!

This book brings together the four components you need to make sense of math:

• Clear explanations of each topic
• Example questions with step-by-step answers
• Plenty of practice problems (with more available online!)
• Chapter quizzes to test your knowledge at the end of most chapters

Although you can certainly work through this book from beginning to end, you dont have to. Feel free to jump directly to whatever chapter has the type of problems you want to practice. When youve worked through enough problems in a section to your satisfaction, feel free to jump to a different section. If you find the problems in a section too difficult, flip back to an earlier section or chapter to practice the skills you need just follow the cross-references.

If youre planning to read this book, you likely fall into one of these categories:

• A student who wants a solid understanding of the basics of math for a class or test youre taking
• An adult who wants to improve skills in arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages, weights and measures, geometry, algebra, and so on for when you have to use math in the real world
• Someone who wants a refresher so you can help another person understand math

My only assumption about your skill level is that you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. So, to find out whether youre ready for this book, take this simple test:

If you can answer these four questions correctly (the answers are 11, 8, 27, and 5), youre ready to begin.

Youll see the following five icons throughout the book: