Colin Beveridge - Basic Maths Practice Problems For Dummies

Basic Maths Practice Problems For Dummies

by Colin Beveridge

Basic Maths Practice Problems For Dummies

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ISBN 978-1-118-35162-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-35161-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-35159-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-35158-1 (ebk)

Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International, Padstow.

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About the Author

Colin Beveridge is a maths confidence coach for Flying Colours Maths, author of Basic Maths For Dummies and Numeracy Tests For Dummies and co-author of the Little Algebra Book.

He holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of St Andrews and worked for several years on NASAs Living With A Star project at Montana State University, where he came up with an equation which is named after him. Its used to help save the world from being destroyed by solar flares. So far so good.

He became tired of the glamour of academia and returned to the UK to concentrate on helping students come to terms with maths and show that not all mathematicians are boring nerds; some are exciting, relatively well-adjusted nerds.

Colin lives in Poole, Dorset with an espresso pot, several guitars and nothing to prove. Feel free to visit his website at www.flyingcoloursmaths.co.uk or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/icecolbeveridge.

Dedication

In memory of my grandmother, Pat Knight, who taught me to be proud of being good with numbers.

Authors Acknowledgments

Im grateful, as always, to the team at Dummies Tower for knocking my book into shape - particularly my editors Simon Bell, Kate OLeary and Mike Baker, and my technical editors Giles Webberley and Alix Godfrey.

Thanks again to the Little Red Roaster in Parkstone for keeping me supplied with coffee and encouragement, and the students who helped me crystallise the ideas, especially Rebecca Murray and Jasmine Cooper.

And, of course, I thank my parents, who brought me up to say thank you Ken Beveridge and Linda Hendren.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, 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.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites

Project Editor: Simon Bell

Commissioning Editor: Mike Baker

Assistant Editor: Ben Kemble

Development Editor: Kate OLeary

Copy Editor: Kate OLeary

Technical Editors: Giles Webberley, Alix Godfrey

Proofreader: Mary White

Production Manager: Daniel Mersey

Publisher: David Palmer

Cover Photos: Shutterstock/ Robert Spriggs

Cartoons: Ed McLachlan

Composition Services

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Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Carrie A. Cesavice, Corrie Niehaus, Christin Swinford

Proofreader: Lindsay Amones

Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

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Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director

Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel

Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Introduction

Hi! Im Colin, and I want you to rock at maths.

I want you to have the skills you need to get the job youre going for or to qualify for a course or to help your kids with their homework. I want you to be able to say things like I use maths all the time... its not that hard or Im pretty good at fractions. And I want you to have the confidence to look at a sum the same way you look at a Sudoku or crossword puzzle: anticipating the pleasure of solving a problem.