Reddit reviews The Humongous Book of Algebra Problems (Humongous Books)
We found 13 Reddit comments about The Humongous Book of Algebra Problems (Humongous Books). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Alpha Books
Practical Algebra: A Self-Teaching Guide
really helped me a couple of years ago when I had to get up to speed on algebra quickly.
Beyond that, you can hardly do better in the best-bang-for-the-buck department than the Humongous Books series. 1000 problems in each book, annotated and explained, and he has an entertaining style.
The Humongous Book of Algebra Problems: Translated for People Who Don't Speak Math
The Humongous Book of Geometry Problems: Translated for People Who Don't Speak Math
The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems: For People Who Don't Speak Math
Do not enroll in a precalculus class until you have a solid grasp on the foundations of precalculus. Precalculus is generally considered to be the fundamentals required for calculus and beyond (obviously), and a strong understanding of precalculus will serve you well, but in order to do well in precalculus you still need a solid understanding of what comes before, and there is quite a bit.
I do not mean to sound discouraging, but I was tutoring a guy in an adult learning program from about December 2017-July 2018...I helped him with his homework and answered any questions that he had, but when he asked me to really get into the meat of algebra (he needed it for chemistry to become a nurse) I found a precalculus book at the library and asked him to go over the prerequisite chapter and it went completely over his head. Perhaps this is my fault as a tutor, but I do not believe so.
What I am saying is that you need a good foundation in the absolute basics before doing precalculus and I do not believe that you should enroll in a precalculus course ASAP because you may end up being let down and then give up completely. I would recommend pairing Basic Mathematics by Serge Lang with The Humongous Book of Algebra Problems (though any book with emphasis on practice will suffice) and using websites like khanacademy for additional practice problems and instructions. Once you have a good handle on this, start looking at what math courses are offered at your nearest CC and then use your best judgment to decide which course(s) to take.
I do not know how old you are, but if you are anything like me, you probably feel like you are running out of time and need to rush. Take your time and practice as much as possible. Do practice problems until it hurts to hold the pencil.
Reposted from this thread: http://www.reddit.com/r/IWantToLearn/comments/mqoxx/iwtl_math/
"Had a very similar path. Decided to bite the bullet and take my school's remedial algebra course, as I cheated through middle and high school and thus knew nothing. Failed remedial algebra and retook it. Now I'm graduating with a math minor and am taking a calc-based probability theory course. Have hope!
Advice:
I highly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Humongous-Book-Algebra-Problems-Translated/dp/1592577229 Lots of problems broken down step-by-step. Skipped steps are one of the hardest things to deal with when you don't yet have much mathematical knowledge, especially during self-study. Look for other books by the author, W. Michael Kelly.
An interesting take on math and math education, though a little bitter: http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf
Godspeed, sir!"
I really believe that Michael Kelly's "Humongous Book of" series are the best resources for getting through all math classes up to Calculus II. These books contain every single type of problem you will ever encounter in Algebra I & II, Geometry, Trig, and Calc I & II, all solved in great detail. They are like Schaums Outlines but much more reliable.
https://www.amazon.com/Humongous-Basic-Pre-Algebra-Problems-Books/dp/1615640835
https://www.amazon.com/Humongous-Book-Algebra-Problems-Books/dp/1592577229
https://www.amazon.com/Humongous-Book-Geometry-Problems-Books/dp/1592578640
https://www.amazon.com/Humongous-Book-Trigonometry-Problems-Comprehensive/dp/1615641823
https://www.amazon.com/Humongous-Book-Calculus-Problems-Books/dp/1592575129
Here's mine
To understand life, I'd highly recommend this textbook that we used at university http://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Biology-Edition-Jane-Reece/dp/0321558235/ That covers cell biology and basic biology, you'll understand how the cells in your body work, how nutrition works, how medicine works, how viruses work, where biotech is today, and every page will confront you with what we "don't yet" understand too with neat little excerpts of current science every chapter. It'll give you the foundation to start seeing how life is nothing special and just machinery (maybe you should do some basic chemistry/biology stuff on KhanAcademy first though to fully appreciate what you'll read).
For math I'd recommend doing KhanAcademy aswell https://www.khanacademy.org/ and maybe a good Algebra workbook like http://www.amazon.com/The-Humongous-Book-Algebra-Problems/dp/1592577229/ and after you're comfortable with Algebra/Trig then go for calc, I like this book http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Ron-Larson/dp/0547167024/ Don't forget the 2 workbooks so you can dig yourself out when you get stuck http://www.amazon.com/Student-Solutions-Chapters-Edwards-Calculus/dp/0547213093/ http://www.amazon.com/Student-Solutions-Chapters-Edwards-Calculus/dp/0547213107/ That covers calc1 calc2 and calc3.
Once you're getting into calc Physics is a must of course, Math can describe an infinite amount of universes but when you use it to describe our universe now you have Physics, http://www.amazon.com/University-Physics-Modern-12th/dp/0321501217/ has workbooks too that you'll definitely need since you're learning on your own.
At this point you'll have your answers and a foundation to go into advanced topics in all technical fields, this is why every university student who does a technical degree must take courses in all those 3 disciplines.
