Science & Technology Books

Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss

Danica McKellar

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hudson Street Press Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $14.47

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> Algebra
Subjects -> Science -> Mathematics -> General
Subjects -> Teens -> Science & Technology -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the author of the runaway bestseller Math Doesn’t Suck, the next step in the math curriculum-- pre-Algebra.

Last year, actress and math genius Danica McKellar made waves nationwide, challenging the “math nerd” stereotype—and giving girls the tools to ace tests and homework in her unique just-us-girls style. Now, in Kiss My Math, McKellar empowers a new crop of girls—7th to 9th graders—taking on the next level of mathematics: pre-Algebra.

Stepping up not only the math, but also the sass and style, Kiss My Math will help math-phobic teenagers everywhere chill out about math, and finally “get” negative numbers, variables, absolute values, exponents, and more. Each chapter features:

• Step-by-step instruction
• Time-saving tips and tricks
• Illuminating practice problems with detailed solutions
• Real-world examples
• True stories from Danica’s own life as a student and actress

Kiss My Math also includes more fun extras--including personality quizzes, reader polls, and real-life testimonials-- ultimately revealing why pre-Algebra is easier, more relevant, and more glamorous than girls think.

Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail

Danica McKellar

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Plume Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $8.15

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Education -> High School

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 83 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

math for the masses in junior and high school classes 5 out of 5 stars.
31 of 43 people found this review helpful.

This Danica is as good looking as the racing Danica and a great actress. She's a math whiz too. Well as a trained mathematician I can assure you that she proves in this book that she knows math, is proud of it and want other high school and junior high school girls to appreciate it too. The book is filled with interesting ways of teach junior and senior high school math that makes it fun and exciting. She would be a great teacher too. I think her goal is to be a role model for other girls who have an aptitude for mathematics. Girls have always been discouraged and discriminated against in this field. I remember at my high school I was the best math student but Linda Cirillo was a close second. Yet I was the one who got the encouragement and her talents were ignored. Years later I came back to my home town and found that while I was now a professional mathematician she was a house wife raising children. I hope things have improved over the last forty years.

This is a great book to give a child in high school who needs a little help and boost of confidence in math. When an author ahs the art of making things exciting rather than boring the student may develop an interest and capability that he or she never dreamed of!

Editorial Review:

The runaway national bestseller, now in paperback

Geometry

Ray Jurgensen, Richard G. Brown

Amazon Price: $62.91 List Price: $90.80 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Company Amazon Marketplace: 59 new & used starting at $39.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> Geometry
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Education -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A good introductory textbook 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book is not Euclid's "The Elements". The Elements, a compilation of many mathematicians' work, was written for mathematicians and their math-dedicated young disciples. Its opening proposition and complex figure reveals that the reader was expected to have a substantial degree of preexistent geometry knowledge.

To reach high school students who have only completed Algebra I, Jurgensen et al labels some theorems postulates to avoid getting bogged down, but so do the other high school geometry textbooks.

This book fulfills its mission to introduce students to a formal system of mathematically analyzing planar figures and objects. If it is carefully read and digested, every problem, including the most-challenging C and C-starred exercises, is solvable. Problems that require the student to write a half-dozen solution/proof statements, and remember (or refresh themselves by re-reading) material from prior sections, and even prior chapters, are commonly encountered (always for the C-level problems).

A small number of exercises require a dozen or so statements in which a student establishes one line of argument, then introduces another, and finally combines them, which is to say, students must be able to organize their thoughts into coherent streams, and then engage in translating visuo-spatial information into mathematical-language statements.

Is this hard? Yes. It takes not only intelligence, but serious effort to fully benefit from studying Jurgensen. Real math isn't something you breeze through. As a student encountering the material for the first time, you may frequently have to read a passage or statement several times, thinking, "I don't get this," then maybe even sleep on it, and then you'll have Eureka moments, "Oh yes! Why didn't I see this before? This is so obvious."

For anyone who wants to think about pursuing university studies in mathematics, engineering, and the sciences, acquiring diligent, persevering work habits is essential. Mathematics is not social studies. For some students the challenge is enjoyable, for others it is painful and a "waste of time". For teachers who find that their students can only consistently answer A-category problems, hit or miss on Bs, and can't even begin to tackle Cs, this book will probably not be satisfactory.

A larger question is when should Euclidean geometry be taught? Should it be taught at all?

I think it is disruptive, and counterproductive to teach algebra I, leave the subject for a full year to study geometry, then jump back to algebra. The trouble is that the "classical" curriculum of the 19th century only taught one course in algebra and then one course in geometry. But as mathematics education was extended, particularly during the Cold War, geometry held its place as the second course in the timetable, but was followed by additional algebra, pre-calculus and calculus, with insufficient thought given to the utility and efficiency of this particular sequence.

