1001_Math_Problems__LearningExpress_

And it did finally! I’m proud to say I no longer have to pay someone to do my 1040 form for the IRS, and I don’t squirm and make excuses when, at lunch with friends, I’m called on to figure the tip in my head. I even balance my checkbook now!

Learn by doing. It’s an old lesson, tried and true. And it’s the tool this book is designed to give you.

Of course, this method works for people who don’t have math anxiety, too. Maybe you have simply forgotten a lot of what you learned about math because you haven’t had to use it much. Or maybe you’re a student tackling arithmetic, algebra, and geometry for the first time, and you just need more practice than your textbook gives you. Perhaps you’re getting ready for an exam, and you just want to make sure your math skills are up to the task. Whatever your situation, you can benefit from the method of this book. That old maxim really is true: Practice makes perfect.

In each section, you will find a few pre-algebra problems mixed in—problems that ask you to deal with variables (letters that stand for unknown numbers, such as x or y), exponents (those little numbers hanging above the other numbers, like 24), and the like. These problems are a warm-up for Section 5, Algebra. If they are too hard for you at first, just skip them. If you can answer them, you will be ahead of the game when you get to Section 5.

The most important learning tool in this book is not the problems, but the answers. At the back of the book, each answer is fully explained. After you finish a set, go to the back of the book and see how many questions you got right. But don’t stop there: look at the explanations for all the questions, both the ones you got right and the ones you got wrong. You will be learning by doing, and learning from your mistakes—the best way to learn any subject.

1001 Math Problems is divided into sections, each focusing on one kind of math:

Section 1: Miscellaneous Math (page 1)

Section 2: Fractions (page 25)

Section 3: Decimals (page 47)

Section 4: Percentages (page 71)

Section 5: Algebra (page 95)

Section 6: Geometry (page 123)

Each section is subdivided into short sets of about 16 problems each, so as to make the whole project seem less overwhelming. You will begin with one or two sets of fairly simple nonword problems; later sets focus on word problems dealing with real-world situations.

Whether you are working alone or helping someone else brush up on their math, this book can help you improve math skills.

Working On Your Own

If you are working alone to brush up on the basics, you may want to use this book in combination with a basic text or with Practical Math Success in 20 Minutes a Day. It will be helpful to read a summary of the different kinds of fractions and how to convert fractions into another form, before tackling fraction problems. If you are fairly sure of your basic math skills, however, you can use this book by itself.

No matter how you decide to use the book, you will find it most helpful if you do not use a calculator,

so as to prevent (or cure) “calculitis”—too much reliance on a calculator.

Tutoring Others

This book will work very well in combination with almost any basic math text. You will probably find it most helpful to give the student a brief lesson in the particular operation they will be learning—whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, algebra, or geometry—and then have him or her spend the remainder of the class or session actually doing problems. You will want to impress upon him or her the importance of learning by doing, and caution not to use a calculator so as to gain a better understanding of the operation in question.

Additional Resources

If you want more than just problems to work out—if you would like explanations of the kinds of math you

find in this book—you may want to try one of the following books.

■Practical Math Success in 20 Minutes a Day by Judith Robinovitz (LearningExpress)

■Algebra the Easy Way, 3rd ed. by Douglas Downing (Barron’s)

■All the Math You’ll Ever Need by Steve Slavin (Wiley)

■Essential Math/Basic Math for Everyday Use by Edward Williams and Robert A. Atkins (Barron’s)

■Everyday Math for Dummies by Charles Seiter (IDG)

■Math the Easy Way, 3rd ed. by Anthony Prindle and Katie Prindle (Barron’s)

■Math Essentials by Steve Slavin (LearningExpress)

■Math Smart: Essential Math for These Numeric Times (Princeton Review)

■Mathematics Made Simple by Abraham Sperling and Monroe Stuart (Doubleday)