Mark Zegarelli - U Can: Basic Math and Pre-Algebra for Dummies

U Can: Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies

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

Copyright 2015 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 AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM.

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 www.wiley.com/techsupport .

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: 2014956254

ISBN 978-1-119-06796-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-06795-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-06794-8 (ebk)

1. Table of Contents

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 itself in how math is explained than with the math itself.

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 he or she suddenly understands 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. Lots of 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 youre 14 or 104. If this is you, dont worry. Youre not alone, and help is right here!

This book brings together the three 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!)

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.

In addition to the book youre reading right now, be sure to check out the free Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/ucanbasicmathprealgebra for a set of quick reference notes on everything from the order of operations to basic algebra conventions to working with radicals and more.

In addition, at www.dummies.com/extras/ucanbasicmathprealgebra you can find free articles to extend your understanding of a variety of topics, such as probability, exponents, prime factorization, percent problems, repeating decimals, and more.

The online practice that comes free with this book offers 1,001 questions and answers that allow you to gain more practice with basic math and pre-algebra concepts. The beauty of the online questions is that you can customize your online practice to focus on the topic areas that give you the most trouble. Or if youre short on time but want to get a mixed bag of a limited number of questions, you can specify the number of questions you want to practice. Whether you practice a few hundred questions in one sitting or a couple dozen, and whether you focus on a few types of questions or practice every type, the online program keeps track of the questions you get right and wrong so you can monitor your progress and spend time studying exactly what you need.

To gain access to the online practice, all you have to do is register. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Register your book or ebook at Dummies.com to get your PIN. Go to