Christopher Monahan - The Everything Guide to Algebra: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Basics of Algebra - in Plain English!

THE

GUIDE TO
ALGEBRA

Dear Reader,

I first heard the joke Q: Define aftermath. A: Algebra. very early in my teaching career, when the only people who studied elementary algebra were the college-bound students, and the only ones likely to take intermediate algebra were those who were headed toward physics, engineering, or mathematics.

The times have changed. Since the introduction of the scientific calculator, the personal computer, and the graphing calculator, the changes in educational expectations have become much more intense. The PC did not quite live up to its claim that users would have more free time. Instead, the amount of data that was available to the general public grew exponentially. Employers expected that more of their employees would access and analyze the data. With this increase in expectations came a significant increase in the number of students taking more than elementary algebra.

You will find that this book uses the graphing calculator with some regularity. This text also contains traditional symbol manipulation, because these skills are the building blocks for more advanced topics.

I hope that this book helps you better understand some of these basic principles of algebra and that you enjoy working through the material.

Chris Monahan

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THE

GUIDE TO
ALGEBRA

A step-by-step guide to the basics
of algebrain plain English!

Christopher Monahan

Former President, Association of Mathematics Teachers of New York State

To my family
dht, kem-s, rmm-s, kmm, art, bht, sast, and crt

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ISBN 10: 1-4405-0458-X
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0458-7
eISBN 10: 1-4405-0459-8
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0459-4

Printed in the United States of America.

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