If anything at least read that biology textbook, you really won't ever have a true appreciation for the living world and you can't believe how often you'll start noticing people around you spouting terrible science. If you could actually get through all the work I mentioned above, college would be a breeze for you.
No worries.
There's also a book called Humongous Book of Algebra Problems
http://www.amazon.com/The-Humongous-Book-Algebra-Problems/dp/1592577229
Maybe? I'm thinking about picking this up when I finish Khan academy algebra.
I've been working my way through the Humongous Book of Algebra Problems. It's about a thousand math problems with complete (and very good explanations). The only way to get good is to get out the paper and plow through problems. I supplement that with videos from Khan Academy (which has it's own math quiz system that is also excellent). I try to do every problem, even if I hate it (looking at you matrices!). And if I get it wrong, no matter the mistake, I re-do the whole problem.
After I do that one, it's on to the Humongous book on Trig. Then calculus. All for the randy hell of it (I grew up with an interest in science and bad math teachers).
>I mean its to late now to enroll...
Why wait? Pick up a few books on math and use your Google Fu to get yourself started.
I really like this book.
And instead of studying geometry (which I doubt you'd be using in college), study Logic instead. The way problems are constructed is similar to geometry. In geometry you have theorem and postulates, in logic you make proofs. You start out with two or three opening statements, and by using different combinations of OR, AND & IF-THEN statements, you can prove the final statement.
I'll give you this link about it but I'm hesitant to because it has lots of scary symbols and letters. Here. But save that for later. If you want to get started, take a look at truth tables .
Logic is so much more interesting than geometry because it'll help your Google Fu get even better. You can make Boolean statements when you enter a Google query. It also gets you on the path to learning SQL (which your brother may also be able to help you with). SQL is all about sets - sets of records, and how you can join them and select those that have certain values, etc.
You may even find this book a nice, gentle introduction to logic that doesn't require much math.
Basically, what I'm saying to you is this: you live in the most incredible time to be alive ever. The Internet is a super-powerful tool you can use to educate yourself and you should make full use of it.
I also want you to know that if you don't have a specialized skill, you're going to be treated like a virtual slave for the rest of your life. Working at WalMart is not a good career choice. That's just choosing a life of victimhood. Make full use of the Internet, and your lack of a car will seem less problematic.
It's a lot of work but with this book I lost my math anxiety and actually started to enjoy math. The author's philosophy is the only way to get better at algebra is to just do a lot of algebra, it starts out with the most basic fundamentals you need to know too, like if you have trouble with negative numbers or fractions (as I did). It's possible you just need a recap on the foundational stuff you forgot in grade school + more practice. By the end of the book you'll be working with functions and logarithms and you'll understand it.
this is one of the best for self teaching. the examples are very clear so you don't get tripped up on them jumping steps. You will need to get more problems from somewhere like a more formal textbook, but this will help you get the idea of what to do instead of fuming at an impasse.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Humongous-Book-Calculus-Problems/dp/1592575129
there's also trig and precalc versions if he needs the review.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Humongous-Book-Algebra-Problems/dp/1592577229/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_z
http://www.amazon.com/The-Humongous-Book-Trigonometry-Problems/dp/1615641823/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y
I'm late to this party, but as a lot of other people have said, missing a negative sign somewhere is not an indication that you're bad at math. What is important in math is understanding why things are the way that they are. If you can look at the spot where you missed a negative sign and understand exactly why there should have been a negative sign there then you're doing fine. Being good at math isn't so much about performing the calculations—I mean, computers can find the roots of a quadratic function polynomial pretty reliably, so probably no one's going to hire you to do that by hand—but it's following the chain of reasoning that takes you from problem to solution and understanding it completely.
That said, there are things you can do to make yourself better at performing the calculations. Go back to basics, and I mean wayyyy back to like grade 5. A lot of students are seriously lacking skills that they should have mastered in around grade 5, and that will really screw up your ability to do algebra well. For instance, know your times tables. Know, and I mean really know and understand, how arithmetic involving fractions works: how and why and when do we put two fractions over a common denominator, what does it mean to multiply and divide by a fraction, and so on. It's elementary stuff but if you can't do it with numbers then you'll have an even harder time doing it with x's and y's. Make sure you understand the rules of exponents: Do you know how to simplify (a^(2)b^(3))^(2)? How about (a^(3)b)/(ab^(5)) How about √(3^(4))? What does it mean to raise a number to a negative power? What about a fractional power? These things need to be drilled into you so that you don't even think twice about them, and the only way to make it that way is to go through some examples really carefully and then do as many problems as you can. Try to prove the things to yourself: why do exponents behave the way that they do? Go out and get yourself something like this and just work through it and make sure you understand exactly why everything is the way that it is.
Feel free to PM me if you are stuck on specific stuff.
This may be good for example:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Humongous-Book-Algebra-Problems/dp/1592577229/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0H1GD8HDQZB58PWTY0F5
You could take a look and see if it suits you.
But don't trust me on this. Others on /r/learnmath or /r/matheducation may be more knowledgeable than me about good algebra workbooks.