Basic Maths For Dummies (eBook)

Colin Beveridge holds a doctorate in mathematics from the University of St Andrews. He gave up a position as a researcher at Montana State University (working with NASA, among other projects) to become a full-time maths tutor, helping adults, GCSE, A-level and university students overcome their fear of maths - a position he finds 'far more enjoyable than real work'.

Introduction 1

Part I: Whole Numbers: The Building Blocks of Maths 7

Chapter 1: Getting Started 9

Chapter 2: Setting Yourself Up for Success 23

Chapter 3: It All Adds Up: Addition and Subtraction 35

Chapter 4: Equal Piles: Multiplying and Dividing 53

Chapter 5: Are We Nearly There Yet? Rounding and Estimating
75

Part II: Parts of the Whole 89

Chapter 6: Cake or Death: Fractions without Fear 91

Chapter 7: What's the Point? Dealing with Decimals 107

Chapter 8: It's All Relative: Ratios and Proportions 123

Chapter 9: Perfect Percentages, 100% of the Time 137

Part III: Sizing Up Weights, Shapes and Measures 151

Chapter 10: Clocking Time 153

Chapter 11: Working with Cold, Hard Cash 163

Chapter 12: Taking the Weight Off Your Shoulders 175

Chapter 13: Feeling the Heat 189

Chapter 14: That's About the Size of It 203

Chapter 15: Shaping Up 223

Part IV: Statistically Speaking 237

Chapter 16: Data Mining (No Hard Hat Required) 239

Chapter 17: Top of the Charts 255

Chapter 18: Average Joe 275

Chapter 19: What Are the Chances? 289

Part V: The Part of Tens 305

Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Prepare Yourself Before You Start
Studying 307

Chapter 21: Ten Tricks for Remembering Your Number Facts 313

Chapter 22: Ten Pitfalls to Avoid 323

Chapter 23: Ten Ways to Make Any Exam Easier 327

Index 333