Algebra Demystified : A Self Teaching Guide (Demystified) by McGraw-Hill Professional Title: Algebra Demystified : A Self Teaching Guide (Demystified)

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Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
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Algebra Demystified : A Self Teaching Guide (Demystified) by McGraw-Hill Professional

Awesome book!

I have never found a book that helped so much!

I personally learn from doing, and that is what this book teaches you to do. You jump right in, and don't get confused by too much by over-explanations.

This book is working great for me and I can't wait to get conquer this book and more!
Algebra Demystified : A Self Teaching Guide (Demystified) by McGraw-Hill Professional

Loaded with typos, errors, and confusing grammar.

A lot of the other reviews have covered the high points of this book, and should be considered along with this review. I did find that the book was adept in teaching the ways of algebra from the comfort of my desk, but there was a lot of head scratching along the way.

In many examples, the author substitutes the standard dot symbol for multiplication with a lowercase "x". Okay, not such a big deal, except we're already solving for "x" the variable. 4x (34) and 4 x (34) are similar enough to confuse, and just should not be done.

Also, many of the paragraphs explaining the upcoming steps use tricky passive voice grammar that requires several reads through, or simply shows how to solve the problems without offering you any reason why it works.

I found that these faults were actually helpful to my learning. First of all, 95% of all math teachers are more confusing and obfuscated than this book, so you're already ahead of the game there. Second, in absence of any reasoning behind why any of this works, you're required to forge those mental pathways yourself; kinda like creating your own proof in your head. For me, that helps me commit these skills to memory. Would a text or teacher who explains the "why" along with the "how" be any more or less effective? I wouldn't know, I've never encountered it.
Algebra Demystified : A Self Teaching Guide (Demystified) by McGraw-Hill Professional

Great Book

I was a nervous wreck because it has been several years since my last algebra class. This book was very informative.
Algebra Demystified : A Self Teaching Guide (Demystified) by McGraw-Hill Professional

Not a useful book for anyone who needs algebra to be demystified!

I bought this book to teach my son algebra and brush up on my own algebra skills. Not only is he mystified, but I am too, and I did well in beginning algebra in high school!

As has been stated in another review, there are plenty of "examples" of each type of problem, but NO explanations of how the answers to the examples are reached. There is almost no explanatory text in this book, and some of the examples combine multiple steps, leaving us wondering, "How did they get THAT from THAT?"

The book also moves too fast, as though it is giving you a quick review, not teaching you something for the first time. For example, all eight properties of exponents are covered in the space of ten pages; they introduce three or four properties at a time, and then they have you do practice problems using all four properties, so that you must try to figure out which of the properties you should be using for each problem. This is not a nice thing to do to people with non-mathematical brains! It would be much more user-friendly if they introduced one property, had you practice using it, then went on to the next property.

If you have a mathematically oriented mind and have previously taken algebra classes and aced them, you will probably like this book. However, if you are a non-math type person who needs clear explanations of how to solve algebra problems, run very fast in the opposite direction!! I wish I hadn't wasted my money on this book.
Algebra Demystified : A Self Teaching Guide (Demystified) by McGraw-Hill Professional

Extremely great for me, but not for everyone.

This book was a great refresher for my high school course; actually, it explained everything better than my teacher in that course could. This book explains Algebra well, it starts you from fractions and moves on to more rigorous algebraic processes. The book was clear, and quite fun to read... but it's not for everyone. As most math books, not everyone will find it clear and concise on the subject, not everyone learns the same way, making this book either more difficult or easier for that person. But, overall, since this book got the job done precisely for me, it will receive my 5 out of 5 stars.
Algebra Demystified : A Self Teaching Guide (Demystified) by McGraw-Hill Professional

Product Description

Whether you want to learn more about algebra, refresh your skills, or improve your classroom performance, Algebra Demystified is the perfect shortcut.

Knowing algebra gives you a better choice of jobs, helps you perform better in science, computing, and math courses, ups your score on competitive exams, and improves your ability to do daily computations. And there's no faster or more painless way to master the subject than Algebra Demystified! Entertaining author and experienced teacher Rhonda Huettenmueller provides all the math background you need and uses practical examples, real data, and a totally different approach to life the "myst" from algebra.

With Algebra Demystified, you master algebra one simple step at a time--at your own speed. Unlike most books on the subject, general concepts are presented first --and the details follow. In order to make the process as clear and simple as possible, long computations are presented in a logical, layered progression with just one execution per step.

THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND SELF-TEACHING TEXT OFFERS:

  • Questions at the end of every chapter and section to reinforce learning and pinpoint weaknesses
  • A 100-questions final exam for self-assessment
  • An intensive focus on word problems and fractions--help where it's most often needed
  • Detailed examples and solutions