Algebra - The x And y of Everyday Math

By Michael Willers

Book Overview

Algebra is all around us. Whether we realize it or not, it both represents and influences the world in a huge variety of ways-from the number of petals on a flower, to the interest rate on your... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1435114000
• ISBN13: 9781435114005
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Fall River
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

X cellent

Before mentioning the contents, we should look at the physical book itself. It is a well-designed hardback with thick, glossy pages. I suspect that they are acid-free. The only thing missing is a string bookmark. The diagrams and pictures are eye-popping and colorful. Each chapter is color-coded at the bottom of the page, making a visual index. This definitely is not a test book, it is not a beginning math book, and it is not filled with mindless drills, nonsensical relationships, or mathematical mind twisters. It is fun to read from front to back. We get all kinds of relevant information at just the right time to make sense of what looks like nonsensical g-o-b-b-l-e-d-y-g-o-o-k symbols. The chapter titles say pretty much what you will see: Algebra: An Introduction Algebra Basics Ancient Greece Egypt, India, and Persia The Italian Connection Post-renaissance Europe Money and privacy However, as good as this book is, Mathematician Michael Willers never discovered the power and ease of quarter-pi used in ratios of a circle to squares to cubes to cylinders. Quarter-pi is used a lot in hydraulics. 0.785398, you can keep this in your head and do quick estimating. The one thing about this book is that you are bound to learn something new. And if not, at least see what you know in a different way.