Measures such as focusing on analytical geometry (coordinate) exclusively, or nearly so, or teaching algebra II with trigonometry before Euclidean geometry, have been tried in some schools. I know of two schools that no longer even have a "Geometry" titled class. These and other alternatives seem to be working, according to people who are using them.

One thing I would point out is that most state high school graduation requirements today specify the completion of three mathematics units, and many universities require or recommend such. They DO NOT say "three mathematics courses, including geometry". So, for example, if a student is doing well in algebra, I'd say to him or her, stick with it. Go on to algebra II (preferably with trigonometry), precalculus and calculus. Learn about plane figures and solids from a modern perspective. (I can still remember generating the volume of a sphere using integration, and drawing a nicely shaded 3D sphere and discs thirty-something years ago in my second semester of calculus. I thought, "Wow, this is cool!")

So, I think schools should be flexible in their math curricula, and realize there is not a college or university in the country that will ever look at an applicant's transcript and say, "This student took AP Calculus, but there's no 'Geometry' here. Rejection."

If this book is to be used, I would recommend a couple stratagems. One is to for the student to try to prove its theorems before examining the authors' proofs. It's not hard to cover them up with a sheet of paper. This encourages students to acquire conceptual knowledge through active pursuit.

Secondly, students using Jurgensen or most other popular geometry books should subscribe to hotmath.com, where odd-numbered exercises solutions are presented in a thoughtful way, starting with a hint, then progressively revealing steps as the student feels the need to examine them for more help.

There was initially a mixed reception among educators to Hotmath, with some teachers enthusiastically signing up to provide solutions, while others were discomfited by an external knowledge resource that they felt undermined their ability to maintain traditional authority-control over what their students learned.

The disagreement was resolved. The American Mathematical Society invited Hotmath's president to give a lecture at one of its regional conferences several years ago, which was well received. All the leading textbook publishers got on board, which is to say, they recognized that the college-level promulgation of student solutions manuals starting two decades ago had proven to be heuristically sound, and the principle was applicable to college-preparatory mathematics.

For even-numbered exercise homework assignments, students can usually tackle the neighboring odd-numbered ones, check the Hotmath solutions, then apply the same principles to their homework problems.

Algebra and Trigonometry: Structure and Method Book 2

Richard G. Brown

Amazon Price: $64.74 List Price: $93.44 Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks By: Houghton Mifflin Company Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $47.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> Algebra
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> General
Subjects -> Science -> Mathematics -> Pure Mathematics -> Algebra -> General

Prentice Hall Biology

Kenneth R. Miller, Joseph S. Levine

Amazon Price: $78.36 List Price: $102.20 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Pearson Prentice Hall Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $78.35

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Biology
Subjects -> Teens -> Science & Technology -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Thanks for a smooth transaction 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book received was exactly as described. It was delivered on time and in great shape.

McDougal Littell Algebra 2: Pupil's Edition

Ron Larson, Laurie Boswell, Timothy D. Kanold, Lee Stiff

Amazon Price: $53.18 List Price: $93.56 Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks By: Houghton Mifflin Company Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $53.18

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> Algebra
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Education -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A terrible book 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I'm working out of this book in high school these days - I actually am in high school but I used the kid's review because I've no account - but it's really the worst math textbook I have ever used. It gives practice problems with certain factors that are not explained in the text. In its attempt to teach methods, it provides examples with little or no explanation of how to perform the steps. It recieves two stars only because you can sometimes figure out how to complete a problem by looking up the answers to the odd questions in the back of the book. If you, like me, are being forced to study from this book, do yourself a favor and take great notes in class.

No answer key? 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a decent algebra 2 workbook but I don't recommend it because there is no answer key.

algebra 2 practice work book with examples 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I did buy algebra 2 book and practic work books and i did mentioned to seller including the book number but unfortunately i got different text book that doesnot match with the work book. Now i don't know what to do with the two different books i.e work book and algebra 2 text book
if you have any suggestion please let me know
vijay

Algebra: Structure and Method Book 1

Richard G. Brown

Amazon Price: $84.09 List Price: $88.96 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Company Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $48.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> Algebra
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> General
Subjects -> Science -> Mathematics -> Pure Mathematics -> Algebra -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Far better than most others 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is a well thought out Algebra textbook. I started teaching from it earlier this year and have grown to appreciate it very much. I am especially pleased the more I compare this to other books. Most math books these days are little more than pretty colors, crazy fonts, neat pictures, lots of distractions, and very little actual math instruction. This book, on the other hand, actually focuses on the math, explains it reasonably well, and has great sets of real example problems and practice problems of all difficulty levels, including lots of practical problems that aren't forced or contrived. It is not perfect, but it is the best I have seen.

Pros:
*Lots of math rather than lots of silly distractions
*Appropriate difficulty level - not "dumbed down"
*Good examples worked out and explained
*Good problem sets for homework and practice

Cons:
*Some explanations are just a bit short, although most are good
*Factoring, the hardest topic, is early in the book, which makes it difficult for some students

Little Brother

Cory Doctorow

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tor Teen Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $9.65

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Teens -> Science & Technology -> Computers

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 60 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The liberal spin will make you dizzy. 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 28 people found this review helpful.

