Best Introductory Material for Basic Mathematics

[inkd]

Hello, all! I have recently developed an interest in mathematics, and I was wondering where I should begin. Unfortunately, my grasp on the fundamentals is rudimentary at best, and I'm looking to sharpen what skills I have and develop those I don't. I would like something appropriate for self-teaching. (But if I reach an impediment too great to be overcome alone, I can find help.) The branches (?) I'm targeting are algebra and geometry, though books about trigonometry, calculus, and others are welcome, too, as I would like to at least become comfortable with calculus. Thanks in advance, guys (and gals)!

[x(x-y)]

What level are you at, at the moment? Have you any formal education in mathematics? Or are you starting from the real basics of algebra? For example, if I was to ask if you could solve this linear equation

 

[latex]3x - 5 = 4[/latex]

 

for x, could you do that easily? I'm just asking to see where you are currently, apologies if you are at a higher level than I assume.

[inkd]

Hey! Thanks for the reply! I have what formal education I received during high school. I can solve that equation, and I appreciate the attempt at gauging my aptitude. In fact, I'm only slightly above that level. Algebra 2 was where things began to fall apart (I remember radicals and imaginary numbers being particularly pesky), though I also had trouble with some Algebra 1 material.

[x(x-y)]

Ah, right ok - so you have knowledge of solving linear equations, quadratic equations and some basic knowledge of complex numbers? Do you have any understanding of calculus? For example, can you do the derivative and integral of [latex]x^2[/latex]?

 

I'm not sure which country you're from, but a good point to start at would be GCSE to AS-Level mathematics; in the latter case, the books written for the OCR syllabus are good (just look up - "Core 1 OCR AS Level" on amazon or in any major bookshop here in the UK if you live here). However, given the fact that you said "Algebra 1 and 2" - I think that's the American system, is it not? Anyway, I'll try to think of some good introductory mathematics books if I have time.

 

I know that "Calculus" which is a part of the Schaum's series of Maths examples books is a good one for practice on calculus questions.

[CarbonCopy]

Apart from what x(x-y) said, you should also check KhanAcademy. It's really good for math.

[ralfy]

Might this also be helpful?

 

"Top 5 Resources for Algebra"

 

http://math.about.com/od/booksresourcesdvds/tp/algebra1.htm

 

esp. the first one.