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[Practical Algebra: A Self-Teaching Guide (Wiley Self-Teaching Guides)] [Author: Selby, Peter H.] [July, 1991]
Practical Algebra If you studied algebra years ago and now need a refresher course in order to use algebraic principles on the job, or if you're a student who needs an introduction to the subject, here's the perfect book for you. Practical Algebra is an easy and fun-to-use workout program that quickly puts you in command of all the basic concepts and tools of algebra. With the aid of practical, real-life examples and applications, you'll The basic approach and application of algebra to problem solving The number system (in a much broader way than you have known it from arithmetic) Monomials and polynomials; factoring algebraic expressions; how to handle algebraic fractions; exponents, roots, and radicals; linear and fractional equations Functions and graphs; quadratic equations; inequalities; ratio, proportion, and variation; how to solve word problems, and more Authors Peter Selby and Steve Slavin emphasize practical algebra throughout by providing you with techniques for solving problems in a wide range of disciplines—from engineering, biology, chemistry, and the physical sciences, to psychology and even sociology and business administration. Step by step, Practical Algebra shows you how to solve algebraic problems in each of these areas, then allows you to tackle similar problems on your own, at your own pace. Self-tests are provided at the end of each chapter so you can measure your mastery.
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First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 18, 2014
Want to feel really dumb? Enroll in a science PhD program at an elite school after having been out of academia for many years and after having spent your middle and high school years in a state of stultified catatonic boredom and disinterest. Sign up for a few advanced math classes during your PhD program and become painfully aware of the gaps in your knowledge that your earlier disinterest engendered.
Want to feel really smart? Go back and try to fill in those holes with a book like this. At some point along the way I realized that, despite my horrid initial exposure to algebra and more advanced mathematics, it's an absolutely beautiful discipline and is useful for much more than calculating when two trains leaving from different stations will meet if one is traveling at 30 mph and blah, blah, blah. It's so much more than that!! With proper training, one can begin to probe the deepest secrets of the universe, and uncover fascinating hidden relationships between all sorts of real-world phenomena. I've become so enamored with the subject that I decided to go back to square one and work my way back up to advanced math, filling in all the gaps in my understanding along the way and learning at my own depth and pace rather than being force-fed in the examination-focused pressure-cooker style favored by most academic settings.
This is a wonderful book for this purpose. The explanations are clear and problems elegant (if you factor consistently, all the numbers in the problems divide into one another nicely without ugly fractions). I finished wondering how I could have ever found any aspect of algebra confusing. Oh, yeah, it was passing all those notes in high-school and not giving a damn. It's never too late! Read this book!
Want to feel really smart? Go back and try to fill in those holes with a book like this. At some point along the way I realized that, despite my horrid initial exposure to algebra and more advanced mathematics, it's an absolutely beautiful discipline and is useful for much more than calculating when two trains leaving from different stations will meet if one is traveling at 30 mph and blah, blah, blah. It's so much more than that!! With proper training, one can begin to probe the deepest secrets of the universe, and uncover fascinating hidden relationships between all sorts of real-world phenomena. I've become so enamored with the subject that I decided to go back to square one and work my way back up to advanced math, filling in all the gaps in my understanding along the way and learning at my own depth and pace rather than being force-fed in the examination-focused pressure-cooker style favored by most academic settings.
This is a wonderful book for this purpose. The explanations are clear and problems elegant (if you factor consistently, all the numbers in the problems divide into one another nicely without ugly fractions). I finished wondering how I could have ever found any aspect of algebra confusing. Oh, yeah, it was passing all those notes in high-school and not giving a damn. It's never too late! Read this book!
January 4, 2026
This was a recommendation
from citytutoringmath
and well, you can Glue-Tube yourself
THE THREE MATH BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
citytutoringmath
70,800 subscribers
218,153 views
November 24, 2024
As I mentioned in the video, here are the links to the three math books that changed my life for the better:
1) Peter Selby and Steven L. Slavin, Practical Algebra: A Self-Teaching Guide
2) Mary Dolciani: Modern Algebra, Book I, Structure and Method
3) Mary Dolciani: Modern Algebra and Trigonometry, Book II, Structure and Method
////////
The person who did that episode of citytutoring math has his own book out
A Monograph of Algebra
Alfred Cromwell
340 pages
"A look at Algebraic Mathematics for the college and advanced high school student from a 19th century perspective. Topics include equations, logarithms, algebraic fractions and polynomials"
////////
as for Dolciani
I'm not terribly fond of book I
but I think you can pick up enough with the first chapter in Book II, to zoom ahead, but some kids will need the slow and steady fundamentals of Book I
Book I is basically a book that would work well for people in Grade 8 and 9, where people spend like 100-150 weeks doing something that should take a month
.......
essentially Dolciani's Book II was at its best in the first edition in 1964 and was massively used in North America in the second half of 'The New Math' after Sputnik.