What started out as an enjoyable book about a group of "hackers" took an extreme left turn.

The city in which this book takes place, San Francisco, is already filled with anti-war and anti-government and it is not a far stretched idea that the events in this could only happen there.

The author does a good job in portraying the student and teacher who are in favor of government, essentially not liberal; seem unintelligent, timid and unable to discuss opinions in a calm manner. A student in Marcus' class, who deems what DHS is doing is for their protection, is made to be an anger filled child who is unable to express himself without interrupting others and shouting.

A reporter from Fox News is shown as hateful and is described as acting superior to others. Fox News as a whole is portrayed as "evil". I should not be surprised that a book dripping with liberal bias and spin is being marketed to children but I find that I am. This book takes place in a world where NONE of the events would EVER or could EVER happen but it is reviewed as a very real and very possible future for the U.S.

I feel sorry that liberal books like this are being passed off as real literature. I would NEVER recommend this book to ANYBODY for it does nothing more than to reinforce the stereotypes that are being spouted by the left.
The fact that an author would write a book about undermining the United States government and in sense acting like terrorists because you're being tracked or photographed is disturbing to say the least.

One character in Little Brother refers to America as "Gulag America" and this did nothing more than to enforce that the author has no shame. To compare the U.S to a Gulag is despicable.

In short the book has such a liberal spin, by the time you finish it you'll be dizzy.

Editorial Review:

Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems.

But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they’re mercilessly interrogated for days.

When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself.

Prentice Hall Chemistry

Dennis D. Staley, Michael S. Matta, Edward L. Waterman

Amazon Price: $97.95 List Price: $97.95 Usually ships in 2 to 5 weeks By: Pearson Prentice Hall Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $69.35

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Chemistry
Subjects -> Teens -> Science & Technology -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Not too good for self-study 3 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I'm an 8th grader that wants to learn chemistry very badly, and bought this book.

Most of the book provides an adequate explanation for all the essential concepts encountered in a regular high school course. I know this because after reading this book, I looked at the state tests for a high school chemistry course, and I could do most of the problems. There are many examples in the book that help a student understand what the text is trying to explain. There are also a lot of practice problems after each section and chapter that reinforces the contents of the chapter/section very well.

However, without a teacher, if some concept is not clear, then chaos occurs. There are selected parts in the book that are vague in a way. To me, the noticable ambiguity in the text comes in the bonding chapter. They sort of assume that out of nowhere you can write an electron dot structure, a concept that other review chemistry texts take pages explaining. Hybridization was also explained poorly, and several weeks after I read that part (when I was finished with the book), I finally thought I got it, and then a chapter review problem proved that it was still a mystery. I have another chemistry book that I use to help me understand in case I don't get what's going on in this chemistry book.

Bonding isn't the only chapter that is a disaster in clarity (although it is the worst). The chapters from about 16-23 were all not as good as the other ones. There was also some guessing involved in the oragnic chemistry section, but that was not too bad; I still figured it out.

My school uses this textbook (as I found out months after I bought this book). With a teacher, this book is perfect, but without one, get ready to think; appreciate the pictures in there when you can, but focus a lot on figuring out the material.

Geometry: Reasoning Measuring Applying

Ron Larson

Amazon Price: $58.70 List Price: $90.80 Usually ships in 2 days By: Houghton Mifflin Company Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $29.35

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Science, Nature & How It Works -> Math -> Geometry
Subjects -> Science -> Mathematics -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Poor parsing of concepts and confusing diagrams 2 out of 5 stars.
21 of 22 people found this review helpful.

This textbook is more useful for the flashy (and admittedly very good) teacher's ancillaries. But this review is not for the ancillaries. It is for the text itself.

The text's treatment of proofs is very cursory and not rigorous enough. The diagrams for the algebraic problems are too confusing, compiling numerous different concepts into one problem. While I agree that students must learn to differentiate one property/theorem/rule/postulate from another, it doesn't make sense that most, instead of some, diagrams are over-complicated. Personally, I don't like the format with the examples, mainly because it downplays the necessity for students to become LITERATE in math, not just a good "example comparer." The text has little actual TEXT to speak of.

I have not been teaching HS for very long, but I do not like this book. I am not a textbook dependent teacher, but I do (woefully) recognize that students have poor study skills and don't reference notes all the time. I do not teach out of the textbook and I spend many hours planning lessons, lecture notes, my own examples, etc. I had many complaints that the problems were confusing, included too many ideas at the same time, etc. Some may be successful in "teaching themselves" from the examples, but I am very disappointed that textbooks no longer have TEXT. I may be a math teacher, but I understand the importance of reading and how it helps a person to process the material.

On the other hand, the teacher resources is a great set of worksheets, study masters, note taking guides, etc. Perhaps the authors spent more time on those resources instead of the text.