Math Smart: Getting a Grip on Basic Math

by Marcia Lerner

Whether an individual is checking it out at the supermarket or cashing it in at the stock market, one needs a command of basic math to survive in today's number crunching world.

But most people have problems with math. A decimal here and an exponent there and they've gone from a balanced checkbook to a multi-trillion-dollar national debt. That's why The Princeton Review created Math Smart.

Math Smart's approach is easy to follow. It will show readers how to perform basic math operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Once they've got that down, The Princeton Review will teach them how to handle the scary stuff like exponents, square roots, geometry, and algebra.

How does Math Smart work? It teaches user-friendly techniques that break down complicated problems and equations into their basic parts. Readers won't waste their time memorizing dozens of long formulas and equations.

Genres: Reference

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 1993

Reviews

[Grace2016 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a great resource for teaching home school kids, helping with ASVAB prep, possibly FCAT prep or for anyone who is in public school but is struggling with math or entering college and is unable to take college level math courses. I think this resource has alot of applications for teachers, tutors or for self study.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a very good review but it's math. I did need the refresher.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay -- time for true confessions. I'm starting my doctoral degree this fall, and I'll be reading a lot of research reports. It's been 10 years since I took inferential statistics during my master's degree, and I got an A, but hated it desperately. However, I will actually need those skills that I ignored for the last 10 years, and have almost completely lost. So I checked out some books from the library like, "Statistics for the Utterly Confused," and "Statistics for Dummies," but quickly realized that it has been so many years since I took a math class, that I had all but lost all the basic algebra skills that I needed to read the basic statistics review books! So I found this little review book, which started with addition and subtraction and ended with geometry and algebra, and it was kind and non-condescending. For anyone else in my non-enviable position, it was a great little review.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is any easy way to systematically review the basics of Secondary Math. I'm not sure if it would be as helpful to someone who really struggled through math classes from Junior High on, but it would be useful for review and perhaps for finding new ways (aha!) to look at the structure of basic math after a reprieve. I was thrilled to learn two formulas I've never used before- why have I never used these very simple formulas for permutations and combinations? In the endpages, I was really excited to see that The Princeton Review puts out a dozen more 'Smart Guides' in a range of subject matter. Because this was such an easy book to work through, I'll check some of the others out as well.

[Charliesabers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is actually pretty good. If you have been away from math and need a brush up of the basics for the GRE and GMAT this is pretty neat.

[Iantony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book as a preparation to familiarize myself with mathematical terms in English for 2005 Monbukagakusho Scholarship tests. Back then my English weren't as fluent as present, but the book was quite easy to follow and the terms are quite easy to understand. Long story short, I passed the test. This book is useful particularly for a student, let no people tell you otherwise.