Algebra I All-in-One For Dummies. Mary Jane Sterling

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Introduction

      “ What is algebra?” “Is it really that important in the study of other math courses?” “Where did it come from?” And my favorite question from students: “What do I need this for?”

      Algebra is really the basis of most courses that you take in high school and college. You can’t do anything in calculus without a good algebra background. And there’s lots of algebra in geometry. You even need algebra in computer science! Algebra was created, modified, and continues to be tweaked so that ideas and procedures can be shared by everyone. With all people speaking the same “language,” there are fewer misinterpretations.

      Algebra, or al-jabr in Arabic, means “a reunion of broken pieces.” How appropriate!

About This Book

      This book covers just about everything you’d ever want to know about basic algebra. And it provides opportunities for further discoveries. You’ll find explanations, examples, practice opportunities, and problems to test your comprehension. This book starts with basic operations and terminology, gives you information on simplifying and organizing expressions, runs through equation-solving, introduces applications, and goes visual with the graphing. When finished, you should:

       Be familiar with notation and terminology.

       Have confidence in finding the correct answer.

       Look forward to more challenges with Algebra II and other courses.

      Each new topic provides:

       Example problems with answers and solutions.

       Practice problems with answers and solutions.

      Each chapter provides:

       A test with problems representing the topics covered.

       Solutions to the test problems.

Online quizzes are also available for even more practice and confidence-building.

      This book also has a few conventions to keep in mind:

       New terms introduced in a chapter, as well as variables, are in italics.

       Keywords in lists and numbered steps are in boldface.

       Any websites appear in monofont.

       The final answers to problems appear in bold. Then the explanation follows.

Foolish Assumptions

      You are reading this book to learn more about algebra, so I'm assuming that you have some of the other basic math skills coming in: familiarity with fractions and their operations, comfort with handling decimals and the operations involved, some experience with integers (signed whole numbers) and how they operate, and some graphing knowledge — how to place points on a graphing plane. If you don’t have as much knowledge as you’d like related to some items mentioned, you might want to refer to some resources such as Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies or Pre-Algebra Essentials For Dummies.

      I am also assuming that you’re as excited about mathematics as I am. Oh, okay, you don’t have to be that excited. But you’re interested and eager and anxious to increase your mathematical abilities. That’s the main thing you need.

Icons Used in This Book

      You’ll see the following five icons throughout the book:

      

Each example is an algebra question based on the discussion and explanation, followed by a solution. Work through these examples, and then refer to them to help you solve the practice problems that follow them as well as the quiz questions at the end of the chapter.

      

This icon points out important information that you need to focus on. Make sure you understand this information fully before moving on. You can skim through these icons when reading a chapter to make sure you remember the highlights.

      

Tips are hints that can help speed you along when answering a question. See whether you find them useful when working on practice problems.

      

This icon flags common mistakes that students make if they’re not careful. Take note and proceed with caution!