What do you think?
Rate this book
Algebra for the Practical Man
- GenresMathematicsScience
277 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1946
6 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 22, 2016
Looking through this book the most obvious feature is that algebra has not changed much in the last seventy years. The only content in this book that is not part of the modern course is the presence of instructions on how to use tables of logarithms.
The book opens with a chapter on the symbols and numbers of algebra, followed by chapters on the rules of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of numbers. Factorization, powers, roots, exponents, radicals, complex numbers, operations on binomials, solving equations, logarithms, exponential equations, ratios, proportions, progressions, series, combinations and basic probability are the remaining topics. The explanations and examples in the text could be used in modern classes.
Exercises are given at the end of each chapter and solutions to all appear at the end. This is where this book is a refreshing change from the modern textbook. Most of the sets of exercises have only 18-20 problems in them. There seems to be something like an “arms race” among modern textbook authors in terms of how many exercises they include.
Another significant difference is that this book contains no diagrams, it is all text and formulas. It is wise for the educator to take an occasional look back at how it was done many years ago and this book demonstrates the constants inherent in teaching algebra.
The book opens with a chapter on the symbols and numbers of algebra, followed by chapters on the rules of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of numbers. Factorization, powers, roots, exponents, radicals, complex numbers, operations on binomials, solving equations, logarithms, exponential equations, ratios, proportions, progressions, series, combinations and basic probability are the remaining topics. The explanations and examples in the text could be used in modern classes.
Exercises are given at the end of each chapter and solutions to all appear at the end. This is where this book is a refreshing change from the modern textbook. Most of the sets of exercises have only 18-20 problems in them. There seems to be something like an “arms race” among modern textbook authors in terms of how many exercises they include.
Another significant difference is that this book contains no diagrams, it is all text and formulas. It is wise for the educator to take an occasional look back at how it was done many years ago and this book demonstrates the constants inherent in teaching algebra.
February 23, 2017
Algebra, loosely translated as "restoration and completion", has been accused by many a student of being the bane of their existence. With this in mind, J.E. Thompson gently guides the reader through the conceptual ideas behind algebra, and the innumerable methods of problem solving it allows for.
July 19, 2024
A bought this math book series, consisting of five books: “Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus for the Practical Man.” I had no math background and they made it easier for my math studies and paved the way to my earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering!
June 18, 2024
Overall nothing really interesting apart from the last chapter on some Boolean algebra, definitely something I want to look into more.
arpcstorage
March 15, 20171946
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews