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| This review appeared in Mathematics in School. May, 2005 | |
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This interesting little book is unashamedly aimed at the user of mathematics rather than those who wish to understand formulas before they use them. It consists of formulas up to and including A level requirements, all carefully explained with diagrams, and exhibited in all their manifestations (e.g. use of trigonometric ratios in right-angled triangles is via a table where what is given - say a, c, is matched against what is required, say angle B to give cos B = a/c). The formulary includes a number of common Maclaurin expansions, prime factorisations, statistical definitions and tables, systems of measurements and conversions between them, as well as as explanations of mathematical language, symbols and abbreviations. The requirement for algebraic skills is thus minimized. A guide to usage, explanations of the use of formulas, worked examples, exercises and answers, sre all available from the publisher's Web-site. As a teacher, this book served to remind me just what a maze mathematics remains to many essential users of it: in the classroom I work to change that but in practice this book would serve a very useful purpose for many to whom use of algebra is a mystery, as well as being a handy reference for the more confident. Jennie Golding
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