///////
My preference is for Dolciani's Book III, and the books by Dunstan Hayden's two Algebra books (and a very terse third Geometry book)
Hayden is very terse and minimalistic, and only gives you just enough examples and problems, so every line and every problems are critical to be mastered before turning the page.
Both go together beautifully for real 1960s Ivy League preparation
Anyways on Glue-Tube you have a charming oddball, who talks about his three fundamental books that turned him from a failure at twelve into a mathematics teacher.
Wiley had a great series in the 70s and 80s called the Quick something series
Quick Algebra, Quick Calculus etc etc
and I regret not getting all the titles back in the late 1970s
when stores in the shopping mall actually carried neat textbooks and study guides like that
Selby basically wrote basic books after the war and into the 1980s, and only now I'm starting to appreciate someone who just isn't in the bookstores anymore
mind you, in the old days Schaum's Outlines had their great covers in the 50s 60s and 70s and 80s
from citytutoringmath
and well, you can Glue-Tube yourself
THE THREE MATH BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
citytutoringmath
70,800 subscribers
218,153 views
November 24, 2024
As I mentioned in the video, here are the links to the three math books that changed my life for the better:
1) Peter Selby and Steven L. Slavin, Practical Algebra: A Self-Teaching Guide
2) Mary Dolciani: Modern Algebra, Book I, Structure and Method
3) Mary Dolciani: Modern Algebra and Trigonometry, Book II, Structure and Method
////////
The person who did that episode of citytutoring math has his own book out
A Monograph of Algebra
Alfred Cromwell
340 pages
"A look at Algebraic Mathematics for the college and advanced high school student from a 19th century perspective. Topics include equations, logarithms, algebraic fractions and polynomials"
////////
as for Dolciani
I'm not terribly fond of book I
but I think you can pick up enough with the first chapter in Book II, to zoom ahead, but some kids will need the slow and steady fundamentals of Book I
Book I is basically a book that would work well for people in Grade 8 and 9, where people spend like 100-150 weeks doing something that should take a month
.......
essentially Dolciani's Book II was at its best in the first edition in 1964 and was massively used in North America in the second half of 'The New Math' after Sputnik.
///////
My preference is for Dolciani's Book III, and the books by Dunstan Hayden's two Algebra books (and a very terse third Geometry book)
Hayden is very terse and minimalistic, and only gives you just enough examples and problems, so every line and every problems are critical to be mastered before turning the page.
Both go together beautifully for real 1960s Ivy League preparation
Anyways on Glue-Tube you have a charming oddball, who talks about his three fundamental books that turned him from a failure at twelve into a mathematics teacher.
Wiley had a great series in the 70s and 80s called the Quick something series
Quick Algebra, Quick Calculus etc etc
and I regret not getting all the titles back in the late 1970s
when stores in the shopping mall actually carried neat textbooks and study guides like that
Selby basically wrote basic books after the war and into the 1980s, and only now I'm starting to appreciate someone who just isn't in the bookstores anymore
mind you, in the old days Schaum's Outlines had their great covers in the 50s 60s and 70s and 80s
October 11, 2011
This is probably the best self teaching guide I have come across for any subject, not just Algebra. Reader friendly, it anticipates that the person who picks this book up is most certainly a math-phobe, who was scarred by public school Algebra classes and teachers. Clear, plain, simple, well thought out explanations, good selection of questions to test whether the concept was grasped AND, (a really great thing) with the question is a direct reference back to the teaching of that particular concept in case you get it wrong and want to know why. I, I am proud to say, no longer fear Algebra. I no longer get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see letters in a math problem. It is much more of a game or puzzle like SUDOKO. Of course I have the luxury of doing it at my own pace now, but isn't that a privilege that should come with maturity.
May 16, 2008
I've been using this book for a few months. It's an excellent textbook for teaching myself algebra -- it covers *everything* and is clear, thorough and actually has a sense of humor.
February 7, 2010
returned to the library - didn't get all the way thru (uh oh)
Read
July 12, 2010This really helps and it's extremely interesting.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews